Footscray railway station

On 17 January 1859, the railways arrived in Footscray, when the new Williamstown line opened, with trains operating from Spencer Street in Melbourne to the important cargo port of Williamstown. This railway line connected to the 18-month-old Geelong line at the junction near where the current Newport station exists.[7] The line between Melbourne and Footscray, via the new station at North Melbourne, had been made possible with the construction of a railway bridge over the Maribyrnong River. The first station to open in Footscray opened on this line on the first day of service. It was not where the current Footscray station lies, but was located on Napier Street.

Shortly afterwards, Footscray became a junction station, when a second railway line, branching at Footscray, was opened to Sunbury. By 1862, that line had been extended to Sandhurst (later renamed Bendigo). Therefore, on 1 March 1859, less than two months after the first, Footscray's second railway station opened on Nicholson Street, not far from the original Napier Street location, for services on the new line.[4] From 1879, a signal box was provided at the junction.

On 16 September 1900, the current station opened, located at the junction of the two lines.[8] The two original stations were then closed.[4]

A number of sidings once existed at the station, but they are now covered by car parking on the eastern side of the Newport-bound lines. In 1972, the last siding at the station (siding "B") was abolished.[4]

On 21 October 1928, the dual-gauge lines under the station were provided, as part of the South Kensington–West Footscray line, and were dual-gauged in the early 1960s, as part of the construction of the Melbourne–Albury standard gauge line. Quadruplication of the tracks towards Melbourne in November 1976 put an end to the junction and the signal box was closed, but the building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

On 31 May 1996, Footscray was upgraded to a premium station, although the enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities were built in 1993, as part of the "Travel Safe" program of the early 1990s.[9]

On 5 June 2001, at around 08:30, two suburban Comeng train sets collided on Platform 4. An out-of-service train heading to Newport collided with a Williamstown-bound train, carrying around 20 passengers, with three injuries reported.[10]

In 2010, as a part of the Brumby State Government's Footscray renewal program,[11] the existing footbridge over the platforms, which was accessed by ramps, was replaced with a $15 million footbridge. The bridge, named after Indigenous activist William Cooper,[12] has stairs and associated lifts. Complaints have been made that the new footbridge is less usable than the one it replaced. It has a roof, but that has not been designed to be weatherproof, and the lifts are prone to breakdown.[13]

During the 2017/2018 financial year, it was the sixth busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 5.26 million passenger movements recorded.[14]

Footscray has two island platforms with four faces, and two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown line services,[18][19][20] and V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong line services.[21][22][23]

Platform 1:

•  Sunbury line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Sunbury line  all stations and limited express services to Watergardens and Sunbury

By late 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:

•  Ballarat line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Ararat line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Maryborough line  one daily V/Line service to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Bendigo line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Echuca line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Swan Hill line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Geelong line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Warrnambool line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)

Platform 4:

•  Ballarat line  V/Line services to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree (pick up only)
•  Ararat line  V/Line services to Ararat (pick up only)
•  Bendigo line  V/Line services to Bendigo, Epsom and Eaglehawk (pick up only)
•  Echuca line  V/Line services to Echuca (pick up only)
•  Swan Hill line  V/Line services to Swan Hill (pick up only)
•  Geelong line  V/Line services to Wyndham Vale, Geelong and Waurn Ponds (pick up only)
•  Warrnambool line  V/Line services to Warrnambool (pick up only)

Platform 5:

•  Werribee line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street and Frankston
•  Williamstown line  all stations services to Flinders Street and Frankston

Platform 6:

•  Werribee line  all stations services to Laverton via Altona (weekdays only); all stations services to Werribee
•  Williamstown line  all stations services to Williamstown

CDC Melbourne operates six routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  406 : to Keilor East[24]
•  409 : Yarraville station – Highpoint Shopping Centre[25]
•  410 : Sunshine station – Footscray[26]
•  411 : Laverton station – Footscray[27]
•  412 : Laverton station – Footscray[28]
•  414 : to Laverton station[29]

Kinetic Melbourne operates three routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  216 : Sunshine station – Melbourne CBD (Queen Street)[30]
•  220 : Sunshine station – Melbourne CBD (Queen Street)[31]
•  223 : Yarraville – Highpoint Shopping Centre[32]

Transit Systems Victoria operates five routes via Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  402 : to East Melbourne[33]
•  403 : to University of Melbourne Parkville Campus[34]
•  404 : to Moonee Ponds Junction[35]
•  472 : Williamstown – Moonee Ponds Junction[36]
•  Night Bus   947 : Footscray – Newport station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)[37]

Yarra Trams operates one route to and from Footscray station:

• : to Moonee Ponds Junction[38]

• 
  The South Kensington - West Footscray railway line cutting runs beneath the south-western end of what is now Platforms 5 and 6 in September 2008
• 
  Footbridge that links all platforms, taken from Irving Street, in December 2011
• 
  The same view from Irving Street in May 2014
• 
  Westbound view from Platform 2 in May 2014

Media related to Footscray railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au