Mernda railway station

Mernda railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Mernda line, serving the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Mernda in Victoria, Australia. Mernda is an elevated premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 23 December 1889, with current station provided in 2018 along with the duplication of track between South Morang and Mernda.^[1]

Mernda
PTV commuter rail station
Station concourse, elevated platforms, bus bays, forecourt and entrance, December 2021
General information
Location	Bridge Inn Road, Mernda, Victoria 3754 City of Whittlesea Australia
Coordinates	37°35′58″S 145°6′5″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Mernda
Distance	33.07 kilometres from Southern Cross[1]
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	1,000 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	MDD
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	26 August 2018; 6 years ago (2018-08-26)
Electrified	July 2018 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2018–2019	562,350[2]
2019–2020	527,250[2]  6.24%
2020–2021	327,900[2]  37.8%
2021–2022	447,850[3]  36.58%
2022–2023	672,750[4]  50.22%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Hawkstowe towards Flinders Street Mernda line Terminus
Former service Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station Line open   Whittlesea line   Yan Yean   List of closed railway stations in Melbourne
Track layout Legend to Hawkstowe KD045 Drain 1 2 Former Whittlesea line

History

The original Mernda station opened on 23 December 1889, when the railway line from Epping was extended to Whittlesea.^[1] It was originally named South Yan Yean, and was renamed Mernda on 1 December 1913.^[5]

Mernda operated until the closure of the line beyond Lalor on 29 November 1959, following the electrification of the line as far as Lalor.^[1] Epping was re-opened on 29 November 1964, with the electrification of that section of the line.^[1] The remaining section of track from Epping to Whittlesea was dismantled in the 1970s, although the former right-of-way remained intact. Prior to the rebuilding, all that remained of the former station was a degraded platform, which was overgrown with exotic vegetation, including a peppercorn tree. The station-master's house was believed to have been moved to the Findon Pony Club, and still serves as their clubrooms.

Restoration of the railway to Mernda was identified as a goal in the Strategic Transportation Study undertaken by the City of Whittlesea in 2002. The council had forecast that the population in Mernda and Doreen will be 40,000 by that time. The South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance, which was successful in lobbying the state government to fulfill its promise of reinstating the rail line to South Morang, then lobbied the government to commit to reinstating the line to Mernda.^[6] In February 2016, the Victorian State Government announced the station would reopen in 2019.^[7]

The State Government announced funding in its 2016/17 State Budget to provide 8 km of duplicated track between South Morang and Mernda, a rebuilt station at Mernda with 1,000 car-parking spaces, and an additional station to be built near Marymede Catholic College.^[8] On 26 August 2018, this extension opened.^[9][1]

Platforms and services

Mernda has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.^[10]

Platform 1:

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

Platform 2:

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

Transport links

Dysons operates eight bus routes via Mernda station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  381 : to Diamond Creek station^[11]
•  382 : Whittlesea – Northland Shopping Centre^[12]
•  385 : Whittlesea – Greensborough Plaza^[13]
•  386 : to RMIT University Bundoora campus^[14]
•  387 : to RMIT University Bundoora campus^[15]
•  388 : to Mernda station (anti-clockwise loop via Doreen)^[16]
•  389 : to Mernda station (clockwise loop via Doreen)^[17]
•  390 : to Craigieburn station^[18]

Gallery

• 
  Southbound view from Platform 2, during the Community Sneak Peek Day, August 2018
• 
  Station forecourt, bus bays, concourse, elevated platforms and entrance, August 2018
• 
  Station concourse, entrance signage and customer service, December 2021
• 
  The Myki readers, Myki machine, stairs and fence at the concourse, December 2021

References

1. "Mernda". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
2. 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. Annual metropolitan train station entries 2022-23 Data Vic
5. McLean, Jack (November 1995). "Reservoir – Whittlesea: Signalling and Safeworking". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 333–337.
6. "South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance". South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
7. Getting on with it: Mernda rail project released to market Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Premier of Victoria 28 February 2016
8. Mernda Rail Extension Public Transport Victoria
9. Meet Mernda, your new line. Archived 1 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Victoria
10. "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
11. "381 Mernda Station to Diamond Creek Station". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
12. "382 Whittlesea – Northland SC via South Morang Station". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
13. "385 Whittlesea-Mernda Station – Greensborough". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
14. "386 Mernda Station – Bundoora RMIT via Cravens Rd & South Morang Station". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
15. "387 Mernda Station – Bundoora RMIT via Hawkstowe Pde & South Morang". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
16. "388 Mernda Station – Doreen – Mernda Station (Anti-clockwise)". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
17. "389 Mernda Station – Doreen – Mernda Station (Clockwise)". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
18. "390 Mernda Station – Craigieburn Station via Wollert". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.

External links

Mernda railway station