Craigieburn line

This article is about the Metro Trains Melbourne service. For the physical railway itself, see North East railway line.

The Craigieburn line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^[1] Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's seventh shortest metropolitan railway line at 27.0 kilometres (16.8 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Craigieburn station in the north, serving 21 stations via North Melbourne, Essendon, and Broadmeadows.^[2] The line operates for approximately 19 hours a day (from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 am) with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hour, headways of up to 5 minutes are operated with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours.^[3] Trains on the Craigieburn line run with a two three-car formations of Comeng or Siemens Nexas trainsets.^[4]

Craigieburn
A view of Craigieburn station, the terminus of the Craigieburn line, with EDI Comeng train, consist 329M-366M-353M-354M awaiting to commence a Flinders Street via City Loop service, October 2024
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
System	Melbourne railway network
Status	Operational
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Predecessor	Essendon (1860–1864) Essendon (1871–1872) Seymour (1872–2007) Essendon ^ (1919–1921) Broadmeadows ^ (1921–2007) ^ are electric services
First service	21 October 1860; 164 years ago (1860-10-21)
Current operator(s)	Metro Trains
Former operator(s)	M&ER (1860–1864) Victorian Railways (VR) (1871–1974) VR as VicRail (1974–1983) MTA (The Met) (1983–1989) PTC (The Met) (1989–1998) Bayside Trains (1998–2000) M>Train (2000–2004) Connex Melbourne (2004–2009)
Route
Termini	Flinders Street Craigieburn
Stops	21 (including City Loop stations)
Distance travelled	27.0 km (16.8 mi)
Average journey time	44 minutes (not via City Loop)
Service frequency	5–20 minutes weekdays peak 20 minutes weekdays off-peak 20 minutes weekend daytime 30 minutes nights 60 minutes early weekend mornings
Line(s) used	Albury
Technical
Rolling stock	Comeng, Siemens
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	1500 V DC overhead
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map Legend h:mm km zone 0:00 0.0 Flinders Street ●●●●●●●●●●●● 1 1.4 Parliament ●●●●●●●●● 2.7 Melbourne Central 3.3 Flagstaff 0:04 1.2 Southern Cross ● 0:07 2.9 North Melbourne ●●●●●●● 0:10 4.8 Kensington 0:11 5.5 Newmarket ■ 0:13 7.0 Ascot Vale 0:15 8.1 Moonee Ponds 0:17 9.2 Essendon ●●■ 0:19 10.4 Glenbervie 0:20 11.0 Strathmore 1 0:22 12.5 Pascoe Vale 1/2 0:25 14.1 Oak Park 0:27 15.6 Glenroy 1/2 0:29 16.7 Jacana 2 0:32 18.1 Broadmeadows ●●● 0:35 20.5 Coolaroo 0:39 23.3 Roxburgh Park 0:44 27.3 Craigieburn ●● 2 h:mm km zone This diagram: view talk edit

Services on the line began from North Melbourne to Essendon by the Melbourne & Essendon Railway Company in November 1860. It was closed shortly after, however, the Victorian Railways reopened the Flemington Racecourse line (including the Essendon line as far as Newmarket) in November 1867, and in January 1871, to Essendon.^[5] The line was progressively electrified and, in 1921, the line was electrified to Broadmeadows, where it remained until the extension of electrification in 2007.^[5]

Since the 2000s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Craigieburn line, improvements and upgrades have been made. Works have included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, the extension of the line to Craigieburn, the construction of new stations, the removal of level crossings, the introduction of new rolling stock, and station accessibility upgrades.^[6]

History

19th century

The line from North Melbourne to Essendon was opened by the Melbourne & Essendon Railway Company in November 1860.^[7] Soon after, the company opened a branch from Newmarket to Flemington Racecourse.^[7] Both lines were closed shortly after, in July 1864. The Victorian Railways reopened the Flemington Racecourse line (including the Essendon line as far as Newmarket) in November 1867, and in January 1871, to Essendon. In April 1872, the line was extended to a temporary terminus outside Seymour, awaiting completion of a bridge over the Goulburn River. In December 1894, through services were provided from Essendon to Brighton Beach on the Sandringham line.^[8]

20th century

Automatic Block Signalling was introduced on the line in 1918, with Kensington to Essendon being converted in June of that year, and North Melbourne to Kensington in October. In May 1919, Flinders Street to Essendon and the Sandringham line were the first lines to be electrified in Melbourne, apart from a test installation on the Flemington Racecourse line.^[5] In 1921, the line was electrified to Broadmeadows, where it remained until the extension of electrification in 2007.

