Cranbourne railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Cranbourne line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of the same name, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and opened on 1 October 1888. The station was closed between 24 July 1993 and 24 March 1995, and the current station was opened in 2008.[4]
History
Cranbourne opened as a station on the South Gippsland line. Until 24 July 1993, it was served by V/Line trains to Leongatha and beyond.[5] As with the suburb itself, the station got its name from the Cranbourne Inn, established in the mid-19th century by the Ruffy brothers, who were squatters in the area.[6] The area was named either after a town in Berkshire, England or Viscount Cranborne.[6]
Between March 1920 and June 1956, trains regularly operated from sidings about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the station, dispatching between ten and thirty goods trucks a week, loaded with locally mined construction-quality sand.[7]
In 1981, flashing light signals were provided at the former Camms Road level crossing, which was located in the up direction from the station.[4]Boom barriers were installed during the electrification of the line.
The last regular train beyond Cranbourne ran on 15 January 1998, after which sand trains from Koala Siding (near Nyora) to Spotswood ceased operating.[14]
In April 2008, work started on the construction of six train stabling sidings at the station, to enable more trains to run on the line at peak times without having to duplicate the line. The work was completed in November of that year.[4][15] As part of that project, the station and bus interchange received an upgrade.[16]
On 30 November 2018, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Camms Road level crossing would be grade separated.[18][19] On 25 June 2021, designs for the level crossing were released, which involved raising Camms Road over the railway line via an overpass.[20] Construction commenced on the project in early 2023[21] and, on 30 November of that year, the overpass opened to road traffic.[22]
The Level Crossing Removal Project also managed the duplication of the railway line between Cranbourne and Dandenong.[23] Major work started in 2020, and was completed by 13 February 2022, a year ahead of schedule.[24][25] The duplication also involved a new timetable for the Cranbourne line, with services operating roughly every 10 minutes during the morning peak-hour.[25]
Platforms, facilities and services
Cranbourne has one island platform with two faces and is served by Cranbourne line trains.[26] The station building has a customer service window, two enclosed waiting rooms, and toilets.
Cranbourne line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street; all stations shuttle services to Dandenong
It is planned that trains on the Cranbourne line will be through-routed with those on the Sunbury line, via the Metro Tunnel, which is scheduled to open in 2025.
^ abcde"Cranbourne". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
^Banger, Chris (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian division). pp. 77–82.
^ ab"Cranbourne". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
^Cauchi, Mark (February 2019). "Rails Through the Dunes – The Cranbourne Sand Sidings, Part Two". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 38–51.
^"Way and Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). March 1973. p. 54.
^"Show of hands for a new rail service". The Age. 25 March 1995. p. 7.
^"Cranbourne Electrification Opened" Railway Digest May 1995 page 16
^Fiddian, Mark (1997). Trains, Tracks, Travellers. A history of the Victorian Railways. South Eastern Independent Newspapers. p. 154. ISBN1-875475-12-5.
^"Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). August 1994. p. 250.
^"Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). October 1994. p. 317.
^"Farewell – The Sand Train". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). February 1998. pp. 71–76.
