Sunshine Railway Station, Melbourne
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Sunshine railway station is a
commuter Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...
and
regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
railway station on the Sunbury,
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 ...
and
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
lines, serving the western suburb of the same name 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. Sunshine is a ground level,
premium station The Melbourne rail network is a metropolitan Commuter rail, suburban and Rail freight transport, freight rail system serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The metropolitan rail network is centred around th ...
. It has four platforms, 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 and two side platforms, connected by a footbridge and concourse. The station opened on 7 September 1885, with the current station provided in 2014 when it was rebuilt as part of the
Regional Rail Link project Regional Rail Link (RRL) is the name of a project to build a length of railway through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The name is also colloquially used to refer to the rail alignment constructed as part of the project. The pro ...
. Originally named Braybrook Junction, it was given its current name in July 1907 when the suburb of Sunshine took its name from the Sunshine Harvester Works. V/Line services on the
Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
corridor pass through the station but do not stop at it. Freight services running towards northern Victoria and
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
run past the station, as well as freight trains heading for the western standard gauge line via the Newport–Sunshine railway line. The bus interchange at the station is a hub for routes to surrounding suburbs. The station is planned to receive a significant package of upgrades as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail project, with works planned to commence in early 2026.


History


19th century

The Melbourne & Murray River Railway was built in the late 1850s, from Footscray to
Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
. No station was built at that time on the current site; the closest station was Albion and Darlington, on the site of the current Albion station. In 1874, a line to Melton was built, branching from the Bendigo line; a station was built at the site of the junction, opening on September 7, 1885, as Braybrook Junction. This line would be extended westwards to Bacchus Marsh in 1887 and eventually meet with another line extended eastwards from
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
in 1889. This line became the direct route from Melbourne to Ballarat; the original line ran via Geelong. In 1887, the Newport-Sunshine railway line was opened, connecting the new station at Braybrook Junction to Newport and Williamstown, Victoria's major cargo port at the time.


20th century

In 1907, Braybrook Junction station was renamed Sunshine, after Hugh McKay had moved his Sunshine Harvester Works to a site adjacent to the station. On 20 April 1908, Sunshine was the scene of the Sunshine train disaster, the worst train crash in Victorian railway history. 44 people were killed and over 400 were injured. In 1929, the Albion – Jacana goods line was opened, connecting Sunshine with the North East line, allowing freight trains to avoid the steeper grades and suburban traffic on the suburban line between
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
, Essendon and Broadmeadows. The road
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 ...
at Sunshine was removed when
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 tr ...
was carried out in 1961. The works took place as part of the project to construct a
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
line from Sydney to Melbourne. In that same year,
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 were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Bendigo line. In January 1963, a fourth platform was provided on the adjacent Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line, to enable passengers to transfer between the interstate Sydney and Adelaide expresses. In 1965, control of
signal A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...
s at Albion was transferred to the signal box at Sunshine. Also in that year, the Grain Elevator Board sidings, that serve the nearby grail
silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...
s, opened for traffic. In 1976, a signal panel was provided to replace an existing panel and, in 1977, boom barriers were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Serviceton line. White City station was located between Sunshine and
Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...
. It closed on 4 October 1981 and has been removed. On 5 February 1985, Harris trailer carriage 830T was destroyed by fire in a vandalism attack, whilst stabled in the former down end siding. In 1988, the sidings leading to the Massey Ferguson factory were booked out of use. The lead to the sidings, which crossed the standard gauge line, was removed in February of that year. In 1994, the former station
underpass A subway, also known as an underpass, is a grade-separated pedestrian crossing running underneath a road or railway in order to entirely separate pedestrians and cyclists from motor or train traffic. Terminology In the United States, as ...
, which connected the platforms to nearby City Place, was completed, replacing an underpass. It was removed during the station upgrades between 2012 and 2014. Also in that year, the track leading to the former goods shed was removed, and a number of semaphore signals were replaced with automatic colour signals. On 26 July 1996, Sunshine was upgraded to a
premium station The Melbourne rail network is a metropolitan Commuter rail, suburban and Rail freight transport, freight rail system serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The metropolitan rail network is centred around th ...
.


21st century

In mid-2004, the platform on the standard gauge line was removed. The waiting room on the platform was demolished five years earlier, in 1999. From 2012 to 2014, the station was rebuilt as part of the
Regional Rail Link Regional Rail Link (RRL) is the name of a project to build a length of railway through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The name is also colloquially used to refer to the rail alignment constructed as part of the project. The pro ...
project. Works included: * a new bus interchange, completed in September 2013; * construction of a new
footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
and concourse, completed in January 2014; * upgrading Platforms 1 and 2 with new canopies; * rebuilding Platform 3 and a new Platform 4, both completed in April 2014; The standalone signal box to the north of the station, commissioned in 1914, was closed in 2016, and control of trains in the Sunshine and Albion areas was transferred to Metrol. The former signal box is one of the largest surviving examples of a tappet and
lever frame Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the Railway signal, signals, track locks and Railroad switch, points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usuall ...
box on the Victorian network, having once housed 80 levers. Although mechanical signalling was replaced with
electronic interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. In North America, a set of signalling appliances a ...
before the box was finally taken out of service, it remains relatively intact as an example of
Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
signal box architecture. In early 2020, construction commenced on a new signal control centre south of the station, which will share control of the Sunshine–Dandenong corridor with an existing facility at Dandenong, after completion of the Metro Tunnel. The station is planned to be rebuilt as part of the Melbourne Airport rail link project, with planned upgrades including new platforms and an improved track layout to "untangle hecomplex junction" and enable increased capacity for trains to the airport and western suburbs.


