Footscray railway station is at the junction of the Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The first Footscray station, not on the current site, opened on 17 January 1859.^[4][5] The existing station opened on 16 September 1900.^[6]

Quick Facts General information, Location ...

Footscray
PTV commuter and regional rail station
Southbound view from Platform 6, with the disused signal box on Platform 5 in the foreground, April 2010
General information
Location	Irving Street, Footscray, Victoria 3011 City of Maribyrnong Australia
Coordinates	37°48′06″S 144°54′09″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Metropolitan: Sunbury Werribee Williamstown Regional: Bendigo Echuca Swan Hill (Deniliquin) Ballarat Ararat Maryborough Geelong Warrnambool (Serviceton)
Distance	5.62 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	6 (2 side, 2 island)
Tracks	6
Connections	Bus Tram
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	FSY
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	17 January 1859; 165 years ago (1859-01-17)
Rebuilt	16 September 1900 2012–2014
Electrified	August 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	2,959,182[1]
2006–2007	3,191,076[1]  7.83%
2007–2008	3,470,192[1]  8.74%
2008–2009	3,704,775[2]  6.75%
2009–2010	3,647,948[2]  1.53%
2010–2011	3,856,032[2]  5.7%
2011–2012	4,198,574[2]  8.88%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	3,766,753[2]  10.28%
2014–2015	4,882,805[1]  29.62%
2015–2016	5,009,292[2]  2.59%
2016–2017	5,114,133[2]  2.09%
2017–2018	5,257,294[2]  2.79%
2018–2019	5,332,954[2]  1.43%
2019–2020	4,038,750[2]  24.26%
2020–2021	2,056,000[2]  49.09%
2021–2022	2,783,000[3]  35.36%
Services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Arden towards Cranbourne or Pakenham Sunshine–Dandenong corridor (under construction) Middle Footscray towards Sunbury or Watergardens North Melbourne towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Sunbury line Express services Sunshine towards Sunbury or Watergardens North Melbourne towards Frankston via Flinders Street Werribee line Express services Newport towards Werribee South Kensington towards Frankston via Flinders Street Werribee line Seddon towards Laverton or Werribee Williamstown line Seddon towards Williamstown
Regional services Preceding station V/Line Following station Southern Cross Terminus Bendigo line Sunbury towards Bendigo, Epsom or Eaglehawk Watergardens Limited weekday peak services towards Bendigo Echuca line Sunbury towards Echuca Swan Hill line Watergardens towards Swan Hill Ballarat line Sunshine towards Wendouree Ballarat line (Melton line) Sunshine towards Melton or Bacchus Marsh Ararat line Sunshine towards Ararat Maryborough line One daily service Sunshine One-way operation Geelong line Sunshine towards Wyndham Vale, Geelong or Waurn Ponds Warrnambool line Weekends only Tarneit towards Warrnambool Warrnambool line Weekdays & 1 weekend service Geelong towards Warrnambool
Track layout Legend to South Kensington 1 2 3 4 5 6 to South Dynon Rail Yard to Seddon to Middle Footscray Broad gauge, electrified Broad gauge, non-electrified Dual gauge, non-electrified This diagram: view talk edit

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The station is also served by V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong trains.

A disused signal box is located on the island platform at the up (Flinders Street) end of Platform 5. A pair of dual gauge tracks for the mostly freight-only South Kensington–West Footscray line run in a cutting under the station before entering the Bunbury Street tunnel,^[7] providing a rail link to the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals, as well as access to Southern Cross station for the NSW TrainLink XPT, The Overland, and V/Line Albury passenger services.

On 17 January 1859, the railway arrived in Footscray, when the Williamstown line opened, with trains operating from Spencer Street in Melbourne to the important port of Williamstown. The line between Melbourne and Williamstown, via the North Melbourne and Footscray, had been made possible by the construction of the Saltwater River Rail Bridge over the Maribyrnong River.

Not long after, that line was connected to the 18-month-old Geelong line at a junction near the current Newport station.^[8] The original Footscray station opened on the first day of service. It was not where the current Footscray station is but was located at Napier Street.

Less than a month later, on 10 February 1859, Footscray became a junction when a line, branching at Footscray, was opened to Sunbury, extended to Sandhurst (later renamed Bendigo) in 1862. On 1 March 1859, Footscray's second station, on the Sunbury line, opened at Nicholson Street, not far from the Napier Street location.^[4] In 1879, a signal box was provided at the junction.

On 16 September 1900, a new station was opened at the present location, the junction of the two lines.^[6] The two other stations were then closed.^[4]

A number of sidings once existed at the station, but that site, on the eastern side of the Newport-bound lines, is now used for car parking. In 1972, the last siding at Footscray (siding "B") was abolished.^[4]

On 21 October 1928, the two tracks under the station were opened, as part of the South Kensington–West Footscray line. They 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 eliminated the switched junction and so the signal box was closed, although 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]

At around 08:30 on 5 June 2001, on Platform 4, an out-of-service train heading to Newport collided with a Williamstown-bound train carrying about 20 passengers. Three injuries were reported.^[10]

In 2010, as a part of the Brumby State Government's Footscray renewal program,^[11] the footbridge over the platforms, which was accessed by ramps, was replaced with a new $15 million footbridge. The bridge, named after Indigenous activist William Cooper,^[12] had stairs and associated lifts. There were complaints that the new footbridge was less usable than the one it replaced. The roof was not weatherproof, and the lifts were prone to breakdown.^[13]

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

Footscray has two island platforms with four faces, and two side platforms. It is served by Sunbury, Werribee and Williamstown line trains,^[18][19][20] and V/Line Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong line trains.^[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 and limited express services to Werribee
•  Williamstown line  all stations services to Williamstown

CDC Melbourne operates six bus 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 bus 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 bus 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 operate 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, September 2008
• Footbridge that links all platforms, taken from Irving Street, December 2011
• The same view from Irving Street, May 2014
• Westbound view from Platform 2, May 2014