Watergardens railway station is located on the

Sunbury line The Sunbury Line (formerly known as Sunbury Subdivision) is a rail line owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway which in turn is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The line travels from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Binghamton, New Yo ...

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 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 western

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

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

, and it opened on 26 January 2002.Watergardens (Sydenham)
Vicsig

History

Sydenham

Sydenham originally opened on 1 March 1859, shortly after the line was extended from

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...

to Sunbury.Sydenham
Vicsig When it opened, it was named Keilor Road. On 1 April 1887, it was renamed Sydenham. In 1926, interlocked gates were provided at the former

Melton Highway Melton Highway (formerly Keilor–Melton Road) links Melbourne's outer north-western suburbs of Melton and Taylors Lakes (western Keilor as the old name suggests), connecting the Western Freeway and Calder Freeway to provide a more-direct rout ...

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 crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

, which was located at the Down end of the station. In 1987, they were replaced with

boom barrier A boom barrier, also known as a boom gate, is a bar, or pole pivoted to allow the boom to block vehicular or pedestrian access through a controlled point. Typically the tip of a boom gate rises in a vertical arc to a near vertical position. Boo ...

s. In 1989, a

rail siding 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 line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...

at the station was abolished, as well as a number of signal posts.

Watergardens

In 2002, as part of the extension of the electrified network from

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, Sydenham station closed, and a new station was built approximately 600m in the Up direction. Opening on 26 January of that year, the new station was named Watergardens, after the adjacent Watergardens Shopping Centre. The new station was to be called Sydenham, with the name being built into the brickwork of the station building. However, naming rights were sold to the shopping centre. The name "Sydenham" can still be seen on the side of the building adjacent to Platform 3. Around 2012, the Sydenham name was dropped, with the station now generally referred to as Watergardens. In late 2002, the Melton Highway level crossing was upgraded, in conjunction with the duplication of the highway. In 2015, the

Level Crossing Removal Authority The Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) is a program of the Government of Victoria, Australia, to remove 110 level crossings and rebuild 51 railway stations in Melbourne. After pledging the removal of 50 level crossings at the 2014 Victoria ...

announced the

grade separation In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...

of the highway and railway line. The level crossing was removed in January 2018, with the project completed in October of that year. In 2022, all three platforms were extended from 160m to 163m long. A stabling yard is located at the Down (Sunbury) end of the station.

Platforms and services

Watergardens has 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 ...

, and 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. It is served by

trains, as well as a limited number of

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 ...

services on the

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peopl ...

lines. Platform 1: * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street; terminating services * three weekday morning

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 ...

(set down only) * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only) Platform 2: * terminating services; all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street Platform 3: * all stations services to Sunbury * one weekday evening

service to

(pick up only) * V/Line services to

(pick up only) By late 2025, it is planned that trains on the Sunbury line will be

through-routed Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

with those on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new

Metro Tunnel The Metro Tunnel (previously known during planning as the Melbourne Metro Rail Project) is a metropolitan rail infrastructure project currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia. It includes the construction of twin 9-kilometre rail tun ...

Transport links

CDC Melbourne CDC Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates 55 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia. As at 2018, CDC Melbourne was the third-largest commuter bu ...

operates four routes to and from Watergardens 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 ...

: * : to St Albans station * : to St Albans station * : to St Albans station * : to Caroline Springs Town Centre

Kastoria Bus Lines Kastoria Bus Lines is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It operates five routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is owned by Northern Transit Holdings, which also operates Broadmeadows Bus Service, Nationwide Tours ...

operates four routes to and from Watergardens station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: * : to Caroline Springs station * : to Caroline Springs station * : to Hillside * : to

Moonee Ponds Junction Moonee Ponds Junction is a bus and tram interchange on the junction of Ascot Vale Road / Pascoe Vale Road and Mount Alexander Road in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne (Puckle Street / Dean Street also meets at the same point). It is located approximately ...

Transit Systems Victoria Transit Systems Victoria, formerly Sita Buslines, is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems and operates 18 List of Melbourne bus routes, bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. H ...

operates three routes to and from Watergardens station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: * : to Sunshine station * : to Sunshine station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only) * : to Melton (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)

References

External links

Melway map
at street-directory.com.au {{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, Sunbury=y, Northern=y, state=collapsed Premium Melbourne railway stations Railway stations in Melbourne Railway stations in Australia opened in 1859 Railway stations in the City of Brimbank