Roxburgh Park Railway Station
It was built just north of the site of the former Somerton station, which was closed to passengers in 1960. However, the adjacent goods yard and standard gauge crossing loop retain the Somerton name.
Roxburgh Park station was provided as part of the extension of electrified services from Broadmeadows to Craigieburn. The Craigieburn-bound (down) line was slewed to the west, to permit an island platform to be built between the two tracks of the broad gauge main line.
History
Somerton
Somerton opened to traffic as a single platform on 15 May 1881. In 1886, it gained an additional platform, when the line between Broadmeadows and Donnybrook was duplicated. On 8 October 1889, Somerton became a junction, when what is now the Upfield line was opened from North Melbourne northwards through Coburg. The station's first signal box, with a 38 lever frame, was also provided. That line was closed to traffic from the Somerton end on 13 July 1903.
The line through Coburg, then terminating at Fawkner, was reopened on 5 March 1928, but no junction was provided at Somerton. Instead, the AEC railmotor that operated the service was turned using a turntable to the south of the station. This situation remained until 5 May 1956, when the line from Fawkner was again closed.
On 19 July 1959, the line from Somerton to Upfield was reopened for freight traffic, to serve the then newly built Ford Motor Company factory. A new signal box with a 25 lever frame was provided, working a facing crossover and the connection between the main line and the sidings. On 17 August of that year, suburban services were extended to Upfield from the city side. On 6 December 1960, Somerton was closed to passengers, although the city-bound platform was abolished in October of that year. However, additional freight sidings were provided in the Somerton area throughout the 1960s.
Construction of the Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line also commenced at that time, opening for traffic in 1962, with the freight line from Somerton to Upfield converted to dual gauge in early 1963. Occurring in that year, parts of the out-bound platform were demolished, leaving the platform face remaining. In 1988, a dual-gauge siding was provided to serve nearby cement silos and, in 1989, the platform face of the out-bound platform was removed.
In 1998, Austrak commenced development of a container terminal, as part of a larger "freight village", with a number of major companies entered into long-term tenancies for warehouses at the site. In 2000, the crossing loop on the standard gauge line was extended at the down end and, in 2004, Austrak entered into a lease with P&O Trans Australia to operate the terminal. The Somerton terminal has four 750-metre dual-gauge rail sidings, with connections northwards on both gauges.
Today, the area to the east of the main line contains a complicated arrangement of broad, standard, and dual-gauge tracks.
Roxburgh Park
Roxburgh Park officially opened on 21 September 2007, but services to and from the station did not commence until 30 September of that year. The station was opened by the then Victorian Premier John Brumby, the then Minister for Public Transport Lynne Kosky, and the then MLA for Yuroke, Liz Beattie.
On 4 May 2010, a collision between a Comeng train set and a quarry train going to Kilmore East, led by Pacific National locomotive G524, occurred between Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn.
Platforms and services
Roxburgh Park has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Craigieburn line trains.
Platform 1:
- Craigieburn line all stations services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
- Craigieburn line all stations services to Craigieburn
Transport links
CDC Melbourne operates two bus routes to and from Roxburgh Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- 484 : to Broadmeadows station
- 543 : to Greenvale Gardens
Dysons operates two bus routes via Roxburgh Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- 541 : Broadmeadows station – Craigieburn North
- 542 : to Pascoe Vale station
Kastoria Bus Lines operates one route to and from Roxburgh Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- 544 : to Craigieburn station
Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via Roxburgh Park station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
Gallery
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Southbound view from Platform 1, September 2007 -
Station forecourt and bus interchange,
September 2007
