Aspendale 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

Frankston line The Frankston line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's third-longest metropolitan railway line, at . The line runs from Flinders St ...

, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Aspendale, 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. Aspendale station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened in April 1891, with the current station provided in 1981. Initially opened as Aspendale Park Racecourse, the station was given its current name of Aspendale on 1 August 1905.

History

Aspendale station opened in April 1891 and, like the suburb itself, the station was named after ''Aspen'', a race-winning

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

owned by James Crooke, who had purchased land east of the present-day station to build the former

Aspendale Racecourse Aspendale Racecourse or Aspendale Park Racecourse, located at Aspendale, Victoria, Australia, was a horse racing venue, and the world's first purpose-built motor racing track. Aspendale Racecourse opened on 14 April 1891. It was established by ...

. The first race meeting at the racecourse was in 1891, coinciding with the opening of the station. In 1966, a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

at the up end of the station was abolished. On 1 December 1969, the

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 ...

was closed to

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

. In 1977,

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 replaced interlocked gates at the Groves 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 at the down end of the station. Occurring in that year, a control panel was provided. In 1981, the current station buildings were provided. In 1992, another crossover at the station was abolished, as well as the connection to the former

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 ...

. Occurring in that year, the control panel was abolished. In early 2014, a man was hit and killed by a Frankston-bound train, causing the boom gates at the level crossing to stay down, meaning that road traffic could not travel between the

Nepean Highway Nepean Highway is a major highway in Victoria, running south from St Kilda Junction in inner-southern Melbourne to Portsea, tracing close to the eastern shore of Port Phillip for the majority of its length. It is the primary road route from ...

and Station Street. On 9 October 2022, it was announced that Aspendale would be lowered into a

trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

, as part of the removal of seven level crossings on the line. Further details, designs and a construction timeline are to be released closer to the opening of the new station in 2029.

Platforms and services

Aspendale 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 platforms, ...

s. It is served by

trains. Platform 1: * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street,

Werribee Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werrib ...

and Williamstown Platform 2: * all stations services to Frankston

Transport links

Ventura Bus Lines Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of more than 950 buses on 141 bus routes. History Early history Ventura was founded in December 1924 by Henry Cornwall. The name and co ...

operates one route via Aspendale 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 ...

: * :

Mordialloc Mordialloc ( ) is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the ...

– Chelsea station (off-peak only)

Gallery

File:Aspendale station 2021 b.jpg, Station building and entrance to Platform 1 viewed from

, October 2021

References

External links

*
Melway map
at street-directory.com.au {{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, Frankston=y, state=collapsed Railway stations in Australia opened in 1891 Railway stations in the City of Kingston (Victoria)