Preston railway station, Melbourne


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Preston railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Preston, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Preston station is an elevated structure premium station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 8 October 1889, with the current station provided in 2022.[6]

Preston

PTV commuter rail station

Northbound view from Platform 2, June 2023

General information
LocationClinch Avenue,
Preston, Victoria 3072
City of Darebin
Australia
Coordinates37°44′19″S 145°00′02″E / 37.7387°S 145.0006°E
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)Mernda
Distance12.47 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 (1 island)
Tracks2
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure typeElevated
Parking254[1]
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes—step free access
Other information
StatusOperational, premium station
Station codePRE
Fare zoneMyki Zone 1/2 overlap
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened8 October 1889; 135 years ago
Rebuilt1973
5 September 2022 (LXRP)
ElectrifiedJuly 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous namesPreston-Murray Road (1889-1905)
Murray (1905-1909)
Passengers
2005–2006591,010[2]
2006–2007643,921[2] Increase 8.95%
2007–2008734,065[2] Increase 13.99%
2008–2009847,792[3] Increase 15.49%
2009–2010860,532[3] Increase 1.5%
2010–2011852,173[3] Decrease 0.97%
2011–2012800,022[3] Decrease 6.11%
2012–2013Not measured[3]
2013–2014859,243[3] Increase 7.4%
2014–2015825,977[2] Decrease 3.87%
2015–2016885,788[3] Increase 7.24%
2016–2017881,885[3] Decrease 0.44%
2017–2018901,943[3] Increase 2.27%
2018–2019862,540[3] Decrease 4.36%
2019–2020648,650[3] Decrease 24.79%
2020–2021317,300[3] Decrease 51.08%
2021–2022238,850[4] Decrease 24.72%
2022–2023398,450[5] Increase 66.82%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Bell Mernda line Regent

towards Mernda

Track layout

to Bell

1

2

This station was renamed two times. It initially opened as Preston-Murray Road, before being renamed to Murray on 1 August 1905, then given its current name of Preston on 1 December 1909.[6]

Preston station opened on 8 October 1889, when the Inner Circle line was extended from North Fitzroy to Reservoir,[6] Preston station, like the suburb itself, was named after Preston in Sussex, England.[7][8] The name was chosen by Edward Wood, who was originally from Sussex and, in 1850, opened a general store at the corner of the current day intersection of High and Wood Streets.[7]

In 1967, boom barriers replaced hand gates at the former Cramer Street and Murray Road level crossings, which were located in the up and down directions respectively.[9] In 1973, the former ground level station buildings were provided, replacing the original 1889 structures.[10] In 1998, Preston was upgraded to a premium station.[11]

On 30 November 2018, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Murray Road and Cramer Street level crossings would be removed by grade separation,[12][13][14] with the rail line to be elevated over both roads.[15] On 4 October 2020, designs for the rebuilt station were released,[16] with major construction starting in February 2021.[17]

On 17 May 2022, Cramer Street and Murray Road level crossings and equipment were eliminated and on the same night, the ground level station were closed and demolished.[18][19] On 30 May 2022, the first part of the new elevated railway opened with only a single track while the second track was under construction. This was temporary until 5 September 2022 when the rebuilt station opened.[20]

Platforms and services

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An X'Trapolis train on a Flinders Street-bound service arrives at Platform 1, September 2022

Preston has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.[21]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Dysons operates two bus routes via Preston station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via Preston station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

Ventura Bus Lines operates one route via Preston station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  • Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2, February 2007

  • Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2, August 2015

  • Southbound view from Platform 1, with the station underneath an under construction elevated rail viaduct, May 2022

  • New Platform 1 signage at Preston,
    September 2022

  • Staircase from platform to concourse at Preston, September 2022

  • The view of Melbourne CBD from Preston station Platform 2, June 2023

  • Elevated rail and landscaping leading to Preston station built by the Level Crossing Removal Project, July 2023

  • The eastern side of the station building, August 2024

  • The station's southern entrance, August 2024

  • The railway bridge, concourse, car park and southern entrance, August 2024

  • The side view of the eastern facing building and forecourt, August 2024

  • The eastern side of the forecourt, landscaping and station building, August 2024

  • The northern side pink station entrance signage, bike paths and landscaping, August 2024

  • The southern side pink station entrance signage and pick up/drop off area, August 2024

  • The station building interior, showing the Myki readers, customer service, entry PIDS, green roof, colourful walls and stairs to platform, August 2024

  • The stained coloured glass Orange, Pink and Green windows taken from the interior of the station building, August 2024

  • The concourse, lift, customer service and waiting room in the station building interior, August 2024

  • The southern forecourt, landscaping and a bench seat, August 2024

  • The southerb forecourt, landscaping and pink station entrance signage, August 2024

  • The signalised pedestrian and bike crossing at Murray Road and Northbound view of the railway bridge towards Regent station, August 2024

  • The Orange, Lavender, Pink, Green and Yellow doors to various station equipments and PSO box on the left, August 2024

  • The station's southern entrance signage and Myki readers, August 2024

  • The southern car park, railway bridge and concourse, August 2024

  • The station's south-western car park and railway bridge, August 2024

  • The bike paths, landscaping, forecourt and railway bridge, August 2024

  • Southbound view of the railway bridge, footpath and Cramer Street, near Preston station. Looking towards Bell station, August 2024

  1. ^ "New Preston Station fact sheet". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  4. ^ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
  5. ^ Annual metropolitan train station entries 2022-23 Data Vic
  6. ^ a b c "Preston". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Preston". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. ^ First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  9. ^ John Sinnatt (January 1990). "Level Crossing Protection". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. pp. 9–17.
  10. ^ "Way and Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. February 1973. p. 34.
  11. ^ "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. pp. 303–315.
  12. ^ "More level crossing removals on the way". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Murray Road, Preston". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Cramer Street, Preston Level Crossing Removal Project". levelcrossings.vic.gov.au. Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Eight crossings set to go in the north". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  16. ^ "First look at new Bell and Preston stations". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Full steam ahead at Preston". Victoria's Big Build. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Getting the new Preston rail bridge ready for trains". Victoria's Big Build. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Preston boom gate free". Victoria's Big Build. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Modern stations at Preston just weeks away". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  22. ^ "552 North East Reservoir - Northcote Plaza via High Street". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  23. ^ "553 Preston - West Preston via Reservoir". Public Transport Victoria.
  24. ^ "903 Altona - Mordialloc (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  25. ^ "527 Gowrie - Northland via Murray Road". Public Transport Victoria.