Williamstown railway line, Melbourne

VictorianRailwayLineInfobox
type = mel
name = Williamstown
yearcommenced = 1857
yearcompleted = 1859
yearclosed =
fate =
lengthkm =
stations =
tracks = Double track except for terminus
users = Connex Melbourne
servicepattern = Shuttle to Newport offpeak, stopping all stations to the city in peak
RollingStock = south
connections = Werribee line
formerconnections = Williamstown Pier station

The Williamstown railway line is a suburban railway in Melbourne, Australia. It has 10 stations, all in Metcard ticketing Zone 1.

Operation

Services on the Williamstown line travel all the way to the inner city only during peak hours. Trains also do not always enter the underground portion of the City Loop, often travelling directly to Flinders Street and then changing directions and returning along the direct route. The line is operated as a shuttle service between Newport and Williamstown stations during off-peak periods.

Description

The Williamstown line runs across flat coastal land and therefore has no significant earthworks. From the junction at Newport to the next station of North Williamstown, it runs beside the Newport Railway Workshops, and from there through mainly old residential areas. The line used to continue a short distance to Williamstown Pier, around which there is heavy industrial areas including shipbuilding.

Infrastructure

The line is double track throughout, and provided with automatic block signalling. There are no intermediate terminating facilities. Stabling facilities are provided within the grounds of the Newport workshops.

History

Although it is now operated as a branch from the main Werribee/Geelong line at Newport, the line was originally built from the city, with the Geelong line being the branch. The line officially opened in January 1859, but the section between the vicinity of the Newport workshops and Williamstown Pier was in use by Geelong-line trains from October 1857 (see the history of the Werribee line for more information).

The line was electrified in August 1920, but little further change to the infrastructure took place until the section from Williamstown to Williamstown Pier closed in March 1987. Automatic Block signalling was provided in August 1997.

With the electrification of the Werribee line in 1983, many of the Williamstown Pier services became shuttle services from Newport instead of through services from Flinders Street.

Line guide

Bold stations are termini, where some train services terminate; "italic" stations are staffed.

Branches from the Werribee line at "Newport".

External links

* [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/route/view/17 Timetables]
* [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/maps_stations_stops/metropolitan_trains/werribee_williamstown_sydenham_lines Official line map]
* [http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/maps_stations_stops/metropolitan_trains Network map]
* [http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=infrastructure&section=lineguide&line=Williamstown Statistics and detailed schematic map] at the [http://www.vicsig.net/ VicSig] enthusiast website