Rockbank railway station

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Rockbank
PTV regional rail station
View of Rockbank Station.JPG
Eastbound view from Platform 2 in October 2010
LocationStation Street,
Rockbank, Victoria 3335
City of Melton
Australia
Coordinates37°43′45″S 144°39′03″E / 37.7291°S 144.6508°E / -37.7291; 144.6508Coordinates: 37°43′45″S 144°39′03″E / 37.7291°S 144.6508°E / -37.7291; 144.6508
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byV/Line
Line(s)Serviceton
Distance30.19 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms2 side
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking10
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
StatusOperational, Unstaffed
Station codeRBK
Fare zoneMyki Zone 2
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened2 April 1884
Rebuilt26 August 2019
Previous namesMount Atkinson
Services
Preceding station V/Line Following station
Caroline Springs
towards Southern Cross
 Ballarat line Cobblebank
towards Wendouree
Ballarat line
(Melton line)
 Cobblebank
towards Bacchus Marsh
Ararat line Cobblebank
towards Ararat

Rockbank railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Rockbank, and it opened on 2 April 1884 as Mount Atkinson. It was renamed Rockbank in November 1889.[1]

History[]

The station opened as Mount Atkinson on 2 April 1884, at the same time as the Serviceton line through it, and was renamed Rockbank in 1889. Being on a single track railway line, it provided a crossing loop for trains, and continued to do so until 2019.[1] By 1914, it had a three-road yard, a passenger platform on the southern track, a goods platform on the northern track, and an interlocked signal box.[2] The station served the local farming community. With a chaff mill established in the 1890s, and the recreation reserve and tennis club located nearby, the station became the focus of the Rockbank community.[3]

In 1960, the crossing loop was extended for longer trains of up to 730 metres, and a short platform was provided on the loop road. In 1976, Centralised Traffic Control was provided on the line from Sunshine to Rockbank. By the 1970s, the mill was disused, and the station building was demolished circa 1985. In 1986, the yard was rationalised to a main line and crossing loop and, in 1990, the mechanical signals and points were removed, and replaced by remotely controlled signalling, operated from the Bacchus Marsh signal box. The current northern platform (was Platform 2, now Platform 1) was not provided until 1992,[4] replacing the former short platform. As part of the Regional Fast Rail project, control of the signals was transferred to the Ballarat signal box in 2005.[2]

In 1976, flashing light signals were provided at the Leakes Road level crossing,[1] located at the Up end of the station, with boom barriers provided later on in 2002.[1]

In March 2018, as part of the Regional Rail Revival project, work began on the reconstruction of the station.[5][6] The two side platforms were completely rebuilt to fit 6-carriage VLocity trains, and an accessible pedestrian overpass was installed over the tracks, accessed by lifts, ramps and stairs. The upgraded station has a new sealed car park for over 350 cars, new bus and taxi bays, secure bike storage areas, and drop-off zones. It was opened to passengers on 26 August 2019.[7] The project also involved 18km of duplication of track between Deer Park West and Melton. It was provided in late 2019, coinciding with the opening of Cobblebank station.[1][8][9]

The station will eventually become part of the metropolitan railway network under the Western Rail Plan, announced by the Andrews State Government in 2018.[10]

Platforms and services[]

Rockbank has two side platforms. It is serviced by V/Line Ballarat and Ararat line services.[11]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Transport links[]

Transit Systems Victoria operates two routes via Rockbank station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  •  444 : to Aintree
  •  456 : Sunshine station – Woodgrove Shopping Centre (Melton)[12]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Rockbank Vicsig
  2. ^ a b "Victorian Station Histories - Rockbank" (PDF). www.vrhistory.com. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  3. ^ "Rockbank Railway Station". Department of Planning & Community Development. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1992. p. 331.
  5. ^ Minister for Public Transport (1 March 2017). "$518 Million Ballarat Line Upgrade Released To Market". Premier of Victoria website. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Ballarat Line Upgrade". Rail Projects Victoria. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  7. ^ Rockbank Station Regional Rail Revival - Ballarat
  8. ^ "Cobblebank Station opening community event". Victoria's Big Build. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Celebrating Cobblebank Station opening". Victoria's Big Build. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  10. ^ "A Real Plan For Fast Regional Rail And Metro Rail For The West". Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. ^ Ballarat - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  12. ^ "456 Sunshine Station - Melton". Public Transport Victoria.

External links[]

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