Ashburton railway station, Melbourne

MelbourneRailwayStation1
NAME=Ashburton
IMAGELINK=Ashburton_Station_2.jpg
CAPTION=Comeng train at Ashburton
CODE=ASH
DISTANCE=convert|14.2|km|abbr=on
LINES=Alamein
PLATFORMS=1
TRACKS=1
STATUS=Premium station
FACILITIES= [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/stop/view/19848 Link]
TIMETABLES= [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/stop/view/19848#lineInformation Link]

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1&z=16&ll=-37.861946,145.081308&spn=0.012553,0.019956 Link]
ZONE=1

Ashburton is a railway station on the Alamein line in Melbourne, Australia. It is located between Welfare Parade and Kelvin Grove, Ashburton. It also lies adjacent to High Street, where it connects with several bus routes. Ashburton is the only Premium Station on the Alamein line, being staffed from first to last train and has toilet facilities for passengers. It is in Metcard Zone 1.

The Alamein train line splits from one track to two just before Ashburton station, and as such the station only features a single bi-directional platform. A railway siding lies adjacent to the station, but this has been largely unused in recent years.

History

The first station on the Ashburton site opened on May 30, 1890, as part of the short-lived Outer Circle line. At the time, the railway station was called "Norwood", named after Norwood Road, the old name for Toorak Road. The station only had this name for a few months, and on December 12, 1890, the station was renamed Ashburton, named for Ashburton Terrace in County Cork, Ireland.

Ashburton was part of the first section of the line to be opened. However, by 1893, the opposite end of the circle had closed, and on December 9, 1895, the stretch beyond Ashburton, connecting with Oakleigh closed. For a short period, this left the line to Ashburton (from Camberwell station) as the last remaining stretch.

On May 1, 1897, Ashburton station closed, along with the line from Camberwell. However, after an outcry from the local community, it reopened, becoming the Ashburton line once again. It was electrified on October 30, 1924. It continued as the Ashburton line until June 28, 1948, when the line was extended 600 metres to Alamein, and became the Alamein line.

Timetabled usage of the stabling siding ended in July 1989, due to vandalism of trains stabled there.cite journal
year = 1989
month = October
title = Operations
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Heritage Society (Victorian Division)
pages = page 314 ]

The station was upgraded to Premium Station status on February 1 1996. cite journal
year = 1997
month = October
title = Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station
journal = Newsrail
publisher = Australian Railway Heritage Society (Victorian Division)
pages = page 310 ]

A walking trail has also been constructed along part of the old Outer Circle reservation called the Anniversary trail, which allows people to follow part of the route through to Alamein station, and then several hundred metres beyond.

References

MetlinkAndClosedStations
Line1=Alamein line
Previous1=Burwood
Next1=Alamein
ClosedLine = Continued beyond Alamein as the Outer Circle line
ClosedNext = Waverley Road
ClosedPrevious = Burwood
VICORMELB=Melbourne