Geelong railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It serves the city of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, and it opened on 1 November 1856.Geelong
Vicsig Together with

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, it is one of only two stations in Victoria to have a 19th-century train shed, and is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

. The railway station complex has also been listed by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

, as being of state-level significance.

History

Geelong station was built as the terminus of the

Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. Alexander Thomson, a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, introduced and mentored a bill to incorporate the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company. ...

line. It was a dead-end terminus, located on the site of the present law courts complex. In November 1876, the railway was extended south to Winchelsea, necessitating the relocation of the station to the west, and between 1877 and 1881, the current station building was constructed. In 1975, the station received a minor upgrade to the refreshment rooms, and was also provided with a waiting room around this time. In 1988, the station received an upgrade, and included new passenger waiting areas and booking offices. Until the 1990s, there was 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 ...

, including a large

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

, located on the eastern side of the station. It is now the site of Geelong's law courts and

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...

. A locomotive depot remains to the north, and carriage stabling

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

s are to the west. In March 2015, a further upgrade to the station was completed, which included the installation of a new DDA-compliant pedestrian overpass to connect all platforms, which included lifts, avoiding the need to use the original heritage-protected pedestrian bridge, which only has stairs.

Platforms and services

Geelong has one

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

with two faces, and one

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

. Prior to the opening of the Regional Rail Link in 2015, almost all trains used Platform 1. Platforms 2 and 3 were only used when Platform 1 was occupied; Platform 1: Up services to

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

and Down services to

South Geelong South Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Its local government area is the City of Greater Geelong. At the 2016 census, South Geelong had a population of 993. The suburb is adj ...

, Marshall, and

Waurn Ponds Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive, Princes Highway, the Geelong to Warrnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road, Deakin University and ...

. Platform 2: Up and Down Warrnambool services, terminating services and other services if Platform 1 was occupied. Platform 3: Terminating services, special heritage services and other services if Platform 1 was occupied. After the opening of the Regional Rail Link, Geelong now has three times as many services running, requiring trains to cross at Geelong on a regular basis. The platforms have now been divided into Up and Down platforms; Platform 1: Down services to South Geelong, Marshall, Waurn Ponds, and Warrnambool Platform 2: Up services when Platform 3 is occupied, special heritage services Platform 3: Up services to Southern Cross, terminating services It is common for a trains to be in all three platforms e.g. Platform 1: Down Waurn Ponds service Platform 2: Up service, stopping all stations Platform 3: Up express service from Warrnambool It is serviced by

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

and Warrnambool line services. Some services terminate at Geelong, although most continue south. Platform 1: * services to

, Marshall,

and

* services to Warrnambool and Southern Cross Platform 2: * services from South Geelong, Marshall and Waurn Ponds to Southern Cross * services from Warrnambool to Southern Cross Platform 3: * services from South Geelong, Marshall and Waurn Ponds to Southern Cross * services from Warrnambool to Southern Cross;

Peak hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...

terminating services

Transport links

CDC Geelong CDC Geelong, formerly known as Benders Busways, is a bus company operating in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, operating routes as well as charters. It is a subsidiary of CDC Victoria, in turn a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia, in turn a sub ...

operates six routes via Geelong station, under contract to

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

: *: North Shore station – Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus *: to Corio Shopping Centre *: to North Shore station *: to North Geelong station *: to

Bell Post Hill Bell Post Hill is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Bell Post had a population of 4,919. The origin of the suburb's name is thought to be from a lookout or warning bell on a post or forked tree situated o ...

*: to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus

McHarry's Buslines McHarry's Buslines is a family-owned bus company in Geelong, Victoria, dating back to 1932. It operates public transport bus routes in Geelong, and on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast, as well as school bus and charter services. The co ...

operates thirteen routes via Geelong station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: *:

– Bannockburn *: to

Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whitti ...

*: to

St Albans Park St. Albans Park is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, 6 km southeast from Geelong's city centre. It is bounded by Boundary Road (West), Coppards Road (East), Townsend Road (North) and the Barwon River (South). The suburbs that surr ...

*: to

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

*: to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus *: to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus *: to Deakin University Waurn Ponds Campus *: to

Jan Juc Jan Juc is a suburb of Torquay, Victoria. At the 2016 census, Jan Juc had a population of 3,683. History Nearby Bellbrae was originally called Jan Juc but was renamed in 1923, so the Jan Juc Post Office, which opened on 25 January 1862, wa ...

*: to Jan Juc *: to Ocean Grove *: to Queenscliff *: to St Leonards *: to Drysdale

operates road coach services from Geelong station to Apollo Bay,

, Colac and Warrnambool.Warrnambool - Melbourne via Apollo Bay
Public Transport Victoria

References

External links

*

{{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, South Western=y, state=collapsed Railway stations in Australia opened in 1881 Listed railway stations in Australia Railway stations in Geelong Regional railway stations in Victoria (Australia) Heritage-listed buildings in Greater Geelong