Heidelberg railway station

This article is about the station in Victoria, Australia. For the station in Heidelberg, Germany, see Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof.

Heidelberg railway station is a commuter railway station on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Heidelberg, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Heidelberg station is a ground level premium station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 8 May 1888.^[4]

Heidelberg
PTV commuter rail station
North-east bound view of Platform 2 and station building, September 2022
General information
Location	Studley Road, Heidelberg Victoria 3084 City of Banyule Australia
Coordinates	37°45′26″S 145°03′39″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Hurstbridge
Distance	14.04 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	300
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	HDB
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	8 May 1888; 136 years ago (1888-05-08)
Electrified	July 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	801,824[1]
2006–2007	858,534[1]  7.07%
2007–2008	936,351[1]  9.06%
2008–2009	952,592[2]  1.73%
2009–2010	1,121,440[2]  17.72%
2010–2011	1,236,574[2]  10.26%
2011–2012	1,229,370[2]  0.58%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	896,276[2]  27.09%
2014–2015	855,798[1]  4.51%
2015–2016	878,613[2]  2.66%
2016–2017	812,613[2]  7.51%
2017–2018	768,072[2]  5.48%
2018–2019	791,605[2]  3.06%
2019–2020	647,000[2]  18.26%
2020–2021	343,900[2]  46.84%
2021–2022	384,400[3]  11.77%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Eaglemont towards Flinders Street Hurstbridge line Rosanna towards Hurstbridge
Track layout Legend to Eaglemont 1 2 Heidelberg Tunnel to Rosanna

History

When Heidelberg station opened, it was the terminus of what is now the Hurstbridge line.^[4] On 1 September 1913, the current island station officially opened.^[5]

At one time, there was a goods yard opposite Platform 1. It made way for an extension of the passenger car park, although the goods shed still exists. At one time, there were three tracks running through the station. Two served the island platform, and the third track was the last surviving stabling track. The third track was removed after a period of disuse.

Between 26 January 1942 and 6 February 1942, fourteen trains were modified to become ambulance trains, which carried returning wounded World War II servicemen from Melbourne to Heidelberg, where ambulances were waiting to take them to the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. On 3 November 1995, 50 years after the end of that conflict, Vin Heffernan, the member for Ivanhoe, unveiled a plaque at the station to commemorate the role of the station in the war effort.^[6]

During 1988, the former No. 4 and No. 5 tracks were abolished, along with a number of disc signal posts.^[7]

In 1992, the station received an enclosed waiting area and ticket facilities, as part of the "Travel Safe" program of the early 1990s.^[8] On 5 March 1994, after the signals had been upgraded to an electronic system, one of the decommissioned mechanical semaphore signals ("Signal No. 4") was relocated from the Melbourne side of the station to the car-park opposite Platform 1, for display purposes. Signal No. 4 had first been erected at Heidelberg in 1912.^[9] On 21 June 1996, Heidelberg was upgraded to a premium station.^[8]

At the 2016-17 Victorian State Budget, $140.2 million was allocated to duplicate the single-track between Heidelberg and Rosanna, which included a second rail tunnel alongside the existing one.^[10] That project was completed on 30 April 2018.^[11]

Platforms and services

Heidelberg has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Hurstbridge line trains.^[12]

Platform 1:

•  Hurstbridge line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Hurstbridge line  all stations and limited express services to Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge

Transport links

Dysons operates three bus routes via Heidelberg station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  513 : Eltham station – Glenroy station (via Lower Plenty)^[13]
•  514 : Eltham station – Glenroy station (via Greensborough)^[14]
•  546 : to Melbourne University (off-peak extension to Queen Victoria Market)^[15]

Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via Heidelberg station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

• SmartBus  903 : Altona station – Mordialloc^[16]

Ventura Bus Lines operates one route to and from Heidelberg station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  551 : to La Trobe University Bundoora campus^[17]

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Department of Transport
2. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Philip Mallis
3. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
4. "Heidelberg". vicsig.net. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
5. "ca. 1913. Heidelberg Railway Station (new)". Item held by Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service - Heidelberg Historical Society. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
6. Plaque inside Heidelberg Station
7. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division]]. November 1988. p. 346.
8. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). October 1997. pp. 303–315.
9. Sign at Heidelberg Railway Station, Platform 1
10. "Hurstbridge Rail Line upgrade". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
11. "New Rosanna Station opens, with two level crossings gone for good | Level Crossing Removal Project". 29 May 2024.
12. "Hurstbridge Line". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "513 Eltham - Glenroy via Lower Plenty". Public Transport Victoria.
14. "514 Eltham - Glenroy via Greensborough". Public Transport Victoria.
15. "546 Heidelberg Station - Melb Uni - Queen Victoria Market via Clifton Hill and Carlton". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
16. "903 Altona - Mordialloc (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
17. "551 Heidelberg - La Trobe University Interchange". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Media related to Heidelberg railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au