In January 1924, an extra pair of tracks, including a flying junction, opened between North Melbourne and Kensington, enabling the separation of passenger and goods traffic in the busy section. Further works were carried out in 1929, when the double tracked Albion–Jacana freight line opened, permitting freight trains to avoid the line via Essendon.^[9]

A branch line was opened during the Second World War to Broadstore, designed to connect Broadmeadows station with the Maygar Barracks. The line opened on 12 October 1942 and remaining in operation until 1982, when usage of the base began to cease.^[10]

Automatic Block Signalling was extended to Broadmeadows in November 1965.^[11]

21st century

Main article: Craigieburn line § Future

In 2003, an unmanned suburban train rolled the length of the line from Broadmeadows station for nearly 17 kilometres (11 mi), eventually crashing into another stationary train at Spencer Street station (now Southern Cross station). 11 people sustained minor injuries, however, nobody was seriously injured or killed from the accident.^[12]

Craigieburn station was rebuilt as part of the extension.

On 30 September 2007, electrification of the Broadmeadows line was extended along the regional V/Line tracks to Craigieburn.^[13] The Craigieburn rail project delivered projects including:^[14]

• Upgrading Craigieburn station to premium station status
• A new station at Roxburgh Park
• New train stabling facilities at Craigieburn
• Construction of overhead wiring system with new sub-stations
• Installation of new signalling systems along the Broadmeadows—Craigieburn corridor
• The provision for a new station at Coolaroo (this ended up being built under another government)

The Craigieburn Rail project started construction in May 2005 and was completed in late September 2007. An additional set of projects were delivered later on, with a new station at Coolaroo opened in 2010 and the construction of a fully-fledged train maintenance facility under the Brumby government.^[15]

On 9 April 2012, a train maintenance facility, located north of the station, was opened by then Minister for Public Transport, Terry Mulder.^[16] With the delivery of the new X'Trapolis 2.0 fleet, the facility will be used by Metro Trains Melbourne to maintain the fleet, with upgrades underway to house the trains. This, in turn, will lead to the X'Trapolis 2.0 trains replacing the ageing Comeng fleet which served the Craigieburn line.^[17] No major projects, other than the level crossing removals on the Craigieburn line, have been announced since.

Level Crossing Removals

Glenroy station was rebuilt as part of the adjacent level crossing removal.

The Level Crossing Removal Project announced the removal of 2 level crossings on the line, which were completed in stages between 2018 and 2022. In 2018, one level crossing was removed at Buckley Street, Essendon. The crossing was removed by lowering the road line underneath the rail line.^[18] The second crossing to be removed was the one at Glenroy Road, Glenroy, by lowering the rail line underneath the road.^[19] In addition, Glenroy station was rebuilt with a modern, wheelchair accessible, lowered design.^[20] As a result of these removals, the Craigieburn line now has a number of remaining crossings on the corridor that have not been slated for removal since the project's announcement.

Future

Wallan extension

Highlighted in the 2018 Victorian Rail Plan, a proposal exists for the Craigieburn line to be connected to the Upfield line, via the construction of a rail link along the Somerton rail corridor. In addition, the Upfield line would be extended to Wallan. The 2018 Victorian Rail Plan has proposed the following projects take place as part of the Wallan extension:^[21][22]

Stage	Project	Notes
Stage 2 (Metro Tunnel Day One)	Rerouting of Seymour and Shepparton services via the Upfield line instead of the Craigieburn line	This project is meant to be completed by the opening of the Metro Tunnel in 2025, however, there has not been any recent progress.
Stage 3	Somerton to Craigieburn quadruplication	No recent progress.
Stage 4	Extension of the Upfield line to Wallan Electrifying the Somerton link Electrifying the regional track between Craigieburn and Wallan Upgrading Wallan and Donnybrook stations Constructing a new station at Lockerbie Reopening Beveridge station	The Craigieburn line would remain terminating at Craigieburn station, with the Upfield line continuing past Craigieburn, stopping at 3 other stations before terminating at Wallan. There has not been any recent progress.

In 2018, the government announced that a business case would be completed for to further investigate the positivity for these series of projects to commence.^[21] A business case was completed, however, it was not released to the public. Since the business case in 2018, there has been little developments despite the 'Metro Tunnel Day One' milestone of the 2018 Plan fast approaching. Only a small amount of attention has been given by local residents, council, an action group and some political parties.^[23]

Network and operations

Services

Services on the Craigieburn line operates from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 daily.^[1] In general, during peak hours, train frequency is 5–10 minutes in the AM peak on the Craigieburn line while during non-peak hours the frequency is reduced to 20–30 minutes throughout the entire route.^[3] On Friday nights and weekends, services run 24 hours a day, with 60 minute frequencies available outside of normal operating hours.^[24]

Train services on the Craigieburn line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle bus services are provided throughout the duration of works for affected commuters.^[25]

Stopping patterns

Legend — Station status

• ◼ Premium Station – Station staffed from first to last train
• ◻ Host Station – Usually staffed during morning peak, however this can vary for different stations on the network.

