Belgrave railway line

Belgrave
Belgrave
Overview
Connecting lines	Lilydale line, Gembrook line
Former connections	Gembrook line at Upper Ferntree Gully
Stations	8 (after Ringwood)
Service
Type	Melbourne suburban service
System	Metro Trains Melbourne
Rolling stock	X'Trapolis 100
History
Commenced	1888 (From Ringwood)
Completed	1889 to Upper Ferntree Gully; 1900 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge through Belgrave to Gembrook; 1962 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge to Belgrave
Closed	1954 narrow gauge Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook
Reopened	1962 broad gauge Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave
Technical
Line length	41.8 km (26.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track to Ferntree Gully, single track with crossing loops beyond
show Route map
	Legend
	Multiple lines
	via North Melbourne
	Hurstbridge line
	This diagram: view; talk; ;

Boronia railway station

The terminus, Belgrave railway station with a 3 Carriage Comeng Train

The Belgrave railway line is a commuter rail line operating between Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district and Belgrave through Melbourne's eastern suburbs including Richmond, Cremorne, Burnley, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, Camberwell, Canterbury, Surrey Hills, Mont Albert, Box Hill, Blackburn, Nunawading, Mitcham, Ringwood, Heathmont, Bayswater, Boronia, Ferntree Gully, Upper Ferntree Gully, Upwey, Tecoma and Belgrave. It is part of the Melbourne rail network operated by Metro Trains Melbourne.

Beyond Belgrave, the narrow-gauge line has been restored and runs to the original terminus of Gembrook as the Puffing Billy Railway.

Infrastructure[]

The line shares four tracks to Burnley, where the Glen Waverley line branches off and uses 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad-gauge tracks. The line is triple track to Box Hill, and double track to Ringwood where the Lilydale line branches off. The line remains double track to Ferntree Gully, then single track to Belgrave, with passing loops and island platforms at Upper Ferntree Gully, Upwey, and Belgrave. The line is controlled by automatic block signalling.^[1]

Intermediate terminating facilities are provided at Bayswater and Upper Ferntree Gully. Bayswater is not normally used for terminating, but is also the location of a repair centre. Stabling facilities are provided at Bayswater, Upper Ferntree Gully, and Belgrave.

For most of its length (after Ringwood), it is paralleled by the Ringwood–Belgrave Rail Trail,^[2] a shared pedestrian and bicycling route.

Services[]

A variety of stopping patterns operate on the Belgrave railway line.^[3] As the line shares track between Flinders Street and Ringwood with the Lilydale railway line, double frequencies is often provided on this section. Similar service patterns are replicated on the Lilydale railway line. Additional service is provided by the Alamein railway line between Camberwell and Flinders Street during peak hours.

City Loop[]

All weekday morning inbound services operate via the City Loop to Flinders Street in an anticlockwise direction. Outbound services travel direct to Richmond. On weekday afternoons, all inbound services travel direct to Flinders Street. Most outbound services travel via the Loop on their way out. Outbound local trains will travel direct to Richmond during this time. On weekends, inbound services travel direct to Flinders Street before running via the Loop on their way out. Night Network services run direct between Flinders Street and Richmond and do not travel via the City Loop

Local[]

Trains stop all stations between Belgrave and Flinders Street except for East Richmond. During peak hour, local trains typically operate between Blackburn, Ringwood and Flinders Street. These trains will usually stop at East Richmond. Trains on the Alamein line provide additional local service during peak hours between Camberwell and Flinders Street.
On weekends, only local service is provided with trains stopping at all stations. A few trains may skip East Richmond. Travel time between Belgrave and Flinders Street is around 1 hour and 14 minutes via the City Loop and 1 hour and 5 minutes direct.
A shuttle service is operated between Ringwood and Belgrave during early mornings and late at night.

Every 30 Minutes (to Belgrave) Daytime on Weekdays

Every 15 Minutes (Between Flinders Street and Ringwood) Daytime on Weekdays

Every 20 Minutes (to Belgrave) Daytime on Weekends

Every 10 Minutes (Between Flinders Street and Ringwood) Daytime on Weekends

Every Hour (Night Network)

Express[]

There are two primary express patterns operating on the line. Trains operating the slower express service will stop at Camberwell and Glenferrie between Richmond and Box Hill. Some trains may skip/pass Glenferrie.
Trains operating the faster express service do not make any stops between Box Hill and Richmond, however some trains may make an additional stop at Surrey Hills. These faster express services travel between Box Hill and Richmond in 13 minutes whilst a local train will take 24 minutes.This express services operate exclusively during peak hour in the peak direction of travel and will always travel via the City Loop.
Additionally, limited express trains operate express between Richmond and Camberwell with some services making an additional stop at Glenferrie.
Express trains operate only during weekdays.

Every 30 Minutes during the day on Weekdays

Every 10-15 Minutes during Peak Hours on Average

Station Guide[]

◼ Premium Station - Station staffed from first to last train
◻ Host Station - Usually staffed during Morning peak, however this can vary for different stations on the network.

