Eltham railway station is a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

way station on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria, Australia. Eltham station is a ground level premium station, featuring an

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

. It opened on 5 June 1902, with the current platforms provided in 1960 and the upgrades in 2013. Eltham is the terminus for a number of peak and off-peak services on the line. Five stabling sidings are located to the west of Platform 2, with the site previously having been a

goods yard A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

. The last timber

trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames usually carrying a railroad line. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a st ...

on the Melbourne suburban network is located to the south of the station.

History

Eltham station opened on 5 June 1902, when the railway line from

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

was extended. It remained a terminus until June 1912, when the line was extended to Hurstbridge. Like the suburb itself, the station is named after the district of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1960, Platform 1 was converted from a south-facing

bay platform In the United Kingdom and in Australia, a bay platform is a dead-end railway platform at a railway station that has through lines. It is normal for bay platforms to be shorter than their associated through platforms. They must have a buffer stop ...

to a through platform, with a connection to the main line provided at the down end of the station. Also in that year, the current station building was provided. In 1969, flashing light signals were provided at the Diamond Street

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

, located nearby in the down direction from the station. In 1977, a ramped goods platform was abolished, with a

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before, after, and during loading to and unloading from a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, althou ...

believed to be demolished around the same time. By 1984, goods traffic to and from the station ceased. In 1987,

boom barrier A bar, post, pole, beam, or boom gate, also known as a boom or a boom barrier, is a beam or bar on a pivot used as a gate. The boom is lowered to block vehicular or pedestrian access through a controlled point or raised to permit such traffic. ...

s were provided at the Diamond Street level crossing. On 4 July 1996, Eltham was upgraded to a

premium station The Melbourne rail network is a metropolitan Commuter rail, suburban and Rail freight transport, freight rail system serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The metropolitan rail network is centred around th ...

. A minor refurbishment of the station also occurred during this time. On 25 December 2011, following a large

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

and subsequent

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

, parts of the line at the down end of the level crossing were washed away. The flooding also eroded a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

, exposing a small timber bridge. Eltham was one of the last stations in Melbourne to be controlled by mechanical safeworking, including the use of semaphore signals. It was also a break between two different types of safeworking: Greensborough to Eltham was controlled by miniature electric staff, whilst Eltham to Hurstbridge was controlled by train staff and ticket. Both safeworking systems were converted to Automatic Track Control (ATC) in early 2013. A new amenities building for train drivers was constructed around that time, as well as an upgrade to the stabling sidings. On 15 May 2019, the

Level Crossing Removal Project The Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) is an infrastructure upgrade project by the Government of Victoria, Australia, to remove and grade-separate 110 level crossings and to rebuild 51 railway stations on the metropolitan and regional r ...

announced that planning for the

duplication Duplication, duplicate, and duplicator may refer to: Biology and genetics * Gene duplication, a process which can result in free mutation * Chromosomal duplication, which can cause Bloom and Rett syndrome * Polyploidy, a phenomenon also known ...

of 3 km of track between Eltham and Greensborough was underway, with early works began in 2021, with major construction started in 2022. The Eltham Trestle Bridge would not be affected by the project. The project was completed in 2023.

Platforms and services

Eltham has one

with two faces. Trains in either direction can depart from either platform, although Hurstbridge bound services almost always depart from Platform 1, and Flinders Street bound services usually depart from Platform 2. It is served by Hurstbridge line trains. Platform 1: * all stations services to Hurstbridge * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street Platform 2: * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street * all stations services to Hurstbridge

Transport links

Dysons Dyson Group of Companies, operating as Dysons, is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia. The oldest of its subsidiary companies is L.C. Dysons Bus Services, which was founded in June 1952 and is based in Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora ...

operates two routes via Eltham station, under contract to

Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was previously the trading name of the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victo ...

: * : to

Glenroy station Glenroy Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is situated approximately north of Fitzroy Crossing and east of Derby in the Kimberley region. History The property was established in the ear ...

(via

Lower Plenty Lower Plenty is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east from Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule Local Government Areas of Victoria, loc ...

) * : to Glenroy station (via Greensborough) Kinetic Melbourne operates one

SmartBus SmartBus is a network of bus services in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Overseen by Public Transport Victoria, the network comprises nine key cross-town and orbital bus routes around Melbourne. Key aspects of the service include more freque ...

route via Eltham station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: *

: Chelsea station – Westfield

Airport West Airport West is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Airport West recorded a population of 8,173 at the . Bounded by th ...

Panorama Coaches operates four routes to and from Eltham station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: * : to

Warrandyte Warrandyte ( ) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham Local government areas of Victoria, ...

* : to Warrandyte * : to Diamond Creek * : to Eltham station (Eltham Town Service)

Gallery

File:Eltham Station.jpg, Southbound view from Platform 2,
November 2013 File:ElthamTrestleBridge.jpg, A Metro X'Trapolis train crosses the trestle bridge, November 2013 File:ElthamP2June2024.jpg, Southbound view from Platform 1, June 2024 File:Eltham Southbound Platform 2, August 2024.jpg, Southbound view from Platform 2, with two X'Trapolis trains seen sitting in the station sidings, August 2024 File:Eltham station platforms viewed Southbound, August 2024.jpg, Southbound view of the station platforms,
August 2024

References

External links

*
Melway map
at street-directory.com.au {{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, Hurstbridge=y, state=collapsed Premium Melbourne railway stations Railway stations in Australia opened in 1902 Railway stations in the Shire of Nillumbik