Sunshine railway station, Melbourne

Sunshine railway station is a commuter and regional railway station on the Sunbury, Geelong and Ballarat lines, serving the western suburb of the same name in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Sunshine is a ground level, premium station. It has four platforms, an island platform with two faces and two side platforms, connected by a footbridge and concourse. The station opened on 7 September 1885, with the current station provided in 2014 when it was rebuilt as part of the Regional Rail Link project.

Sunshine
PTV commuter and regional station
Siemens Nexas 772M departing Platform 2, October 2023
General information
Location	Station Place, Sunshine, Victoria 3020 City of Brimbank Australia
Coordinates	37°47′17″S 144°49′57″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sunbury (Deniliquin) Ballarat Ararat Maryborough Geelong (Ararat)
Distance	12.25 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	4 (1 island, 2 side)
Tracks	5
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	250
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	SUN
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1/2 overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	7 September 1885 (1885-09-07)
Rebuilt	28 April 2014
Electrified	October 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Braybrook Junction (1885–1907)
Passengers
2005–2006	1,341,488
2006–2007	1,514,622  12.9%
2007–2008	1,706,112  12.64%
2008–2009	1,936,390  13.49%
2009–2010	2,060,345  6.4%
2010–2011	2,108,567  2.34%
2011–2012	1,981,379  6.03%
2012–2013	Not measured
2013–2014	1,598,248  19.33%
2014–2015	1,937,306  21.21%
2015–2016	1,975,475  1.97%
2016–2017	2,305,251  16.69%
2017–2018	2,075,714  9.95%
2018–2019	2,157,750  3.95%
2019–2020	1,753,250  18.74%
2020–2021	896,350  48.87%
2021–2022	1,235,800  37.87%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Tottenham towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Albion towards Sunbury or Watergardens Footscray towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Express services St Albans towards Sunbury or Watergardens Preceding station V/Line Following station Footscray towards Southern Cross Ballarat line Ardeer towards Melton or Wendouree Ararat line Ardeer towards Ararat Maryborough line One daily service Ardeer One-way operation Geelong line Deer Park towards Wyndham Vale, Geelong or Waurn Ponds
Future Services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Tottenham towards Dandenong, East Pakenham or Cranbourne Sunshine–Dandenong corridor (under construction) Albion towards Sunbury or Watergardens Footscray towards Dandenong, East Pakenham or Cranbourne Melbourne Airport (under construction) Keilor East towards Melbourne Airport
Track layout to Tottenham to Newport– Sunshine line Stony Creek to Newport– Sunshine line 4 1 2 3 to Ardeer to Albion Broad gauge, electrified Broad gauge, non-electrified Standard gauge, non-electrified

Originally named Braybrook Junction, it was given its current name in July 1907 when the suburb of Sunshine took its name from the Sunshine Harvester Works.

V/Line services on the Bendigo corridor pass through the station but do not stop at it. Freight services running towards northern Victoria and Sydney run past the station, as well as freight trains heading for the western standard gauge line via the Newport–Sunshine railway line. The bus interchange at the station is a hub for routes to surrounding suburbs.

History

19th century

The Melbourne & Murray River Railway was built in the late 1850s, from Footscray to Bendigo. No station was built at that time on the current site; the closest station was Albion and Darlington, on the site of the current Albion station.

In 1874, a line to Melton was built, branching from the Bendigo line; a station was built at the site of the junction, opening on September 7, 1885, as Braybrook Junction. This line would be extended westwards to Bacchus Marsh in 1887 and eventually meet with another line extended eastwards from Ballarat in 1889. This line became the direct route from Melbourne to Ballarat; the original line ran via Geelong.

In 1887, the Newport-Sunshine railway line was opened, connecting the new station at Braybrook Junction to Newport and Williamstown, Victoria's major cargo port at the time.

20th century

In 1907, Braybrook Junction station was renamed Sunshine, after Hugh McKay had moved his Sunshine Harvester Works to a site adjacent to the station.

On 20 April 1908, Sunshine was the scene of the Sunshine train disaster, the worst train crash in Victorian railway history. 44 people were killed and over 400 were injured.

In 1929, the Albion – Jacana goods line was opened, connecting Sunshine with the North East line, allowing freight trains to avoid the steeper grades and suburban traffic on the suburban line between North Melbourne, Essendon and Broadmeadows.

The road level crossing at Sunshine was removed when grade separation was carried out in 1961. The works took place as part of the project to construct a standard gauge line from Sydney to Melbourne. In that same year, boom barriers were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Bendigo line.

In January 1963, a fourth platform was provided on the adjacent Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line, to enable passengers to transfer between the interstate Sydney and Adelaide expresses. In 1965, control of signals at Albion was transferred to the signal box at Sunshine. Also in that year, the Grain Elevator Board sidings, that serve the nearby grail silos, opened for traffic. In 1976, a signal panel was provided to replace an existing panel and, in 1977, boom barriers were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Serviceton line.

White City station was located between Sunshine and Tottenham. It closed on 4 October 1981 and has been removed.

On 5 February 1985, Harris trailer carriage 830T was destroyed by fire in a vandalism attack, whilst stabled in the former down end siding.

In 1988, the sidings leading to the Massey Ferguson factory were booked out of use. The lead to the sidings, which crossed the standard gauge line, was removed in February of that year.