Expansion and precinct masterplan

In 2018, the
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...
announced that the Melbourne Airport Rail project would operate via Sunshine. The state government committed to upgrade the station into a "superhub" for passengers transferring between V/Line services, metropolitan services and airport trains. Immediate works at Sunshine, funded as part of the airport link, included the construction of a second accessible concourse for interchanging, extra ticket gates, new lifts, a new regional platform and extensions of existing regional platforms to enable 9-carriage VLocity trains to stop at the station. In 2022, early construction commenced on the Melbourne Airport Rail project, and a masterplan for the Sunshine station precinct was released. The plan includes new entrances to the station, an integrated bus interchange, open spaces, high-density developments surrounding the station, and the creation of pedestrian and cycling links across the rail lines. Trains on the Bendigo line, which currently skip Sunshine, are planned to begin stopping at the station to enable Bendigo line passengers to change to Airport trains. Works at Sunshine are planned to commence in early 2026 following $2 billion of funding announced by the Commonwealth Government.


Facilities, platforms and services

Sunshine 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 and a centre
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. Access is provided to the platforms using stairs, lifts and ramps from an overhead footbridge and concourse, which features a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room and toilets. It is served by Sunbury line and
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, ...
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
and
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 ...
line trains. Platform 1: * all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street Platform 2: * all stations services to Watergardens and Sunbury By June 2025, it is planned that trains on the Sunbury line will be through-routed with those on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new Metro Tunnel. Platform 3: *
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, ...
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 ...
(set down only) * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only) * V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only) * one daily V/Line service to Southern Cross (set down only) Platform 4: * V/Line services to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and
Wendouree Wendouree () is a large suburb on the north western rural-urban fringe of the city of Ballarat, in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is the second most populated suburb in the City of Ballarat with a total of 10,376 inhabitants at ...
(pick up only) * V/Line services to Ararat (pick up only) * V/Line services to Wyndham Vale,
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 ...
and Waurn Ponds (pick up only)


Transport links

There are 15 bus services that use the bus interchange at Sunshine station. CDC Melbourne operates three routes via Sunshine 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 Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with Transit Systems Victoria) * : St Albans stationHighpoint Shopping Centre * : to Footscray (via
Ballarat Road Ballarat Road is a major urban arterial road in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia. Route Ballarat Road commences at the interchange with Western Highway (Victoria), Western Freeway ...
) Kinetic Melbourne operates four routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: * : to
Melbourne CBD The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...
( Queen Street) (via Dynon Road) * : to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) via (Footscray Road) * : to Sunshine South (loop service) * SmartBus : Altona stationMordialloc Transit Systems Victoria operates eight routes to and from Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria: * : to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with CDC Melbourne) * : to Watergardens station (via Deer Park) * : to Brimbank Central Shopping Centre * : to Sunshine West (via Forrest Street) * : to Sunshine West * : to Woodgrove Shopping Centre ( Melton) (via Rockbank) * : to Williamstown (via Newport and Altona Gate Shopping Centre) * Night Bus : to Watergardens station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)941 Sunshine Station – Watergardens Station via Keilor Downs
Public Transport Victoria


Gallery

File:VLine VLocity departing Platform 3 towards Southern Cross Station at Sunshine Railway Station, Sunshine.jpg, V/Line VLocity train departing Platform 3 towards Southern Cross Station at Sunshine Station in October 2023. File:Westrans number 58 (4871AO) Volvo on route 410 at Sunshine railway station, December 2013.jpg, Westrans
Volgren Volgren is an Australian bus and coach body manufacturer. History Volvo Buses, VolGrenda Corporation, gren was formed in 1977 by Melbourne bus operator Grenda Corporation in Dandenong, Victoria. Because Grenda held the Volvo Buses dealership i ...
bodied Volvo B7L at Sunshine station, December 2013 File:Sunshine Station platforms 1 & 2.jpg, North-west bound view from Platform 2,
May 2014 File:Sunshine Station platforms 3 & 4.jpg, South-east bound view from Platform 3 looking at station concourse and entrance, May 2014


References


External links

*
Rail Geelong gallery

Melway map
{{Public Transport Victoria railway stations, Sunbury=y, South Western=y, Western=y, state=collapsed Premium Melbourne railway stations Former rail freight terminals in Victoria (state) Railway stations in Australia opened in 1885 Sunshine, Victoria Railway stations in the City of Brimbank