Jewell railway station

Jewell railway station is a commuter railway station on the Upfield line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Brunswick in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Jewell station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 9 September 1884.^[4]

Jewell
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view from Platform 2, November 2022
General information
Location	Wilson Avenue, Brunswick, Victoria 3056 City of Merri-bek Australia
Coordinates	37°46′30″S 144°57′31″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Upfield
Distance	6.50 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus Tram
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	JWL
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	9 September 1884; 140 years ago (1884-09-09)
Electrified	December 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	South Brunswick (1884–1954)
Passengers
2005–2006	281,800[1]
2006–2007	309,812[1]  9.94%
2007–2008	345,569[1]  11.54%
2008–2009	387,580[2]  12.15%
2009–2010	422,703[2]  9.06%
2010–2011	426,176[2]  0.82%
2011–2012	420,257[2]  1.39%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	416,204[2]  0.96%
2014–2015	431,490[1]  3.67%
2015–2016	433,658[2]  0.5%
2016–2017	451,102[2]  4.02%
2017–2018	439,218[2]  2.63%
2018–2019	422,900[2]  3.71%
2019–2020	315,750[2]  25.34%
2020–2021	135,400[2]  57.1%
2021–2022	178,100[3]  31.53%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Royal Park towards Flinders Street Upfield line Brunswick towards Upfield
Track layout Legend to Royal Park Park Street (Removing by 2030) Brunswick Road (Removing by 2030) 1 2 Union Street (Removing by 2030) to Brunswick
Location

Initially opened as South Brunswick, the station was given its current name of Jewell on 1 February 1954.^[4]

A disused goods shed is located next to the entrance to Platform 1, and a disused signal box is located at the down end of the station, next to the Union Street level crossing. The main station building, signal box and level crossing gates are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.^[5]

History

Jewell station opened when the railway line from North Melbourne was extended to Coburg.^[4] It was renamed in honour of a long-serving member of the State Parliament, James Jewell, who represented the Brunswick electorate from 1910 to 1949.^[6] In 1971, automatic signalling was provided between Jewell and Royal Park, replacing double line block signalling.^[4] The goods yard was closed to traffic in 1977.^[4] Former siding "B" was also abolished in that year.^[4]

In 1997, siding "A", a crossover, and a number of points and signal discs at the station were abolished.^[4] In August 1998, the former level crossing at Barkly Street, at the up end of the station, was closed to vehicle traffic.^[7] In September of that year, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Union Street level crossing at the down end of the station.^[8] The signal box protecting the level crossing was also abolished during that time.^[8] In 2018, upgrades to the station were completed which included restoration, enhanced open space, and a new commercial and residential development adjacent to the eastern side of the station; a program of community consultation was undertaken to find out local people's priorities for any alterations, with safety and better access were identified as main the concerns.^[9][10][11]

Future

The station is slated for closure or relocation under the Level Crossing Removal Project. The project intends to remove the adjacent Union Street level crossing, as well as seven other level crossings in Brunswick, by grade separation to become an elevated.^[12] Under the plan, announced in 2024 and expected to be completed in 2030, the three nearby stations of Jewell, Brunswick and Anstey will be replaced by two new stations, each located within 200 metres to 450 metres of one of the existing stations. The heritage listed Jewell station building on Platform 1 at the existing station and some heritage listed interlocking hand gates at some closed level crossings will be kept and located at its current spot.^[13]

The decision to build two stations in different locations instead of rebuilding Jewell, Brunswick and Anstey generated criticism from residents and the local council. Local newspaper Brunswick Voice reported that the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Danny Pearson, claimed "the decision to build two stations followed 18 months of technical and engineering assessments which found fewer stations would boost capacity on the line in the future and deliver more open space", noting that "[the government claimed] the plan would also minimise the impact to heritage in the area, but [the politician] provided no detail about whether the three station buildings and the historic boom gate operators' cabins would be preserved".^[14]

Platforms and services

A Comeng train on a Flinders Street-bound service arrives at Platform 1, September 2015

Jewell has two side platforms. It is served by Upfield line trains.^[15]

Platform 1:

•  Upfield line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Upfield line  all stations services to Upfield

Transport links

Dysons operates one bus route via Jewell station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  509 : Brunswick West – Barkly Square Shopping Centre^[16]

Yarra Trams operates one route via Jewell station:

• : North Coburg – Flinders Street station (via Elizabeth Street)^[17]

Gallery

• 
  Station building and entrance to Platform 1, November 2007
• 
  Southbound view from Platform 1,
  November 2007