South Kensington railway station

South Kensington station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Werribee and Williamstown lines, part of the Melbourne rail network. It serves the inner north-western suburb of Kensington in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It opened on 11 March 1891, with the current station being provided in 1975.^[4][5]

LocationChilders Street,
Kensington, Victoria 3031
City of Melbourne
Australia

Coordinates37°47′59″S 144°55′33″E

SystemPTV commuter rail station

OwnerVicTrack

Quick facts General information, Location ...

South Kensington
Eastbound view from Platform 1, May 2026
General information
Location	Childers Street, Kensington, Victoria 3031 City of Melbourne Australia
Coordinates	37°47′59″S 144°55′33″E
System	PTV commuter rail station
Owner	VicTrack
Operator	Metro Trains
Lines	Werribee Williamstown
Distance	3.49 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	6
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	SKN
Fare zone	Myki zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	11 March 1891; 135 years ago (1891-03-11)
Rebuilt	1975
Electrified	August 1920 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	89,182[1]
2006–2007	120,945[1]  35.61%
2007–2008	142,531[1]  17.84%
2008–2009	207,901[2]  45.86%
2009–2010	249,613[2]  20.06%
2010–2011	281,410[2]  12.73%
2011–2012	284,298[2]  1.02%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	338,162[2]  18.94%
2014–2015	342,741[1]  1.35%
2015–2016	394,707[2]  15.16%
2016–2017	398,191[2]  0.88%
2017–2018	406,011[2]  1.96%
2018–2019	412,850[2]  1.68%
2019–2020	304,750[2]  26.18%
2020–2021	127,950[2]  58.01%
2021–2022	159,950[3]  25.01%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station North Melbourne towards Sandringham via Flinders Street Werribee line Footscray towards Laverton, Werribee or Williamstown Williamstown line
Former services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station North Melbourne towards Flinders Street Sunbury line Footscray towards Sunbury
Track layout Legend North Melbourne Arden 1 2 North Dynon Rail Yard Maribyrnong River Footscray electrified non-electrified This diagram: view talk edit
Location

Close

Freight lines run to the south of the station. The closest of those lines are used by V/Line to reverse empty services from Traralgon and Bairnsdale, while the tracks further south are used by a variety of standard gauge freight operators. The lines to the east join Melbourne Yard, while those to the west are the South Kensington–West Footscray set of lines that lead to either South Dynon or West Footscray, via the Bunbury Street tunnel.

There used to be a number of private sidings around South Kensington, which have all been closed. They included a siding to a large wool store to the north-east, now demolished, one to a warehouse and silos to the east (the silos are open but are no longer served by rail). There were two sidings to the north. One served the Melbourne City Council abattoirs, and the other was constructed during World War II, to serve a military warehouse complex called Kenstore.

The current configuration of the station dates from 2014, following the construction of the Regional Rail Link (RRL). The goods-only tracks immediately to the south were replaced by a pair of tracks used by regional passenger services operating to and from Southern Cross on the RRL. The signal box, formerly located at the up end of the down platform (Platform 2), was demolished to make way for the new RRL tracks. A mural on Childers Street, outside the station, was funded by the City–Maribyrnong River arm of the RRL project, but it has since been painted over.