Lara railway station is a

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

way station on the

Warrnambool line The Warrnambool line is a long-distance regional rail service in Victoria, Australia. Operated by V/Line, it is the state's fourth longest railway line at . The line runs from Southern Cross station in central Melbourne to Warrnambool statio ...

, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the town of

Lara Lara may refer to: People * Lara (name), can be a given name or a surname in several languages * Lara (mythology), a naiad nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's ''Fasti'' Places *Lara (state), a state in Venezuela * Electoral district ...

, in Victoria, Australia. Lara station is a ground level unstaffed 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 ...

with two faces. It opened on 1 November 1856, with the current station provided in 1981.Lara Station
Rail Geelong Initially opened as Duck Ponds, the station was given its current name of Lara on 30 June 1875.Lara Station
Rail Geelong

History

When Lara station opened, it was the temporary terminus of the Geelong – Melbourne line. The present station building was constructed in the 1920s, and the existing single platform on the east side of the line was converted into an

in June 1981, when the line from Lara to

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

was duplicated. In September of that year, the line to Corio was duplicated.Lara
Vicsig In 1973, a signal panel was provided at the station, and in 1981, it relocated into the station building. It was abolished in January 2006.Lara Signal Box (LAR)
Vicsig No.2 road (loop

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

) was also extended in 1973, providing a

crossing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...

. The loop siding is generally used by trains serving the Avalon Airshow, which terminate at Lara. In 1962, flashing light signals were provided at the McClelland Avenue

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 of the station, with boom barriers provided later on in 1981. In 1993, No.2 siding was abolished, along with a dwarf signal. In 1999, the station waiting room received an upgrade, including the installation of glass

sliding doors ''Sliding Doors'' is a 1998 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow while also featuring John Hannah, John Lynch, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The film alternates between two storylines, showi ...

. The

Western standard gauge line The Western standard gauge railway line is a standard-gauge railway line in western Victoria, Australia. Completed in 1995, it forms part of the Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor and serves as the principal interstate rail link between Victor ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

runs immediately west of the station.

Platforms and services

Lara has one

with two faces. It is serviced by

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...

Geelong line and selected

services. Platform 1: * services to

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

* weekend services to Southern Cross Platform 2: * services to

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

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 adjace ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

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 ...

* weekend services to

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

Transport links

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

operates three routes to and from Lara 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 Lara South (Weekday extension to Corio Shopping Centre) *: to Lara East *: to Lara West

References

External links

Victorian Railway Stations gallery
{{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, South Western=y, state=collapsed Railway stations in Australia opened in 1856 Regional railway stations in Victoria (state) Railway stations in Geelong