Reservoir Railway Station
History
Reservoir station opened when the Inner Circle line was extended from North Fitzroy station. On 23 December of the same, the line was further extended to Epping. Like the suburb, the station was named after the three reservoirs that were built south-east of the station, in 1864, 1909 and 1913 respectively. The reservoirs were constructed to hold Melbourne's water supply from the Yan Yean Reservoir.
The station was originally the terminus for suburban services on the Whittlesea line. The line was duplicated in December 1910 and, in July 1921, Reservoir became the terminus for suburban electric trains. In 1924, an eighth-metre-long turntable was provided at the station, to turn the AEC railmotor which operated between Reservoir and Whittlesea, making two trips a day. In December 1929, electric train services were extended from Reservoir to Thomastown and, in 1940, the turntable was abolished.
In 1959, duplication of the line to Keonpark station was provided. In 1963, manually operated boom barriers replaced hand-operated gates at the former High Street level crossing, which was at the down end of the station. In 1967, the former ground-level station buildings were provided, replacing the original structures.
In the early hours of 13 July 1975, a deliberately-lit fire damaged Harris motor 567M and Tait motor 345M, both of which were stabled at the station. On 29 December 1980, Harris backing trailer 533BT, which was in a consist operating the 23:15 down service to Epping, was damaged by fire as it arrived at the station.
On 18 December 1986, a number of sidings and signals were abolished. On 1 April 1987, further sidings were abolished. On 8 May 1988, the former signal box and interlocked frame were abolished. Also abolished were two crossovers at the up and down ends of the station, as well as the double line block signalling system between Reservoir and Keon Park, which was replaced with automatic three-position signalling. Pedestrian gates were also installed at the former station pedestrian crossing, which was at the down end, and at the former High Street level crossing. Two months earlier, the double line block system between Bell and Reservoir had been abolished.
In 1991, a reconfigured High Street level crossing was opened, with that arrangement existing until the grade separation of the level crossing in 2019. On 25 June 1996, Reservoir was upgraded to a premium station.
In January 2016, the Level Crossing Removal Authority announced that the High Street level crossing would be removed by grade separation. In September 2018, preliminary designs were released, showing that the grade separation would be achieved by elevating the railway, with a new station to be built at the existing location. The winning station design was produced by local architecture firm Genton. Plans for grade separation have dated as far back as the early to mid 1970s.
On 2 December 2019, the ground-level station was closed for demolition, and the new station, above a multi-road intersection, was opened on 16 December of that year. As part of the work, crossovers were reinstated at both the up and down ends of the new station.
Platforms and services
Reservoir has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Mernda line trains.
Platform 1:
- Mernda line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
- Mernda line all stations services to Mernda
Transport links
Dysons operates seven bus routes via Reservoir station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- 301 : to La Trobe University Bundoora campus
- 552 : North East Reservoir to Northcote Plaza
- 553 : Preston to West Preston
- 555 : Pacific Epping to Northland Shopping Centre
- 556 : Pacific Epping to Northland Shopping Centre
- 558 : to North West Reservoir
- 561 : Macleod to Pascoe Vale station
Gallery
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Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2, November 2013 -
The new elevated station viewed from Edwardes and Spring Streets, December 2020
