Upfield railway line

The Upfield line originally began as a line from North Melbourne to Coburg.[1] The line was opened by the Governor of Victoria Henry Loch in September 1884, with the line costing £53,000 at the time.[2] In October 1889, it was extended to Somerton, with duplication works already underway with the additional track being provided to Royal Park in September 1888, to South Brunswick (now Jewell) in May 1889, Brunswick to Coburg in December 1891, and from South Brunswick to Brunswick in August 1892.[3]

The Coburg to Somerton section closed in July 1903, but reopened as far as Fawkner in December 1906, for funeral trains only, in conjunction with the opening of Fawkner Cemetery adjacent to the station. Full services were extended to Fawkner in 1915 and, in December 1920, the line to Fawkner was electrified.

In March 1928, despite strong resistance from the Railways Commissioners,[4] the state government ordered the reopening of the section from Fawkner to Somerton for passengers. Services were provided by an AEC railmotor, which connected with electric trains at Fawkner.[5]

The section of line from North Melbourne to Macaulay was converted to automatic signalling in June 1928, but the rest of the line continued to be worked using double line block and staff and ticket systems for many more years.

In May 1956, the line from Fawkner to Somerton was again closed, but only three years later, in July 1959, the Upfield to Somerton section reopened for goods trains,[5] and on the same date the Coburg to Fawkner line was duplicated. The following month, the section from Fawkner to Upfield was reopened, after being electrified, to cater for workers at the new Ford factory next to the station. Only one train each way was provided, although a second train was added the following month. Shortly before that, however, in September 1958, Sunday evening services on the line after 6 p.m. were withdrawn, being replaced by the acceptance of rail tickets for use on adjacent tram routes, particularly the North Coburg line. At the outer end of the railway line, a bus service was provided, connecting with trams at North Coburg. In June 1971, that arrangement was extended to apply for the whole of Sunday, and in October 1981, it was further extended to include services after 7:30 p.m. on Monday to Saturday.

In January 1963, the line from Somerton to the Ford factory at Upfield was converted to dual gauge, a year after the North East standard gauge line through Somerton opened, and in October 1968, electric staff working was introduced on the Upfield to Somerton section.[5]

The track continues past Upfield to rejoin the North East line near Somerton. In the 1960s that section was re-laid with dual-gauge track to provide a connection with the interstate standard gauge line to New South Wales. However, that part of the line, which included four industrial sidings, has not been used for some time and is out of commission.

Automatic signalling advanced a little further along the line in August 1971, with Royal Park to Jewell being converted and, in April 1972, the Macaulay to Royal Park section was similarly converted.

By May 1988, serious consideration was being given to proposals to convert the line to light rail, following the conversion of the St Kilda and Port Melbourne railway lines in 1987. After discussions with local councils, unions and the Metropolitan Transit Authority, a number of options were floated: the conversion of the entire line to light rail, partial conversion, or closing parts of the line and running the light rail via Sydney Road.[6]

Those proposals were finally put to rest in April 1995, when it was announced that $23 million would be spent upgrading the line. The work included the provision of power signalling for the whole line, and the installation of boomgates at all level crossings, except for a few that were closed instead. At that time, many of the numerous level crossings on the line were still controlled by gate keepers, who opened and closed the gates manually for every train.

Automatic signalling was extended from Jewell to Brunswick in September 1998, and from Moreland to Batman in October. The commissioning of the final section in November, from Batman to Upfield, coincided with the extension of track duplication from Fawkner to Gowrie.

Until the late 1990s, when the line was under threat of closure or conversion to light rail, late evening and Sunday services were provided by nearby tram lines and a bus service that connected with the end of the nearby tram line.

During the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Royal Park station played a critical role in the running of the games, as it was centrally located to the athletes village and the State Netball and Hockey Centre. The line and station became heavily utilised during the games, with increased security and staff presence at the station.

The Level Crossing Removal Project has announced the removal of 13 level crossings on the line, to be completed in stages from 2017 to 2027. In 2017, one level crossing was removed at Camp Road, Campbellfield. The crossing was removed by lowering the rail line underneath the road.[7] A skyrail from Coburg to Moreland stations was constructed in 2020 to remove 4 level crossings. Crossings were removed at Bell Street, Moreland Road, Munro Street, and Reynard Street, with both Coburg and Moreland stations rebuilt as part of these removals.[8][9][10][11] The final batch of crossing to be removed will be a group of eight crossings from Anstey to Jewell stations via another rail bridge. Crossings will be removed at Albert Street, Albion Street, Brunswick Road, Dawson Street, Hope Street, Union Street, Victoria Street, and Park Street, with Anstey, Brunswick, and Jewell stations also being rebuilt as part of the project.[12] At the end of these removals, the Upfield line will have 10 remaining crossings on the corridor that aren't slatered for removal.

