Keon Park railway station

Keon Park railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Reservoir, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Keon Park station is an elevated premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces. It opened on 16 December 1929, with the current station provided in 2024.^[6]

Keon Park
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 1, July 2024
General information
Location	High Street, Reservoir, Victoria 3073 City of Darebin Australia
Coordinates	37°41′41″S 145°00′42″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Mernda
Distance	17.54 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 (1 island)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	154
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	KPK
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	16 December 1929; 95 years ago (1929-12-16)[1]
Rebuilt	1983 1988 21 June 2024 (LXRP)
Electrified	December 1929 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Keonpark (1929–1972)
Passengers
2005–2006	200,689[2]
2006–2007	245,581[2]  22.36%
2007–2008	274,090[2]  11.6%
2008–2009	310,119[3]  13.14%
2009–2010	318,443[3]  2.68%
2010–2011	382,641[3]  20.16%
2011–2012	369,430[3]  3.45%
2012–2013	Not measured[3]
2013–2014	293,580[3]  20.53%
2014–2015	309,138[2]  5.29%
2015–2016	365,848[3]  18.34%
2016–2017	367,137[3]  0.35%
2017–2018	409,816[3]  11.62%
2018–2019	396,950[3]  3.14%
2019–2020	313,250[3]  21.1%
2020–2021	178,750[3]  42.9%
2021–2022	174,750[4]  2.23%
2022–2023	279,100[5]  59.71%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Ruthven towards Flinders Street Mernda line Thomastown towards Mernda
Track layout Legend to Ruthven 1 2 Settlement Road to Thomastown
Location

Initially opened as Keonpark, the station was given its current name of Keon Park on 29 February 1972.^[6]

History

Keon Park station opened on 16 December 1929. It was named after Keon Park Pty Ltd., a land development company formed in 1924. Among the directors was Henry Isaac Cohen, a Barrister, M.L.C. and later a King's Counsel, Minister of Education and Minister for Water Supply, who married Ethel Mary Keon in 1901 and whose children adopted the surname of "Keon-Cohen".^[7]

The station opened at the same time as the extension of suburban services and electrification from Reservoir to Thomastown. In November 1959, the line from Reservoir was duplicated, in conjunction with the extension of suburban services to Lalor.^[8] However, the duplicated line converged at the up end of the former Keon Parade level crossing,^[9] and it was not until 1988 that the current Platform 2 was provided.^[10][11][12] The crossover, located at the upper end of the station and just past the level crossing, was also provided around this time.^[12] It remained the northern extremity for the double line until November 2011, when the line from Keon Park to Epping was duplicated.^[6][13]

In 1963, flashing light signals were provided at the former Keon Parade level crossing,^[6] with boom barriers provided later on in 1971.^[14][15] On 15 April 1972, a small fire damaged the interior of the station building.^[16] On 1 September 1973, the station was again damaged by fire, as well as damage occurring to the signal box.^[17][18] It was also around this time that the former City of Preston and former local member for the now abolished District of Reservoir, Jim Simmonds, asked the Victorian Railways for opinions on relocating the station to the up side of the level crossing, to allow better access from nearby residential areas.^[19][17]

In 1983, the former ground-level station building was provided, replacing an older timber structure.^[20] In 1986, a number of sidings that were located at the down end of the station were abolished.^[6]

On 29 July 2021, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the level crossing will be grade separated by 2025, with the railway line to be built over the road, and will include a rebuilt station.^[21][22][23] On 28 March 2022, the LXRP announced that the station would be rebuilt to the south of the current level crossing.^[24] In December 2022, final designs were released,^[25] with construction on the project beginning in early 2023.

On 12 January 2024, Keon Park Station was closed and demolished.^[26] The first elevated train bridge opened on 21 January 2024. The Flinders Street-bound way used the bridge as the Mernda-bound used the level crossing until April 2024, as a solution to keep trains running on the Mernda line.^[27]

On 30 April 2024, the Keon Parade level crossing and equipment were eliminated.^[28] The elevated train bridge for Mernda-bound way opened on 8 May 2024,^[29] and the rebuilt station opened to passengers on 21 June 2024.^[30][31]

Platforms and services

A PID on Platform 2 displaying a Mernda-bound service

Keon Park has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.^[32]

An X'Trapolis train on an up service, bound for Reservoir arrives at Platform 1, July 2024

Platform 1:

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

Platform 2:

•  Mernda line  all stations services to Mernda

Transport links

The westbound bus stop for routes 555 and 902 beneath the elevated railway, July 2024

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

•  555 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre^[33]

The eastbound bus stop for route 902 beneath the elevated railway, July 2024

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

• SmartBus  902 : Chelsea station – Westfield Airport West^[34]

Gallery

• 
  Southbound view from former ground level Platform 1, May 2014
• 
  Former level crossing at Keon Parade during LXRP Grade separation works with Flinders Street-bound bridge active and Mernda-bound using level crossing, January 2024
• 
  Southbound view from Platform 1, June 2024
• 
  The stairs, PIDS and the green tile work at the concourse, June 2024
• 
  The Keon Park station signage at the concourse, June 2024
• 
  Keon Parade after grade separation works,
  July 2024
• 
  The main station concourse from Keon Parade,
  July 2024
• 
  The stairs leading up to the mid-level concourse taken from the main concourse, with green tile works around the walls, July 2024
• 
  The mid-level concourse with the stairs leading to the platforms and main concourse, looking north, July 2024
• 
  The mid-level concourse with the stairs leading to the forecourt closed off and the stairs opened to the platforms, July 2024
• 
  The Myki readers, lift, main concourse and the curved metal fence around the Myki readers,
  July 2024
• 
  The two stairs leading to the platforms, mid-level concourse and the ground level main concourse, July 2024
• 
  The staircase from the platforms leading down to the mid-level concourse, July 2024
• 
  The staircase from the mid-level concourse leading up to the platforms, July 2024
• 
  The western side of the new elevated railway at Keon Parade looking south, taken from the High Street/Keon Parade signalised intersection,
  July 2024
• 
  The nearly completed landscaping and the new rebuilt elevated railway, July 2024
• 
  The nearly completed landscaping with finishing touches placed in, July 2024
• 
  The platform shelters at the new rebuilt elevated station, July 2024
• 
  The two platform signage's 1 meter away from each other, July 2024
• 
  Northbound view towards Thomastown station, July 2024
• 
  Southbound view towards Melbourne CBD and the southern car park under construction,
  July 2024
• 
  Original ground level station site, with the northern car park nearly completed, July 2024