Legend — Stopping patterns
Some services do not operate via the City Loop

• ● – All trains stop
• ◐ – Some services do not stop
• ▼ – Only outbound trains stop
• | – Trains pass and do not stop

Craigieburn Services[26]
Station	Zone	Local	Ltd Express	Broadmeadows
◼ Flagstaff	1	◐		▼
◼ Melbourne Central		◐		▼
◼ Parliament		◐		▼
◼ Flinders Street		●	▼	●
◼ Southern Cross		◐	▼	▼
◼ North Melbourne		●	▼	●
◻ Kensington		●	|	●
◻ Newmarket		●	|	●
◻ Ascot Vale		●	|	●
◻ Moonee Ponds		●	|	●
◼ Essendon		●	▼	●
◻ Glenbervie		●	▼	●
◻ Strathmore		●	▼	●
◻ Pascoe Vale	1/2	●	▼	●
◻ Oak Park		●	▼	●
◼ Glenroy		●	▼	●
◻ Jacana	2	●	▼	●
◼ Broadmeadows		●	▼	●
◻ Coolaroo		●	▼
◻ Roxburgh Park		●	▼
◼ Craigieburn		●	▼

Operators

The Craigieburn line has had a total of 8 operators since its opening in 1860. The majority of operations throughout its history have been government run: from the acquisition of the service from private operator the Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company in 1871 until the 1999 privatisation of Melbourne's rail network, four different government operators have run the line.^[27] These operators, Victorian Railways, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Public Transport Corporation, and Bayside Trains have a combined operational length of 129 years.

Bayside Trains was privatised in August 1998 and later rebranded M>Train. In 2002, M>Train was placed into receivership and the state government regained ownership of the line, with KPMG appointed as receivers to operate M>Train on behalf of the state government.^[28][29][30] Two years later, rival train operator Connex Melbourne took over the M>Train operations including the Frankston line. Metro Trains Melbourne, the current private operator, then took over the operations in 2009. The private operators have had a combined operational period of 30 years.^[31]

Past and present operators of the Craigieburn line:

Operator	Assumed operations	Ceased operations	Length of operations
Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company	1860	1864	4 years
Victorian Railways	1871	1983	112 years
Metropolitan Transit Authority	1983	1989	6 years
Public Transport Corporation	1989	1998	9 years
Bayside Trains (government operator)	1998	2000	2 years
M>Train	2000	2004	4 years
Connex Melbourne	2004	2009	5 years
Metro Trains Melbourne	2009	incumbent	15 years (ongoing)

Route

For information about the actual track, see North East railway line.

v t e Craigieburn line
Legend
km Multiple lines via Richmond or Jolimont City Loop 0.0 Flinders Street ●●●●●●●●●●●● 1.4 Parliament ●●●●●●●●● 2.7 Melbourne Central 3.3 Flagstaff 1.2 Southern Cross ● City Loop Albury, North East SG & Western SG lines to Albury, Sydney & Adelaide 2.9 North Melbourne ●●●●●●● 3.1 Dynon Road Upfield line to Upfield 3.7 CityLink 3.7 Moonee Ponds Creek Multiple lines via Footscray 4.8 Kensington 5.4 Racecourse Road 5.5 Newmarket ■ Flemington Racecourse line to Flemington Racecourse 6.8 Ascot Vale Road 7.0 Ascot Vale 7.4 Maribyrnong Road 8.1 Moonee Ponds 9.2 Essendon ●●■ 9.5 Mount Alexander Road 10.4 Glenbervie 11.0 Strathmore 11.3 Pascoe Vale Road 11.7 Moonee Ponds Creek 11.8 Bell Street 11.9 CityLink 12.5 Pascoe Vale 14.1 Oak Park 15.6 Glenroy Albury & North East SG line to Southern Cross & Albion–Jacana line to Albion 16.7 Jacana 16.7 Western Ring Road 17.8 Camp Road 18.1 Broadmeadows ●●● Broadstore Siding (demolished) 20.5 Coolaroo Upfield line to Flinders Street 22.9 Somerton Road 23.0 Somerton (demolished) 23.3 Somerton Yard│Roxburgh Park 27.3 Craigieburn ●● 27.6 Hume Highway / Sydney Road 28.0 end of overhead 28.6 Hume Freeway 31.0 end of Metro area Albury & North East line to Albury & Seymour & Shepparton lines to Seymour km
broad gauge standard gauge dual gauge

Interactive map of the Craigieburn line in northern Melbourne.

