Watsonia railway station

Watsonia
Southbound view of platform 2, September 2025
General information
LocationGreensborough Highway,
Watsonia, Victoria 3087
City of Banyule
Australia
Coordinates37°42′40″S 145°05′02″E / 37.7110°S 145.0838°E / -37.7110; 145.0838
SystemPTV commuter rail station
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
LineHurstbridge
Distance19.92 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 (1 island)
Tracks2
Connections
  • Bus
  • SkyBus
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking350
AccessibleNo—steep ramp
Other information
StatusOperational, premium station
Station codeWAT
Fare zoneMyki Zone 2
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened23 June 1924 (1924-06-23)
Rebuilt20 June 1976 (Temporary station)
11 December 1977
ElectrifiedApril 1923 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous namesCollina (during construction)
Passengers
2005–2006510,050[1]
2006–2007527,193[1] 3.36%
2007–2008578,149[1] 9.66%
2008–2009598,000[2] 3.43%
2009–2010632,000[2] 5.69%
2010–2011655,000[2] 3.64%
2011–2012619,000[2] 5.5%
2012–2013Not measured[2]
2013–2014669,000[2] 8.08%
2014–2015643,585[1] 3.79%
2015–2016710,845[3] 10.45%
2016–2017711,914[3] 0.15%
2017–2018614,113[3] 13.74%
2018–2019715,500[4] 16.5%
2019–2020577,000[4] 19.36%
2020–2021242,150[4] 58%
2021–2022303,800[4] 25.45%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station
Macleod Hurstbridge line Greensborough
towards Hurstbridge
Track layout
1
2
North East Link
(under construction)
Location

Watsonia station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne rail network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Watsonia, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Watsonia station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened on 23 June 1924, with the current station provided in 1977.[5]

History

Watsonia station was provisionally known as Collina during construction.[5] Like the suburb itself, the station is named after Frank Watson, a local landowner who subdivided his property, Grace Park, into the Grace Park Station Estate.[6][7]

On 19 June 1976, the original station was closed and demolished with a temporary alignment and station provided while construction works on a lowered line and station were taking place. The temporary station opened the next morning on.[8]

The new Watsonia station opened on 11 December 1977 in a cutting in order to remove level crossings at Watsonia Road, Grimshaw Street and Williams Street. Upon opening of the cutting the temporary alignment was dismantled with the temporary station demolished. However initially, only a single platform (the present day platform 2) was completed with the line remaining single track until duplication works were completed from Macleod to Greensborough with the second track being commissioned on 11 August 1979.[9][10]

During 1988-1989, the present Greensborough Highway overpass, located nearby in the down direction from the station, was provided.[11]

In December 2007, Watsonia was upgraded to a premium station.[12]

Facilities, platforms and services

Watsonia is located in a deep cutting, between the Greensborough Highway and Watsonia Road. It has one island platform with two faces, with access to the platforms provided by a pedestrian overpass and a ramp. The station features a customer service window, a coffee shop, an enclosed waiting room, and toilets.

It is served by Hurstbridge line trains.[13]

Watsonia platform arrangement
Platform Line Destination Service Type
1  Hurstbridge line  Flinders Street All stations and limited express services
2  Hurstbridge line  Greensborough, Eltham, Hurstbridge All stations and limited express services

Dysons operates two bus routes via Watsonia station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  •  514 : Eltham stationGlenroy station[14]
  •  566 : LalorNorthland Shopping Centre[15]

SkyBus also operates a service to Melbourne Airport via Watsonia station.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Department of Transport
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Train Station Patronage FY2008-2014". Public Transport Victoria. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original (XLS) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016. (access from [1] Archived 3 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
  3. ^ a b c Station patronage in Victoria for 2013-2018 Philip Mallis
  4. ^ a b c d Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
  5. ^ a b "Watsonia". vicsig.net. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Watsonia and Watsonia North". Victorian Places. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ^ First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  9. ^ Wong, Marcus (8 March 2021). "Upgrading Melbourne's railway network in the 1970s - Waking up in Geelong". Waking up in Geelong. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  10. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). June 1988. p. 186.
  12. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). March 2008. p. 88.
  13. ^ "Hurstbridge Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  14. ^ "514 Eltham - Glenroy via Greensborough". Public Transport Victoria.
  15. ^ "566 Lalor - Northland via Plenty Road & Childs Road & Grimshaw Street". Public Transport Victoria.
  16. ^ "Eastern Express locations". SkyBus. Archived from the original on 31 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.