Middle Gorge railway station is located on the Mernda line in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia. It serves the north-eastern

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of

South Morang South Morang is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. South Morang recorded a population of 24,989 at the 2021 ...

, and it opened on 26 August 2018. It is the only station between

and

Mernda Mernda is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 28 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. Mernda recorded a population of 23,369 at the 2021 census. Hi ...

that is not

elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...

. It is also the only station between

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number o ...

and Mernda that does not have an

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 ...

History

South Morang railway station (former)

The original South Morang was a former steam-era railway station on the Whittlesea line, which operated until the closure of the line beyond Lalor on 28 November 1959, following the

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

of the line to Lalor. The line to

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

was electrified and re-opened on 30 November 1964, and the remaining section of track, from Epping to Whittlesea, was dismantled in the 1970s, although the former

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

remained intact. All that remained of the original South Morang station was the platform mound. A new South Morang station opened on 22 April 2012, as the terminus of an extension of the Epping line. The new station was two kilometres closer to Epping than the former station, being arguably in Mill Park or

Middle Gorge

Middle Gorge opened near the approximate site of the original South Morang station on 26 August 2018, when the line was extended from South Morang to Mernda, as part of the Mernda Rail project. It was first announced as one of two new stations for the project, which was an extension of the South Morang line along the former Whittlesea line right-of-way. Hawkstowe was added to the project after community pressure. The station was originally to be named Marymede, after the nearby Marymede Catholic College. However, this went against Victorian place-naming conventions, as it was named after a school. This caused public outrage for many reasons, mainly because its namesake Middle Gorge Park is located over 2 km from the station site. A letter sent from residents to the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

states that there was no consultation in the naming process, and that it does not accurately represent the station's location. Residents believe the station should be called "South Morang", whilst the current South Morang station be renamed to "Plenty Valley", in order to better reflect their locations.

Platforms and services

Middle Gorge has two

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 platform ...

s. It is serviced by

Metro Trains Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the franchise operator of the electrified suburban passenger service on the Melbourne rail network. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture between Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation (6 ...

' Mernda line services. Platform 1: * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street Platform 2: * all stations services to

Transport links

Dysons Dysons is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia. History Dysons was founded in June 1952 when Laurie Dyson purchased the business of Ned Gastin with route 46A Regent station to Janefield Hospital. Over the years a number of route ...

operates one bus route via Middle Gorge station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: * : Mill Park Lakes Palisades Estate – University Hill

Gallery

Middle Gorge Station (4).jpg, Entrance to Platform 2 in May 2019

References

External links

{{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, Mernda=y, state=collapsed Railway stations in Australia opened in 1889 Railway stations in Australia opened in 2018 Railway stations in the City of Whittlesea