The Craigieburn line forms a somewhat linear route from the Melbourne central business district to its terminus in Craigieburn. The route is 27.0 kilometres (16.8 mi) long and is fully double tracked. The only underground section of the Craigieburn line is in the City Loop, where the service stops at 3 underground stations.^[32] Exiting the city, the line steadily rises after leaving North Melbourne until after Essendon, when it then drops slightly to cross Moonee Ponds Creek. Soon after the line encounters the Glenroy Bank, a continuous rising gradient of 1 in 50 for almost 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). After Glenroy, it continues to rise to the end of the suburban line (and beyond). Some sections of the line has been elevated or lowered into a cutting to eliminate level crossings.^[33] Despite some removals, there are a number of level crossings still present with no current plans to remove them.

The line follows the same alignment as multiple lines with the Craigieburn line splitting off at North Melbourne. The Craigieburn line continues on its north western alignment, whereas the other lines continue onto a northern, western, or south-western alignment.^[34] Most of the rail line goes through built-up suburbs and some industrial areas.^[34]

Stations

The line serves 21 stations across 27.0 kilometres (16.8 mi) of track. The stations are a mix of elevated, lowered, underground, and ground level designs. Underground stations are present only in the City Loop, with the majority of elevated and lowered stations being constructed as part of level crossing removals.^[35][19]

Station	Accessibility	Opened	Terrain	Train connections	Other connections
Flinders Street	Yes—step free access	1854[36]	Lowered	16 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Cranbourne line   Flemington Racecourse line   Frankston line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Mernda line   Pakenham line   Sandringham line   Sunbury line   Upfield line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Southern Cross		1859[36]	Ground level	27 connections  Alamein line   Albury line   Ararat line   Ballarat line   Belgrave line   Bendigo line   Cranbourne line   Echuca line   Flemington Racecourse line   Geelong line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Maryborough line   Mernda line   NSW TrainLink Southern   Pakenham line   Seymour line   Shepparton line   Sunbury line   Swan Hill line   The Overland   Upfield line   Warrnambool line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Parliament		1983[36]	Underground	10 connections  Alamein line   Belgrave line   Cranbourne line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Mernda line   Pakenham line   Sunbury line   Upfield line
Melbourne Central		1981[36]
Flagstaff		1985[36]
North Melbourne		1859[36]	Ground level	7 connections  Flemington Racecourse line   Seymour line   Shepparton line   Sunbury line   Upfield line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Kensington	No—steep ramp	1860[36]
Newmarket
Ascot Vale
Moonee Ponds
Essendon				2 connections  Seymour line   Shepparton line
Glenbervie		1922[36]
Strathmore		1890[36]
Pascoe Vale	Yes—step free access	1885[36]
Oak Park	No—steep ramp	1956[36]
Glenroy	Yes—step free access	1887[36]	Lowered
Jacana	No—steep ramp	1959[36]	Ground level
Broadmeadows	Yes—step free access	1873[36]		4 connections  Albury line   NSW TrainLink Southern   Seymour line   Shepparton line
Coolaroo		2010[36]
Roxburgh Park		2007[36]
Craigieburn		1872[36]		2 connections  Seymour line   Shepparton line

