East Camberwell railway station

East Camberwell railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, serving the eastern Melbourne suburb of Camberwell in Victoria, Australia. East Camberwell is a ground level unstaffed station featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It opened on 14 May 1900, with the current station provided in 1986 following a fire.[4]

East Camberwell
PTV commuter rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 1, August 2024
General information
LocationSefton Place,
Camberwell, Victoria 3124
City of Boroondara
Australia
Coordinates37°49′33″S 145°04′06″E / 37.8257°S 145.0683°E / -37.8257; 145.0683
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)
Distance11.08 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms3 (1 island, 1 side)
Tracks3
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking60
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleNo—steep ramp
Other information
StatusOperational, unstaffed
Station codeECM
Fare zoneMyki Zone 1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened14 May 1900; 124 years ago (1900-05-14)
Rebuilt8 November 1964
ElectrifiedDecember 1922
(1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006245,844[1]
2006–2007304,414[1]Increase 23.82%
2007–2008290,862[1]Decrease 4.45%
2008–2009252,854[2]Decrease 13.06%
2009–2010253,700[2]Increase 0.33%
2010–2011277,891[2]Increase 9.53%
2011–2012259,069[2]Decrease 6.77%
2012–2013Not measured[2]
2013–2014252,051[2]Decrease 2.7%
2014–2015249,925[1]Decrease 0.84%
2015–2016277,396[2]Increase 10.99%
2016–2017265,864[2]Decrease 4.15%
2017–2018252,009[2]Decrease 5.21%
2018–2019260,369[2]Increase 3.31%
2019–2020201,450[2]Decrease 22.62%
2020–2021100,800[2]Decrease 49.96%
2021–2022104,900[3]Increase 4.06%
2022–2023108,800[3]Increase 3.71%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Camberwell Lilydale line Canterbury
towards Lilydale
Belgrave line Canterbury
towards Belgrave
Former services
Shenley
towards East Kew
  Alamein line   Riversdale
towards Ashburton
  List of closed railway stations in Melbourne  

A substation is located north-east of the station, along with a former works depot.[5]

History

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East Camberwell station opened on 14 May 1900, and was originally the interchange station for the Deepdene Dasher service, which operated north along the Outer Circle line, that had originally opened in 1891.[6]: 52  Three platforms were provided; two high-level platforms for services on the Lilydale line, and a single low-level platform for services on the Outer Circle line. Steps were provided between all platforms, to enable passengers to change between services. Between 1915 and 1922, a signal box at the Melbourne (up) end was provided, to control the junction towards Riversdale (on today's Alamein line), as the three tracks through to Camberwell had been reduced to two, to allow the regrading works at Camberwell to proceed. On 9 October 1927, the Deepdene Dasher service was withdrawn, and the northern section of the Outer Circle line closed on 6 September 1943, when goods services to East Kew ended.[6]: 64  The low level platform was removed after World War II.[7]

In 1964, the platforms on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines were rebuilt, when work to provide a third track between Camberwell and East Camberwell was carried out, with the southern platform converted into an island platform.[8] The track amplification work also removed the bridge that had carried the Lilydale and Belgrave lines over the Outer Circle line. In 1971, the third track was extended to Box Hill.[9]

In 1981, the Edwardian timber station building on Platforms 1 and 2 was replaced with a brick structure, partly due to the perceived fire risk. However, on 12 August 1986, it was destroyed by fire,[4][10][11] and was replaced with the current open canopy.

In 1990, actor and comedian Barry Humphries described the station as a "scrawled-on urine-reeking wasteland."[12]

Platforms and services

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An X'Trapolis train on a Flinders Street-bound service arrives at Platform 1, August 2024

East Camberwell has an island platform with two faces and a side platform. All three platforms are linked by an underpass.

It is serviced by Metro Trains' Belgrave and Lilydale line services.[13][14]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Platform 3:

  •  Belgrave line  weekday all stations services to Belgrave; weekday all stations services to Blackburn
  •  Lilydale line  weekday all stations services to Lilydale; weekday all stations services to Blackburn
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Department of Transport
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Philip Mallis
  3. ^ a b Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
  4. ^ a b "East Camberwell". vicsig.net. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. June 1986. p. 188.
  6. ^ a b Beardsell, David B; Herbert, Bruce (1979). The Outer Circle: A History of the Oakleigh to Fairfield Railway. Australian Railway Historical Society: Victorian Division. ISBN 0-85849-024-2.
  7. ^ Adrian Dare (January 1987). "The Ashy Dasher and the Deepdene Dasher". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Victorian Railways: East Richmond to East Camberwell diagram 20' 66". Signal Diagrams and Photos. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  9. ^ SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 80. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
  10. ^ "Fire: 2 in court". The Herald. 13 August 1986. p. 10.
  11. ^ "Judge orders community work for men in fire case". The Age. 18 June 1988. p. 17.
  12. ^ Talbot, Danielle (15 August 1990). "Locals defend their station against a Humphries bucket". The Age. p. 4.
  13. ^ "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  14. ^ "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
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Further reading

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  • Marc Fiddian (1988). Commuters, Shoppers and Scholars : A History of the Melbourne-Lilyale Railway. p. 76 ISBN 0-9596316-7-4