Westgarth railway station

Westgarth railway station is a commuter railway station located on the Hurstbridge line, serving the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Northcote, Victoria, Australia. Westgarth is an unstaffed status, ground structure station featuring two side platforms. The station opened on 8 May 1888 as Westgarth Street. It was renamed Northcote South on 1 August 1888, and Westgarth on 10 December 1906.

History
Westgarth station opened on 8 May 1888 as Westgarth Street, along the newly opened railway line between Collingwood and Heidelberg. Westgarth station, like the locality itself, was named after William Westgarth, a merchant, historian and a member of both the New South Wales Legislative Council and the Victorian Legislative Council. Shortly after, on 1 August 1888 the station's name was changed to Northcote South.

On 10 December 1906, the station was renamed from Northcote South to its current name, Westgarth. This was done to prevent confusion as there were several train stations in Northcote named after the suburb at the time.

In late 1912, whilst the line was being duplicated between Westgarth and Alphington. Westgarth was relocated from the up end to the down end; directly north of Westgarth Street where it remains today. The current weatherboard station buildings were also built at this time.

In 1913, complaints arose regarding the substandard facilities and the lack of staff and pedestrian crossing at the newly constructed station. Described as "an island in a sea of mud" commuters were said to ''"climb the fence and walked along the railway reserve, to save a walk a quarter of a mile." '' This prompted a timber footbridge to be constructed, which remains in the same place today.

In 1968, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Westgarth Street level crossing, located at the up end of the station. The signal box for the level crossing was also abolished at that time.

During late 2008 and early 2009, 750 meters of single track between Westgarth and Clifton Hill was duplicated. This included a second bridge over the Merri Creek running parallel to the original 1888 rail bridge. On 27 January 2009, the duplicated track and bridge opened.

Platforms and services
Westgarth has two side platforms. It is served by Hurstbridge line trains.

Platform 1:
 * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:
 * all stations and limited express services to Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge

Transport links
Dysons operates one route to and from Westgarth station:
 * to Moonee Ponds Junction

Kinetic Melbourne operates two bus routes via Westgarth station:
 * Queen Street (Melbourne CBD) – La Trobe University Bundoora campus
 * Queen Street (Melbourne CBD) – Northland Shopping Centre

Yarra Trams operates one route via Westgarth station:
 * Melbourne tram route 86 icon.svg: Bundoora RMIT – Waterfront City (Docklands)