Middle Gorge railway station

Railway station in Melbourne, Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Middle Gorge station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Mernda line, part of the Melbourne rail network. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of South Morang in Victoria, Australia. Middle Gorge is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It originally opened on 23 December 1889 as South Morang and closed with the Whittlesea line on 28 November 1959. The current station opened on 26 August 2018.[4][5][6]

LocationWilliamsons Road,
South Morang, Victoria 3752
City of Whittlesea
Australia
Coordinates37°38′39″S 145°05′31″E
SystemPTV commuter rail station
Owned byVicTrack
Quick facts General information, Location ...
Middle Gorge
Middle Gorge station Platform 2 looking north-east, showing the two station buildings on each platform
North-east bound view from Platform 2, November 2022
General information
LocationWilliamsons Road,
South Morang, Victoria 3752
City of Whittlesea
Australia
Coordinates37°38′39″S 145°05′31″E
SystemPTV commuter rail station
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
LinesMernda
Whittlesea (former)
Distance28.34 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 side
Tracks2
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Parking550
Cycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes—step free access
Other information
StatusOperational, unstaffed
Station codeMMR
Fare zoneMyki Zone 2
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened23 December 1889; 136 years ago (1889-12-23) (South Morang)
26 August 2018; 7 years ago (2018-08-26) (Middle Gorge)
Closed28 November 1959
ElectrifiedJuly 2018 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous namesSouth Morang (1889-1959)
Marymede (provisionally)
Passengers
2018–2019192,700[1]
2019–2020184,700[1] Decrease 4.15%
2020–2021103,900[1] Decrease 43.75%
2021–2022115,350[2] Increase 11.02%
2022–2023188,600[3] Increase 63.5%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
South Morang
towards Flinders Street
 Mernda line Hawkstowe
towards Mernda
Former services
Preceding station Victorian Railways VicRail Following station
Epping
towards Thomastown
 Whittlesea line Mernda
towards Whittlesea
List of closed railway stations in Melbourne
Track layout
Legend
to South Morang
1
2
to Hawkstowe
Location
Close

It is the only station between South Morang and Mernda that is not elevated, and the only station between Thomastown and Mernda that does not have an island platform.

History

South Morang railway station (1889-1959)

The original South Morang opened in 1889 when the line from Reservoir was extended to Whittlesea. The station operated until the closure of the line beyond Lalor on 28 November 1959, following the electrification of the line to Lalor.[7] The line to Epping was electrified and re-opened on 30 November 1964,[7] and the remaining section of track, from Epping to Whittlesea, was dismantled in the 1970s, although the former right-of-way remained intact. All that remained of the original South Morang station was the platform mound.

A new South Morang station opened on 22 April 2012, as the terminus of an extension of the Epping line.[7] The new station was two kilometres closer to Epping than the former station, arguably in Mill Park or Epping.

Middle Gorge (2018-Present)

Middle Gorge opened near the approximate site of the original South Morang station on 26 August 2018, when the line was extended from South Morang to Mernda, as part of the Mernda Rail project.[4][8] It was first announced as one of two new stations for the project, which was an extension of the South Morang line along the former Whittlesea line right-of-way. Hawkstowe was added to the project after community pressure.[9]

The station was originally to be named Marymede, after the nearby Marymede Catholic College which is across the road from the station. However, this went against Victorian place-naming conventions, as it was named after a school. This caused public outrage for many reasons, mainly because its namesake Middle Gorge Park is located over 2 km from the station site. A letter sent from residents to the Victorian Government states that there was no consultation in the naming process, and that it does not accurately represent the station's location. Residents believe the station should be called "South Morang", whilst the current South Morang station be renamed to "Plenty Valley", in order to better reflect their locations.[10]

Platforms and services

Middle Gorge has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.[11]

More information Platform, Line ...
Middle Gorge platform arrangement
Platform Line Destination Service Type
1  Mernda line  Flinders Street All stations and limited express services
2  Mernda line  Mernda All stations
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Transport links

Dysons operates one bus route via Middle Gorge station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  •  383 : Mill Park Lakes Palisades Estate – University Hill[12]

Gallery

  • Building and entrance to Platform 2, May 2019
    Building and entrance to Platform 2, May 2019

References

External links

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