Station histories

Station	Opened[37]	Closed[37]	Age	Notes[37]
Flagstaff	27 May 1985 || || data-sort-value=14,678 | 40 years
Melbourne Central	26 January 1981 || || data-sort-value=16,260 | 44 years	Formerly Museum
Parliament	22 January 1983 || || data-sort-value=15,534 | 42 years
Flinders Street	12 September 1854 || || data-sort-value=62,417 | 170 years	Formerly Melbourne Terminus
Southern Cross	17 January 1859 || || data-sort-value=60,829 | 166 years	Formerly Batman's Hill Formerly Spencer Street
North Melbourne	6 October 1859 || || data-sort-value=60,567 | 165 years
Kensington	1 November 1860 || 1 July 1864 || data-sort-value=1,338 | 3 years	Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company
	9 October 1871 || || data-sort-value=56,181 | 153 years
Newmarket	1 November 1860 || 1 July 1864 || data-sort-value=1,338 | 3 years	Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company
	9 October 1871 || || data-sort-value=56,181 | 153 years
Ascot Vale	1 November 1860 || 1 July 1864 || data-sort-value=1,338 | 3 years	Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company
	9 October 1871 || || data-sort-value=56,181 | 153 years
Moonee Ponds	1 November 1860 || 1 July 1864 || data-sort-value=1,338 | 3 years	Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company
	9 October 1871 || || data-sort-value=56,181 | 153 years
Essendon	1 November 1860 || 1 July 1864 || data-sort-value=1,338 | 3 years	Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company
	9 October 1871 || || data-sort-value=56,181 | 153 years
Glenbervie	11 September 1922 || || data-sort-value=37,582 | 102 years
Strathmore	28 October 1890 || || data-sort-value=49,222 | 134 years	Formerly North Essendon
Pascoe Vale	10 November 1885 || || data-sort-value=51,035 | 139 years
Oak Park	13 August 1956 || || data-sort-value=25,192 | 68 years	Formerly Gowanbrae
Glenroy	24 January 1887 || || data-sort-value=50,595 | 138 years
Jacana	15 February 1959 || || data-sort-value=24,276 | 66 years
Broadmeadows	1 February 1873 || || data-sort-value=55,700 | 152 years
Broadstore Siding	12 October 1942 || c. 1980's || data-sort-value=13,810 | Approx. 37 years
Coolaroo	6 June 2010 || || data-sort-value=5,537 | 15 years
Roxburgh Park	18 April 1872 || 24 September 1963 || data-sort-value=33,395 | 91 years	Was originally Somerton
	1 October 2007 || || data-sort-value=6,516 | 17 years	Reopened as Roxburgh Park
Somerton Yard	30 June 1889 || || data-sort-value=49,707 | 136 years
Craigieburn	18 April 1872 || || data-sort-value=55,989 | 153 years

Infrastructure

Rolling stock

Main articles: Siemens Nexas and Comeng

A Comeng EMU at the old Glenroy station prior to its 2022 rebuild.

The Craigieburn line uses two different types of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that are operated in a split six-car configuration. The primary rolling stock featured on the line is the Comeng EMUs, built by Commonwealth Engineering between 1981 and 1988.^[38] These train sets are the oldest on the Melbourne rail network and subsequently will be replaced by the mid 2030s.^[39] The second type of rolling stock is the Siemens Nexas EMUs which are also widely featured on the line, originally built between 2002 and 2005, these train sets feature more modern technology than the Comeng trains.^[40]

Alongside the passenger trains, Craigieburn line tracks and equipment are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The four types of engineering trains are: the shunting train; designed for moving trains along non-electrified corridors and for transporting other maintenance locomotives, for track evaluation; designed for evaluating track and its condition, the overhead inspection train; designed for overhead wiring inspection, and the infrastructure evaluation carriage designed for general infrastructure evaluation.^[41] Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line, Metro Trains, and the Southern Shorthaul Railroad.^[41]

Planned rolling stock

Main article: X'Trapolis 2.0

From late 2025 or early 2026, the next generation of the X'Trapolis family of electric EMUs—the X'Trapolis 2.0—will be introduced. This new model will fully replace the existing fleet of Comeng EMUs currently operating on the line currently with new, modern, and technologically advanced trains. The new trains will feature:^[42]

• Modernised doors to reduce the boarding times at stations to under 40 seconds
• Passenger information systems to display that train's journey in real time
• Higher energy efficiency to work with a lower network voltage, to fit in line with modern rail systems overseas
• New interior designs including tip-up seating to allow space for wheelchair spaces.
• Designated bicycle storage areas
• Passenger operated automatic wheelchair ramps located behind driver cabs
• 6 car fully walk through carriages

Accessibility

Roxburgh Park station features accessible elevators and ramps.

In compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, all stations that are new-built or rebuilt are fully accessible and comply with these guidelines.^[43] Just over half of the stations on the corridor are fully accessible, however, there are some stations that haven't been upgraded to meet these guidelines.^[44] These stations do feature ramps, however, they have a gradient greater than 1 in 14.^[44] Stations that are fully accessible feature ramps that have a gradient less than 1 in 14, have at-grade paths, or feature lifts.^[44] These stations typically also feature tactile boarding indicators, independent boarding ramps, wheelchair accessible myki barriers, hearing loops, and widened paths.^[44][45]

Projects improving station accessibility have included the Level Crossing Removal Project, which involves station rebuilds and upgrades, and individual station upgrade projects.^[46][47] These works have made significant strides in improving network accessibility, with more than 57% of Craigieburn line stations classed as fully accessible. Future station upgrade projects will continue to increase the number of fully accessible stations overtime.

Signalling

The Craigieburn line uses three position signalling which is widely used across the Melbourne train network.^[48] Three position signalling was first introduced in 1918, with the final section of the line converted to the new type of signalling in 2007.^[49][50]