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Middle Footscray railway station

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Middle Footscray
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Eastbound view from Platform 2, June 2026
General information
LocationVictoria Street,
Footscray, Victoria 3011
City of Maribyrnong
Australia
Coordinates37°48′09″S 144°53′29″E / 37.8025°S 144.8915°E / -37.8025; 144.8915
SystemPTV commuter rail station
OwnerVicTrack
OperatorMetro Trains
LineSunbury
Distance6.61 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 (1 island)
Tracks6
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure type
Ground
AccessibleNo—steep ramp
Other information
StatusOperational, unstaffed
Station codeMFY
Fare zoneMyki zone 1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened10 December 1906; 119 years ago (1906-12-10)
Rebuilt3 July 1927
ElectrifiedOctober 1921
(1500 V DC overhead)
Former namesFootscray Central
Passengers
2005–2006126,994[1]
2006–2007140,937[1] Increase 10.97%
2007–2008158,060[1] Increase 12.14%
2008–2009184,624[2] Increase 16.8%
2009–2010207,883[2] Increase 12.59%
2010–2011203,879[2] Decrease 1.92%
2011–2012179,465[2] Decrease 11.97%
2012–2013Not measured[2]
2013–2014192,033[2] Increase 7%
2014–2015223,294[1] Increase 16.27%
2015–2016241,435[2] Increase 8.12%
2016–2017251,017[2] Increase 3.96%
2017–2018281,974[2] Increase 12.33%
2018–2019279,700[2] Decrease 0.8%
2019–2020191,600[2] Decrease 31.49%
2020–202181,800[2] Decrease 57.3%
2021–2022103,450[3] Increase 26.46%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Footscray
towards Cranbourne or East Pakenham via Metro Tunnel
 Sunbury line West Footscray
Terminus
West Footscray
towards Watergardens or Sunbury
Track layout
Legend
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to Footscray
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Raleigh Street Drain
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2
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to West Footscray
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Broad gauge, electrified
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Broad gauge, non-electrified
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Dual gauge, non-electrified
Location
Map

Middle Footscray station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Sunbury line, part of the Melbourne rail network. It serves the western suburb of Footscray, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Middle Footscray station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 10 December 1906, with the current station provided in 1927.[4]

Two dual gauge goods tracks run north of the station, linking the Port of Melbourne and other freight terminals to the rest of the state. Since 1962, those tracks have formed part of the Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line and, since 1995, have also formed part of the Melbourne – Adelaide standard gauge line. Two Regional Rail Link tracks run south of the station.[5]

History

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Footscray Country

[edit]

The first station to be located near to where Middle Footscray is currently located was Footscray Main Line. The station though officially named Footscray (Country) was known locally as Middle Footscray, This station opened on 1 March 1859.[6]

On 30 June 1887, the station was renamed from Footscray Main Line to Footscray North and again in 1889 to Middle Footscray.[7]

This station existed from the opening of the Melbourne - Bendigo railway in 1859 until 1900 when the station and Footscray (Suburban) were merged into the current Footscray station.[8]

Middle Footscray

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Middle Footscray opened in 1906 as 'Footscray Central' and consisted of two platforms originally in a side platform arrangement. The station was also formerly located between Nicholson Street and Victoria Street[9]

In 1927, the station was reconstructed about 160 metres west of its original location, to allow for the building of the South Kensington – West Footscray goods line.[10]

On 28 May 1923, a set of goods sidings that had existed at Middle Footscray were abolished and the points straight railed. This was done as the sidings had been made redundant by the opening of the Maribyrnong River goods line which itself had opened in 1921.[11]

On 19 October 1926, the previous level crossing at Albert Street was closed to allow for works on grade separation and the construction of the South Kensington–West Footscray railway line.[8] Alongside the closure of the level crossing, the signal box (Footscray C box) was abolished alongside all crossovers.

The 1906 built Middle Footscray station was closed on 2 June 1927 with all remaining signals also abolished.[7] Between the closure of the old station and opening of the new station, the Bendigo line was progressively lowered into its new alignment into a cutting and with a bridge over Victoria Street.[12]

Prior to 1927, a level crossing had existed at Geelong Road and was located between Middle Footscray and West Footscray. The crossing was progressively removed throughout 1927 with a temporary crossing provided during construction of a road overpass.[13]

The new station opened on 3 July 1927, having been relocated to the western side of Victoria Street. The new station consisted an island platform. Upon the new stations opening, the station was renamed once more to Middle Footscray.[4]

As part of the Sunbury line upgrade in 2022, both platforms at Middle Footscray were extended on the up (Footscray) end. This was to allow for the introduction of new High Capacity Metro Trains.[14]

In 2023, a new pair of crossovers were commissioned at either end of the station as part of the West Footscray turnback project. These crossovers would allow trains to terminate at Middle Footscray from the city and Sunbury and also allowing a train to terminate at Footscray from Sunbury.[15] At the same time as the crossovers were commissioned, Communications-based train control signalling was introduced onto the Sunbury line between West Footscray and the portal to the Metro Tunnel.[16]

Platforms and services

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Middle Footscray has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Sunbury line trains.[17]

Current

[edit]
Middle Footscray platform arrangement
Platform Line Destination Via Service Type Notes Source
1  Sunbury line  Westall, Dandenong, East Pakenham or Cranbourne Town Hall All stations and limited express services Services to Westall and Dandenong only operate during weekday peaks. [18]
2  Sunbury line  West Footscray, Watergardens or Sunbury All stations Services to West Footscray only operate during weekday peaks, late nights and weekend mornings. [18]
[edit]

CDC Melbourne operates three bus routes via Middle Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  •  411 : Laverton station – Footscray[19]
  •  412 : Laverton station – Footscray[20]
  •  414 : Laverton station – Footscray station[21]

Kinetic Melbourne operates one bus route via Middle Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

Transit Systems Victoria operates one bus route via Middle Footscray station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

The bus stop is located on Buckley Street, about 100m from the station entrance on Victoria Street.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  3. ↑ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
  4. 1 2 "Middle Footscray". vicsig.net. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Middle Footscray map Regional Rail Link
  6. ↑ Waugh, Andrew (1994). "Footscray - Sunbury tour notes" (PDF). VRhistory. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 Waugh, Andrew (March 2001). "Footscray" (PDF). VRhistory. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Middle Footscray Station". Seddon Village. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Footscray Level Crossing: Proposed Elimination". The Age. 6 October 1926. Retrieved 5 September 2020 – via Trove.
  11. ↑ WN44/1921. Victorian Railways. 1921.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ↑ "Second Progress Report" (PDF). 29 October 1926. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Build, Victoria’s Big (25 August 2022). "Platform upgrades complete on the Sunbury Line". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Western turnback project" (PDF). Metro Tunnel. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  16. ↑ Build, Victoria’s Big (10 January 2025). "High Capacity Signalling". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Sunbury Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  18. 1 2 "Cranbourne, Pakenham & Sunbury Line timetable 2026" (PDF). Transport Victoria. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "411 Laverton Station – Footscray via Altona Meadows & Altona & Millers Rd". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "412 Laverton Station – Footscray via Altona Meadows & Altona & Mills St". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "414 Laverton Station - Footscray via Geelong Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  22. ↑ "223 Yarraville - Highpoint SC". Public Transport Victoria.
  23. ↑ "947 Footscray – Newport Station via Altona North". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
[edit]
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Middle Footscray railway station at Wikimedia Commons
  • Rail Geelong gallery
  • Melway map at street-directory.com.au
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