Preston railway station, Melbourne

Preston railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Preston, and it opened on 8 October 1889 as Preston-Murray Road. It was renamed Murray on 1 August 1905, and renamed Preston on 1 December 1909.[6]

Preston
PTV commuter rail station
Entry to the rebuilt Preston station, with signs denoting the re-opening, in September 2022
General information
LocationClinch Avenue,
Preston, Victoria 3072
City of Darebin
Australia
Coordinates37°44′19″S 145°00′02″E
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)Mernda
Distance12.47 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 (1 island)
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus
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 (1889-10-08)
Rebuilt1973
5 September 2022 (LXRP)[2]
ElectrifiedJuly 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous namesPreston-Murray Road (1889-1905)
Murray (1905-1909)
Passengers
2005–2006591,010[3]
2006–2007643,921[3] Increase 8.95%
2007–2008734,065[3] Increase 13.99%
2008–2009847,792[4] Increase 15.49%
2009–2010860,532[4] Increase 1.5%
2010–2011852,173[4] Decrease 0.97%
2011–2012800,022[4] Decrease 6.11%
2012–2013Not measured[4]
2013–2014859,243[4] Increase 7.4%
2014–2015825,977[3] Decrease 3.87%
2015–2016885,788[4] Increase 7.24%
2016–2017881,885[4] Decrease 0.44%
2017–2018901,943[4] Increase 2.27%
2018–2019862,540[4] Decrease 4.36%
2019–2020648,650[4] Decrease 24.79%
2020–2021317,300[4] Decrease 51.08%
2021–2022238,850[5] Decrease 24.72%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Bell
towards Flinders Street
 Mernda line Regent
towards Mernda

History

Opening 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.[6] In 1973, the former ground level station buildings were provided, replacing the original 1889 structures.[9] In 1998, Preston was upgraded to a Premium Station.[10]

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,[11][12][13] with the rail line to be elevated over both roads.[14] On 4 October 2020, designs for the rebuilt station were released,[15] with major construction starting in February 2021.[16] On 30 May 2022, the station was closed to allow demolition and construction of the new station. On 5 September of that year, the rebuilt station opened.[2]

Platforms and services

Preston has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.[17]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

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

  •  552 : North East Reservoir – Northcote Plaza[18]
  •  553 : Preston – West Preston[19]

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 in August 2015
    Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2 in August 2015
  • Southbound view from Platform 1, with the station underneath an incomplete "Skyrail" viaduct, in May 2022
    Southbound view from Platform 1, with the station underneath an incomplete "Skyrail" viaduct, in May 2022

References
  1. - Victoria's Big Build
  2. Modern stations at Preston just weeks away - Victoria's Big Build
  3. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Department of Transport
  4. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Philip Mallis
  5. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
  6. "Preston". vicsig.net. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  7. "Preston". Victorian Places. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  9. "Way and Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. February 1973. p. 34.
  10. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1997. pp. 303–315.
  11. More level crossing removals on the way - Level Crossing Removal Project
  12. Murray Road, Preston - Level Crossing Removal Project
  13. "Cramer Street, Preston Level Crossing Removal Project". levelcrossings.vic.gov.au. Level Crossing Removal Project. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  14. Eight crossings set to go in the north - Level Crossing Removal Project
  15. First look at new Bell and Preston stations - Level Crossing Removal Project
  16. Full steam ahead at Preston - Level Crossing Removal Project
  17. "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  18. "552 North East Reservoir - Northcote Plaza via High Street". Public Transport Victoria.
  19. "553 Preston - West Preston via Reservoir". Public Transport Victoria.
  20. "903 Altona - Mordialloc (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
  21. "527 Gowrie - Northland via Murray Road". Public Transport Victoria.
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