In 1994, the former station underpass, which connected the platforms to nearby City Place, was completed, replacing an underpass. It was removed during the station upgrades between 2012 and 2014. Also in that year, the track leading to the former goods shed was removed, and a number of semaphore signals were replaced with automatic colour signals.

On 26 July 1996, Sunshine was upgraded to a premium station.

21st century

In mid-2004, the platform on the standard gauge line was removed. The waiting room on the platform was demolished five years earlier, in 1999.

From 2012 to 2014, the station was rebuilt as part of the Regional Rail Link project. Works included:

• a new bus interchange, completed in September 2013;
• construction of a new footbridge and concourse, completed in January 2014;
• upgrading Platforms 1 and 2 with new canopies;
• rebuilding Platform 3 and a new Platform 4, both completed in April 2014;

The standalone signal box to the north of the station, commissioned in 1914, was closed in 2016, and control of trains in the Sunshine and Albion areas was transferred to Metrol. The former signal box is one of the largest surviving examples of a tappet and lever frame box on the Victorian network, having once housed 80 levers. Although mechanical signalling was replaced with electronic interlocking before the box was finally taken out of service, it remains relatively intact as an example of Victorian Railways signal box architecture.

In early 2020, construction commenced on a new signal control centre south of the station, which will share control of the Sunshine–Dandenong corridor with an existing facility at Dandenong, after completion of the Metro Tunnel.

The station is planned to rebuilt again as part of the Melbourne Airport rail link project, with planned upgrades including new platforms and an improved track layout to "untangle [the] complex junction" and enable increased capacity for trains to the airport and western suburbs.

Expansion and precinct masterplan

See also: Melbourne Airport rail link

Map showing the Melbourne Airport Rail link route. After the link is complete, Sunshine will be a major interchange for Airport passengers travelling to and from Melbourne and Victoria's west.

In 2018, the Victorian State Government announced that the Melbourne Airport rail link would be funded with state and Commonwealth money, and that it would operate from the Melbourne CBD to Melbourne Airport via Sunshine. Sunshine would become an important interchange station under this plan, providing a connection between western regional and metropolitan rail lines and the new service to Melbourne Airport. As part of this project, the state government committed to building a "super hub" at Sunshine for passengers transferring between V/Line services, metropolitan services and airport trains.

Immediate works at Sunshine, funded as part of the airport link, included the construction of a second accessible concourse for interchanging, extra ticket gates, new lifts, a new regional platform and extensions of existing regional platforms. A large 18m high rail flyover will be built north of Sunshine, above the Albion rail junction.

In 2022, early construction commenced on the Airport link. In October of that year, the State Government released a masterplan for the Sunshine station precinct, which envisioned a significant expansion of the station and its surrounds to cater for expected growth in patronage. The long-term masterplan envisioned multiple new entrances to the station, a new integrated bus interchange, new open spaces, new high-density developments surrounding the station and the creation of new pedestrian and cycling links across the rail lines.

The state government committed $143 million to the first stage of the master plan, to be delivered alongside the Airport rail link works, which included the new bus interchange, new pedestrian paths, new open-space, establishing future development sites and preparation for future stages.

Initially scheduled to open in 2029, the airport rail link is facing extensive delays due to disputes over the airport station design, with completion now expected after 2033.

Facilities, platforms and services

Sunshine has two side platforms and a centre island platform with two faces. Access is provided to the platforms using stairs, lifts and ramps from an overhead footbridge and concourse, which features a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room and toilets.

It is served by Sunbury line and V/Line Ballarat and Geelong line trains.

Platform 1:

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

Platform 2:

•  Sunbury line  all stations services to Watergardens and Sunbury

By June 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.

Platform 3:

•  Ballarat line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Ararat line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Geelong line  V/Line services to Southern Cross (set down only)
•  Maryborough line  one daily V/Line service to Southern Cross (set down only)

Platform 4:

•  Ballarat line  V/Line services to Melton, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree (pick up only)
•  Ararat line  V/Line services to Ararat (pick up only)
•  Geelong line  V/Line services to Wyndham Vale, Geelong and Waurn Ponds (pick up only)

Transport links

There are 14 bus services that use the bus interchange at Sunshine station.

CDC Melbourne operates three routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  400 : to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with Transit Systems Victoria)
•  408 : St Albans station – Highpoint Shopping Centre
•  410 : to Footscray (via Ballarat Road)

Kinetic Melbourne operates four routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  216 : to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) (via Dynon Road)
•  220 : to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) via (Footscray Road)
•  429 : to Sunshine South (loop service)
• SmartBus  903 : Altona station – Mordialloc

Transit Systems Victoria operates eight routes to and from Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  400 : to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with CDC Melbourne)
•  420 : to Watergardens station (via Deer Park)
•  422 : to Brimbank Central Shopping Centre
•  427 : to Sunshine West (via Forrest Street)
•  428 : to Sunshine West
•  456 : to Woodgrove Shopping Centre (Melton) (via Rockbank)
•  471 : to Williamstown (via Newport and Altona Gate Shopping Centre)
• Night Bus  941 : to Watergardens station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)

Gallery

• 
  Westrans Volgren bodied Volvo B7L at Sunshine station, December 2013
• 
  North-west bound view from Platform 2,
  May 2014
• 
  South-east bound view from Platform 3 looking at station concourse and entrance, May 2014

External links

• Media related to Sunshine railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Rail Geelong gallery
• Melway map