Legend - Stopping Patterns

● - All Trains Stop
○ - Some Trains Stop
| - Trains Pass and Don't Stop

Lilydale / Belgrave Line
Station	Local			Ltd. Express		Express		Express
Station	Shuttle	Loop	Direct	Loop	Direct	Loop	Direct	Direct
◼ Flinders Street		●		●		●		●
◼ Southern Cross		●	\|	●	\|	●	\|	●
◼ Flagstaff		●	\|	●	\|	●	\|	●
◼ Melbourne Central		●	\|	●	\|	●	\|	●
◼ Parliament		●	\|	●	\|	●	\|	●
◼ Richmond		●		●		●		●
East Richmond		○		\|		\|		\|
◼ Burnley		●		\|		\|		\|
Hawthorn		●		\|		\|		\|
◼ Glenferrie		●		○		○		\|
◻ Auburn		●		\|		\|		\|
◼ Camberwell		●		●		●		\|
East Camberwell		●		●		\|		\|
Canterbury		●		●		\|		\|
Chatham		●		●		\|		\|
◼ Surrey Hills		●		●		\|		○
Mont Albert		●		●		\|		\|
◼ Box Hill		●		●		●		●
Laburnum		●		●		○		○
◼ Blackburn		●		●		●		●
◼ Nunawading		●		●		●		●
◼ Mitcham		●		●		●		●
◻ Heatherdale		●		●		●		●
◼ Ringwood	●	●		●		●		●
Through Service to Belgrave Line
Heathmont	●	●		●		●		●
◼ Bayswater	●	●		●		●		●
◼ Boronia	●	●		●		●		●
◼ Ferntree Gully	●	●		●		●		●
◼ Upper Ferntree Gully	●	●		●		●		●
Upwey	●	●		●		●		●
Tecoma	●	●		●		●		●
◼ Belgrave	●	●		●		●		●

Note:

A few trains operate to different stopping patterns, especially during the peak period between Ringwood and Box Hill.
Some trains terminate and start their services at intermediate stations.

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Interactive map of Belgrave line in eastern Melbourne.

Rolling Stock[]

The majority of trains are operated using 6 carriages. Some local and shuttle services are operated using 3 car train sets.

X'Trapolis 100

History[]

The line from Ringwood to Upper Ferntree Gully was opened in December 1889. A narrow-gauge 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) line was opened from there to Gembrook in December 1900, the second of four experimental narrow-gauge lines built by the Victorian Railways.

In 1921, the narrow-gauge section from Upper Ferntree Gully to Belgrave was converted to automatic signalling, the first such instance on single track in the Southern Hemisphere.^[4] This section reverted to Staff and Ticket safeworking in 1930.

Electrification of the railway to Upper Ferntree Gully was implemented in November 1925.

Following a landslide in 1953, the narrow-gauge line was formally closed in April 1954, although it was reopened as far as Belgrave for some "farewell specials" and then for the Puffing Billy Preservation Society until again closed in February 1958.

The line was partly duplicated between Bayswater and Lower Ferntree Gully (now Ferntree Gully) in February 1957.

The narrow-gauge line to Belgrave had been closed so that the line could be rebuilt as part of the suburban electrified system. The new, broad-gauge, electrified extension opened in February 1962. It initially operated on the Staff and Ticket system, but was converted to automatic signalling in March 1964, with the section from Ferntree Gully to Upper Ferntree Gully being converted the following day.

Ringwood to Bayswater was converted to automatic signalling in June 1974, as was Bayswater to Ferntree Gully in July 1977. In December 1982, Ringwood to Bayswater was duplicated.

The Comeng trains were introduced to the Melbourne railway system in 1981. Initially, along with the Belgrave line, they were only allowed to operate on the Alamein, Dandenong, Glen Waverley and Lilydale lines, due to the width of the trains (3.05 metres).^[5]

Bayswater station was rebuilt in 2017, with the project accompanying the removal of the Mountain Highway and Scoresby Road railway crossings in 2016.^[6]

On 4 April 2016, plans to potentially run a regular revenue Tait set service on the Belgrave line was announced. This came following La Trobe MP Jason Wood's push for the idea as part of the greater "Puffing Billy master plan". The Tait service would be aimed at tourists visiting Puffing Billy. In November 2016, La Trobe MP Jason Wood committed $1 million to restoring a Tait set currently stored at Newport workshops. The Tait set service is expected to originate at Flinders Street station as a direct service to Belgrave bypassing the City Loop.^[7]

References[]

^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ "Ringwood Belgrave Railway Trail - Trail Search". www.railtrails.org.au. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ Victoria, Public Transport. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
^ Chronological List of events on the Puffing Billy Railway Archived 2 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Traffic". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1981. p. 185.
^ Bayswater Level Crossing Removal Project
^ "Traffic". Herald Sun. April 2016.

External links[]

Statistics and detailed schematic map at the vicsig enthusiast website

[1] "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[2] "Ringwood Belgrave Railway Trail - Trail Search". www.railtrails.org.au. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[3] Victoria, Public Transport. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 10 April 2020.

[4] Chronological List of events on the Puffing Billy Railway Archived 2 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[5] "Traffic". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1981. p. 185.

[6] Bayswater Level Crossing Removal Project

[7] "Traffic". Herald Sun. April 2016.

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