Footscray railway station, Melbourne

MelbourneRailwayStation1
NAME=Footscray
IMAGELINK=Footscray-station-platform.jpg
CAPTION=Looking towards Newport from island platform 3, disused signal box in foreground.
CODE=FSY
DISTANCE=6.1 km
LINES=Ararat,
Echuca,
Swan Hill,
Sydenham,
Warrnambool,
Werribee,
Williamstown
PLATFORMS=4
TRACKS=4
STATUS=Premium Station
FACILITIES= [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/stop/view/20025 Link]
TIMETABLES= [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/stop/view/20025#lineInformation Link]
MELWAY= [http://www.street-directory.com.au/sd_new/genmap.cgi?x=144.902272882929&y=-37.8018085390884&sizex=650&sizey=650&level=7&star=1&circle= Link]

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=-37.801104,144.903177&spn=0.009851,0.017209 Link]
ZONE=1

Footscray is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Footscray between Irving Street and Hyde Street, on the Sydenham line where it junctions with the Werribee and Williamstown lines. Footscray is classed as a Premium Station and is in Metcard Zone 1.

Facilities

The station consists of 4 platforms, 2 in an island format. Platform 1 (Flinders Street bound) has a small red brick building, platforms 2 & 3 (island platform, Sydenham & Flinders Street bound) has a main station building, built of red brick with an enclosed waiting room, a ticket office and toilets and platform 4 (Werribee bound) has a smaller red brick building. The station can be accessed via Irving Street, Hyde Street, and McNab Avenue, and a footbridge exists at the down end of the station linking all platforms.

A large Metcard machine is located inside the waiting room, which is able to dispense most ticketing options available and also accept notes and coins. Small coin-only Metcard machines are located at the entrances to platforms 1 and 4. Tram route 82 terminates near the station. Car parking facilities are available along McNab Avenue and Hyde Street.

A disused signal box is located on the island platform, and a pair of dual gauge tracks form the mainly goods only South Kensington - West Footscray line under the station, running in a cutting before entering the Bunbury Street tunnel, providing a rail link to the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals, as well as access to Southern Cross Station for the CountryLink XPT and "The Overland".

History

Footscray station opened on January 17 1859. [ [http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=infrastructure&name=Footscray VICSIG Infrastructure - Footscray] ] It was established as a junction on the railway lines to Newport and to Bendigo, and to separate stations were provided - at Nicholson Street (Middle Footscray) for country traffic towards Bendigo, and at Napier Street (Footscray) for suburban traffic. A signal box was provided at the junction from 1879.

In 1901 the original stations were replaced by the current station, located at the junction of the two lines. A number of sidings once existed at the station, now covered by car parking on the eastern side of the Newport bound lines.

The two tracks under the station were opened on October 21, 1928 as part of the South Kensington - West Footscray line, being dual gauged in the 1960s as part of the construction of the Melbourne-Albury standard gauge line. Quadruplication of the tracks towards the city in 1976 put an end to the junction and closed the signal box. The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

It was upgraded to Premium Station status on May 31 1996, although the enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities were built in 1993 as part of the 'Travel Safe' program in the early 1990s.cite journal
year = 1997
month = October
title = Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Heritage Society (Victorian Division)
pages = page 310 ]

References

*cite web
url=http://www.vrhistory.com/Locations/Footscray.pdf
title=Victorian Station Histories - Footscray
publisher=www.vrhistory.com
accessdate=2008-04-30
format=PDF
*cite web
url=http://www.railgeelong.com/location/footscray
title=Rail Geelong - Footscray Station
publisher=www.railgeelong.com
accessdate=2008-04-30

MetlinkVlineStations
Line1 = Sydenham line
Next1 = Middle Footscray
Previous1 = North Melbourne
Line2 = Werribee & Williamstown lines
Next2 = Seddon
Previous2 = South Kensington
VLine = Ararat, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca & Swan Hill lines
VNext = Sunshine
VPrevious = North Melbourne
VLine2 = Geelong and Warrnambool lines
VNext2 = Newport
VPrevious2 = North Melbourne
VICORMELB=Melbourne