Highlighted in the 2018 Victorian Rail Plan, a proposal exists for the Upfield line to be extended via the current Somerton link to the Craigieburn line, then onto Wallan. The 2018 Victorian Rail Plan has proposed the following projects take place as part of the Wallan extension:[13][14]

In 2018, the government announced that a business case would be completed for to further investigate the positivity for these series of projects to commence.[13] A business case was completed, however, it wasn't released to the public. Since the business case in 2018, there has been little developments despite the 'Metro Tunnel Day One' milestone of the 2018 Plan fast approaching. Only a small amount of attention has been given by local residents, council, an action group and some political parties.[15]

Services on the Upfield line operates from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 daily.[16] The Upfield line has one of the least-frequent peak-period services in Melbourne's railway network, with train frequency being every 15-20 minutes while outside the peak the frequency is reduced to 20–30 minutes throughout the entire route.[17] On Friday nights and weekends, services run 24 hours a day, with 60 minute frequencies available outside of normal operating hours.[18]

Train services on the Upfield line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle bus services are provided throughout the duration of works for affected commuters.[19]

Upfield railway line
km zone Multiple lines via Richmond or Jolimont City Loop 0.0 Flinders Street ●●●●●●●●●●●● 1 1.4 Parliament ●●●●●●●●● 1 2.7 Melbourne Central 1 3.3 Flagstaff 1 1.2 Southern Cross ● 1 City Loop 2.9 North Melbourne ●●●●●●● 1 Multiple lines via Craigieburn or Footscray 3.1 Dynon Road 3.6 Macaulay Stabling Sidings and Light Repair Centre Arden Street Sidings (closed) 4.0 CityLink 4.5 Macaulay (under CityLink) 1 5.2 CityLink 5.3 Flemington Bridge ■■ 1 5.4 Flemington Road 6.4 Tram route 58 (tram only) 6.7 Royal Park ■ 1 7.5 Brunswick Road (Removing by 2027) Inner Circle line to Rushall & Merri (closed) 7.7 Jewell ■ 1 8.5 Brunswick ■ 1 9.3 Anstey ■ 1 10.0 Moreland ■■ 1 11.3 Coburg ■ 1 11.5 Bell Street 12.5 Batman ■ 1/2 13.7 Merlynston 1/2 14.5 Fawkner 1/2 16.0 Gowrie 2 16.9 Western Ring Road 17.3 Camp Road 17.8 Campbellfield (demolished) 20.1 Upfield 2 20.6 End of Metro area Tubemakers of Australia Ltd. Sidings (closed) Merlynston Creek 21.2 Ford Sidings (closed) Union Steel Pty. Ltd. Sidings (closed) Kauri Timber Co. Ltd. Siding (closed) Clyde Industries Ltd. Siding (closed) Albury & North East line to Southern Cross & Craigieburn line to Flinders Street 22.9 Somerton Road 23.1 Somerton (closed) 23.3 Somerton Yard | Roxburgh Park 2 Albury & North East line to Albury & Craigieburn line to Craigieburn
broad gauge standard gauge narrow gauge dual gauge

The Upfield line forms a linear route from the Melbourne central business district to its terminus in Upfield. The route is 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi) long and is double tracked from the city to Gowrie station with the line only having a single track past that point till Upfield. The only underground section of the Upfield line is in the City Loop, where the service stops at 3 underground stations.[20] Exiting the city, the Upfield line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal earthworks for most of the line. Some sections of the line has been elevated or lowered into a cutting to eliminate level crossings.[21] Despite some removals, there are a number of level crossings still present with no current plans to remove them. Interestingly, the line travels underneath the CityLink toll road beside the Moonee Ponds creek for a portion of the line, before rising up a lengthy hill in Royal Park until it reaches Jewell railway station.

