Watergardens railway station

Watergardens railway station is a commuter railway station on the Sunbury line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the western suburb of Sydenham, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Watergardens station is a ground level premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It opened on 1 March 1859, with the current station location provided in 2002 and the platforms extension in 2022.^[4]

Watergardens
PTV commuter and regional rail station
North-west bound view from Platform 1, December 2017
General information
Other names	Sydenham
Location	Watergardens Circular Road, Sydenham, Victoria 3037 City of Brimbank Australia
Coordinates	37°42′03″S 144°46′26″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sunbury Bendigo Swan Hill (Deniliquin)
Distance	23.18 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	3 (1 side, 1 island)
Tracks	3
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	588
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	WGS
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	1 March 1859; 166 years ago (1859-03-01)
Rebuilt	26 January 2002 1 November 2022
Electrified	January 2002 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Keilor Road (1859-1887) Sydenham (1887-2002)
Passengers
2005–2006	891,461[1]
2006–2007	1,000,667[1]  12.25%
2007–2008	1,324,815[1]  32.39%
2008–2009	1,495,998[2]  12.92%
2009–2010	1,593,798[2]  6.53%
2010–2011	1,618,270[2]  1.53%
2011–2012	1,530,111[2]  5.44%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	1,354,502[2]  11.47%
2014–2015	1,533,562[1]  13.22%
2015–2016	1,710,458[2]  11.53%
2016–2017	1,523,124[2]  10.95%
2017–2018	1,672,481[2]  9.8%
2018–2019	1,689,500[2]  1.01%
2019–2020	1,300,950[2]  22.99%
2020–2021	528,500[2]  59.37%
2021–2022	587,400[3]  11.14%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Keilor Plains towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Diggers Rest towards Sunbury Terminus
V/Line Services Preceding station V/Line Following station Footscray towards Southern Cross Bendigo line Limited weekday peak services Sunbury towards Bendigo Swan Hill line Gisborne towards Swan Hill
Proposed Services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Keilor Plains towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Calder Park towards Sunbury
Track layout Legend to Keilor Plains 1 2 3 Sydenham Drain Victoria Road Drain Calder Park Drive (Removing by 2025) Taylors Creek to Calder Park Stabling Yard to Diggers Rest
Location

Initially opened as Keilor Road, this station was renamed to Sydenham on 1 April 1887, then was given its current name of Watergardens on 26 January 2002.^[5][6]

A stabling yard is located at the down (Sunbury) end of the station.

History

Sydenham

Sydenham station originally opened on 1 March 1859, shortly after the railway line was extended from Sunshine to Sunbury.^[5][6]

In 1926, interlocked gates were provided at the former Melton Highway level crossing, which was located at the down end of the station. In 1987, they were replaced with boom barriers.^[6] In 1989, a rail siding at the station was abolished, as well as a number of signal posts.^[5]

Watergardens

In 2002, as part of the extension of the electrified network from St Albans, Sydenham was closed, and a new station was built approximately 600 m (1,969 ft) in the up direction.^[4][5] Opening on 26 January of that year, the new station was named Watergardens, after the adjacent Watergardens Shopping Centre.^[4] The new station was to be called Sydenham, with the name being built into the brickwork of the station building. However, naming rights were sold to the shopping centre. The name "Sydenham" can still be seen on the side of the building adjacent to Platform 3.^[4] Around 2012, the Sydenham name was dropped, with the station now generally referred to as Watergardens.^[4]

In late 2002, the Melton Highway level crossing was upgraded, in conjunction with the duplication of the highway.^[7] In 2015, the Level Crossing Removal Authority announced the grade separation of the highway and railway line. In January 2018, the Melton Highway level crossing (down line) was removed and replaced with a bridge for Melton Highway, with the project completed in October.^[8]

In 2022, all three platforms were extended from 160 m (525 ft) to 163 m (535 ft) long.^{[4][better source needed]}

Platforms and services

Watergardens has one side platform and one island platform with two faces. It is served by Sunbury line trains, as well as a limited number of V/Line services on the Bendigo and Swan Hill lines.^[9][10][11]

Platform 1:

•  Sunbury line  terminating services; all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
•  Bendigo line  three weekday morning V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Swan Hill line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)

Platform 2:

•  Sunbury line  terminating services; all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 3:

•  Sunbury line  all stations services to Sunbury
•  Bendigo line  one weekday evening V/Line service to Bendigo (pick up only)
•  Swan Hill line  V/Line services to Swan Hill (pick up only)

In 2025, it is planned that trains on the Sunbury line will be through-routed with those on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new Metro Tunnel.

Transport links

CDC Melbourne operates four routes to and from Watergardens station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  419 : to St Albans station^[12]
•  421 : to St Albans station^[13]
•  425 : to St Albans station^[14]
•  461 : to Caroline Springs Town Centre^[15]

Kastoria Bus Lines operates four routes to and from Watergardens station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  460 : to Caroline Springs station^[16]
•  462 : to Caroline Springs station^[17]
•  463 : to Hillside^[18]
•  476 : to Moonee Ponds Junction^[19]

Transit Systems Victoria operates three routes to and from Watergardens station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

• Night Bus  420 : to Sunshine station;^[20] normal service during weekdays, and runs at night on Saturday and on Sunday mornings
• Night Bus  941 : to Sunshine station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)^[21]
• Night Bus  943 : to Melton (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)^[22]

Gallery

• 
  North-west bound view from Platform 2, June 2013