Newport_railway_station,_Melbourne

Newport railway station, Melbourne

Newport railway station, Melbourne

Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Newport railway station is the junction for the Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of the same name, and opened on 1 March 1859 as Geelong Junction. It was renamed Williamstown Junction in January 1869, and renamed Newport on 1 November 1881.[4][5]

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Two sidings exist at the northern (up) end of the station, used for the stabling of trains that operate the Williamstown and Altona line shuttle services. The Western standard gauge line to Adelaide runs to the west of the station, behind Platform 1, and the Newport Railway Workshops are located to the south.

History

In 1857, two years before the station opened, the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company had opened its railway line from Geelong to Newport but, because the line from Melbourne to Newport was not yet complete, a track was constructed along North Road to a temporary terminus on the bank of the Yarra River at Greenwich, from where passengers were conveyed to Melbourne by ferry. In October of that year, the line from Melbourne to Williamstown, via Newport, was opened, and the Geelong line was connected to it.[6]

In 1887, a line from Sunshine to Newport was opened, to allow easier access to the port of Williamstown for trains from the north of Victoria. A number of sidings were also provided in the Newport area: to a flour mill on the Melbourne side, and a goods yard on the western side of the Williamstown line.

In October 1960, the Melbourne Road level crossing, which was just south of the station, was grade separated and replaced with the current road overpass.[4] In 1966, the stabling sidings to the north of the station were provided.[4] On 22 July 1967, a freight line was constructed to the west of Platform 1, so that freight services could bypass the station itself.[4] In 1995, that line was converted to dual gauge, and became part of the Western standard gauge line to Adelaide.[5]

On 18 July 1996, Newport was upgraded to a premium station.[7]

There have been several calls to build a Melbourne Metro 2 line, once the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel has been completed. Melbourne Metro 2 would run from Newport to Clifton Hill via Southern Cross.[8] The project, designed to serve the Fishermans Bend development, as well as add capacity to the Mernda and Werribee lines, would bring considerable change to Newport, perhaps adding underground platforms. There have also been suggestions to route Geelong line services via Newport into Southern Cross once again, given the crowding at Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, as well as the lack of capacity on the Regional Rail Link set of tracks between Sunshine and the city.

Announced as part of a $57.7 million package in the 2022/23 Victorian State Budget, Newport, along with other stations, will receive DDA-compliant accessibility upgrades.[9] The work was to begin in late 2022, with a timeline for the project to be released once construction began.

On the Altona loop line, Mobiltown station, now closed and demolished, was located between Newport and Seaholme. On the direct route to Werribee, Paisley station now closed, and Galvin station, closed and demolished, were situated between Newport and Laverton.

Platforms and services

Newport has two side platforms. Platform 1 features a large brick building which houses an enclosed waiting area and toilets. Platform 2 has a smaller brick building which also contains toilets.

It is served by Werribee and Williamstown line trains.[10][11]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Until the opening of the Regional Rail Link in June 2015, Geelong and Warrnambool line services stopped at Newport.[12]

Transit Systems Victoria operates four bus routes via Newport station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

References

  1. [1]
    Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
  2. [2]
    Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  3. [3]
    Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
  4. [4]
    "Newport". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  5. [5]
    "Newport Station". Rail Geelong. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  6. [6]
    W.L.F. (22 January 1944). "Greenwich Railway Station Is Not Even A Memory Now". The Argus. Retrieved 13 July 2015 – via Trove.
  7. [7]
    "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. pp. 303–315.
  8. [8]
    "Network Development Plan" (PDF). Public Transport Victoria. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  9. [9]
    "Improving Station Accessibility In Melbourne's West | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  10. [10]
    "Werribee Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  11. [11]
    "Williamstown Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  12. [12]
    "New timetables from Sunday June 21 – Geelong" (Press release). Geelong: V/Line. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  13. [13]
    "432 Newport - Yarraville via Altona Gate Shopping Centre". Public Transport Victoria.
  14. [14]
    "471 Williamstown - Sunshine Station via Newport & Altona Gate SC". Public Transport Victoria.
  15. [15]
    "472 Williamstown - Moonee Ponds via Footscray". Public Transport Victoria.
  16. [16]
    "947 Footscray – Newport Station via Altona North". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
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