The line follows the same alignment as multiple lines with the Upfield line splitting off at North Melbourne. The Upfield line continues on its northern alignment, whereas the other lines continue onto a western or south-western alignment.[22] Most of the rail line goes through built-up suburbs and some industrial areas.[22]

The line serves 19 stations across 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi) of track. The stations are a mix of elevated, lowered, underground, and ground level designs. Underground stations are present only in the City Loop, with the majority of elevated and lowered stations being constructed as part of level crossing removals.[23][24] From 2027, Anstey, Brunswick, and Jewell stations will be elevated as part of level crossing removal works. Notably, the line has one of the lowest proportion of premium stations amongst Melbourne's railway lines, with only three stations past the North Melbourne junction classified as premium stations.[25]

Station	Accessibility	Opened	Terrain	Train connections	Other connections
Flinders Street	Yes—step free access	1854[26]	Lowered	16 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Flemington Racecourse line   Frankston line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Mernda line   Pakenham line   Sandringham line   Sunbury line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Southern Cross		1859[26]	Ground level	27 connections  Alamein line   Albury line   Ararat line   Ballarat line   Belgrave line   Bendigo line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Echuca line   Flemington Racecourse line   Geelong line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Maryborough line   Mernda line   NSW TrainLink Southern   Seymour line   Shepparton line   Sunbury line   Swan Hill line   The Overland   Warrnambool line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Parliament		1983[26]	Underground	10 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Mernda line   Pakenham line   Sunbury line
Melbourne Central		1981[26]
Flagstaff		1985[26]
North Melbourne		1859[26]	Ground level	7 connections  Craigieburn line   Flemington Racecourse line   Seymour line   Shepparton line   Sunbury line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Macaulay		1887[26]
Flemington Bridge	No—steep ramp	1885[26]	Elevated
Royal Park	Yes—step free access	1884[26]	Ground level
Jewell	No—steep ramp
Brunswick	Yes—step free access
Anstey		1926[26]
Moreland		1884[26]	Elevated
Coburg
Batman		1889[26]	Ground level
Merlynston
Fawkner
Gowrie		1928[26]
Upfield		1889[26]

The Upfield line uses two different types of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that are operated in a split six-car configuration, with three doors per side on each carriage. The primary rolling stock featured on the line is the Comeng EMUs, built by Commonwealth Engineering between 1981 and 1988.[27] These train sets are the oldest on the Melbourne rail network and subsequently will be replaced by the mid 2030s.[28] The second type of rolling stock is the Siemens Nexas EMUs which are also widely featured on the line, originally built between 2002 and 2005 these train sets feature more modern technology than the Comeng trains.[29]

Alongside the passenger trains, Upfield line tracks and equipment are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The four types of engineering trains are: the shunting train; designed for moving trains along non-electrified corridors and for transporting other maintenance locomotives, for track evaluation; designed for evaluating track and its condition, the overhead inspection train; designed for overhead wiring inspection, and the infrastructure evaluation carriage designed for general infrastructure evaluation.[30] Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line, Metro Trains, and the Southern Shorthaul Railroad.[30]

From the middle of 2020s, the next generation of the X'Trapolis family of electric EMUs—the X'Trapolis 2.0—will be introduced. This new model will fully replace the existing fleet of Comeng EMUs currently operating on the line currently with new, modern, and technologically advanced trains. The new trains will feature:[31]

• Modernised doors to reduce the boarding times at stations to under 40 seconds
• Passenger information systems to display that train's journey in real time
• Higher energy efficiency to work with a lower network voltage, to fit in line with modern rail systems overseas
• New interior designs including tip-up seating to allow space for wheelchair spaces.
• Designated bicycle storage areas
• Passenger operated automatic wheelchair ramps located behind driver cabs
• 6 car fully walk through carriages

In compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, all stations that are new-built or rebuilt are fully accessible and comply with these guidelines.[32] Just over half of the stations on the corridor are fully accessible, however, there are some stations that haven't been upgraded to meet these guidelines.[33] These stations do feature ramps, however, they have a gradient greater than 1 in 14.[33] Stations that are fully accessible feature ramps that have a gradient less than 1 in 14, have at-grade paths, or feature lifts.[33] These stations typically also feature tactile boarding indicators, independent boarding ramps, wheelchair accessible myki barriers, hearing loops, and widened paths.[33][34]

Projects improving station accessibility have included the Level Crossing Removal Project, which involves station rebuilds and upgrades, and individual station upgrade projects.[35][36] These works have made significant strides in improving network accessibility, with more than 90% of Upfield line stations classed as fully accessible. The Upfield line has a much higher percentage of fully accessible stations in comparison to other lines. Future station upgrade projects will continue to increase the number of fully accessible stations overtime.

The Upfield line uses three position signalling which is widely used across the Melbourne train network.[37] Three position signalling was first introduced in 1928, with the final section of the line converted to the new type of signalling in 1972.[38]