Mont Albert railway station

Mont Albert railway station was a commuter railway station on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines, part of the Melbourne railway network. It served the eastern Melbourne suburb of Mont Albert in Victoria, Australia. Mont Albert was a ground level unstaffed station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It was located between Chatham and Surrey Hills and it opened on 11 August 1890 and closed on 17 February 2023, due to the works associated with the Level Crossing Removal Project.[5]

Mont Albert
Closed PTV commuter rail station
Westbound view from Platform 1, January 2016
General information
LocationChurchill Street,
Mont Albert, Victoria
Australia
Coordinates37°49′10″S 145°06′20″E / 37.81955°S 145.10556°E / -37.81955; 145.10556
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)
Distance14.63 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms3 (1 island, 1 side)
Tracks3
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking30
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusDemolished
(Platform 1 station building retained for community purposes)[1]
Station codeMAB
Fare zoneMyki Zone 1/2 overlap
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened11 August 1890 (1890-08-11)
Closed17 February 2023
Rebuilt19 December 1971
ElectrifiedDecember 1922
(1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006276,139[2]
2006–2007308,542[2]Increase 11.73%
2007–2008331,424[2]Increase 7.41%
2008–2009354,074[3]Increase 6.83%
2009–2010368,458[3]Increase 4.06%
2010–2011353,325[3]Decrease 4.1%
2011–2012315,978[3]Decrease 10.57%
2012–2013Not measured[3]
2013–2014323,005[3]Increase 2.22%
2014–2015291,184[2]Decrease 9.85%
2015–2016270,334[3]Decrease 7.16%
2016–2017268,495[3]Decrease 0.68%
2017–2018253,964[3]Decrease 5.41%
2018–2019260,854[3]Increase 2.71%
2019–2020200,300[3]Decrease 23.21%
2020–202184,300[3]Decrease 57.91%
2021–202298,450[4]Increase 16.78%
2022–202392,300[4]Decrease 6.25%
Former services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Surrey Hills Lilydale line Box Hill
towards Lilydale or Belgrave
Belgrave line
List of closed railway stations in Melbourne
Track layout
Before station closure (February 2023)
Mont Albert Road
(Removed in 2023)
1
2
3

History

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Mont Albert station opened on 11 August 1890 and, like the suburb itself, was named after Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria.[6]

In 1963, boom barriers replaced hand gates at the former Mont Albert Road level crossing, which was located nearby in the Flinders Street (up) direction of the station.[7]

In the 1960s, track amplification works resulted in the Box Hill-bound platform being rebuilt and converted to an island platform.[8] In December 1971, services on the third track from East Camberwell were extended though the station to Box Hill.[9]

In 2020, it was announced that the level crossings at Union and Mont Albert Roads would be fast-tracked for removal by 2023.[1] The project will involve the closure of both Mont Albert and nearby Surrey Hills, with a brand new railway station at Union, to be constructed between the two stations. The current station building on Platform 1 is to be refurbished and relocated within the precinct for community use.[1][10]

On 17 February 2023, the last train to depart from Mont Albert was a Belgrave-bound train at 20:37.[5] The station was permanently closed soon after for demolition, alongside Surrey Hills. The replacement new station, Union, opened on 22 May of that year.[11]

Platforms and services

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Mont Albert had one island platform (Platforms 2 and 3) and one side platform (Platform 1), linked by an underpass. It was serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services.[12][13]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Platform 3:

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At the time of closure, one bus route serviced Mont Albert, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  •  766 : Box Hill station - Burwood (operated by Ventura Bus Lines)[14]
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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Surrey Hills and Mont Albert crossings removal fast-tracked". Victoria's Big Build. 17 June 2022. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  4. ^ a b Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
  5. ^ a b "Mont Albert". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Mont Albert". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Lights and Barriers for Crossings". The Age. 18 April 1963. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Victorian Railways: East Camberwell to Box Hill diagram 5' 30". signaldiagramsandphotos.com. Retrieved 11 March 2008. [dead link]
  9. ^ SE Dornan & RG Henderson (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. p. 80. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
  10. ^ Surrey Hills level crossing removal Archived 16 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine City of Boroondara
  11. ^ "New Union Station to open on 22 May". Victoria's Big Build. 18 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  13. ^ "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  14. ^ "766 Box Hill - Burwood via Surrey Hills". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
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