Newport railway station, Melbourne

Newport railway station is the junction station for the Werribee and Williamstown lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the western Melbourne suburb of Newport.[2][3]

Newport
Northbound view from Platform 2 in January 2012
LocationMelbourne Road, Newport
Coordinates37°50′33″S 144°53′00″E
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro
Line(s)Werribee
Williamstown
Distance10.56 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms2 side
Tracks3
ConnectionsBus
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking80
Other information
StatusPremium station
Station codeNPT
Fare zoneMyki zone 1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened1 March 1859
ElectrifiedYes
Traffic
Passengers (2008-2009)1.259 million[1]
Passengers (2009-2010)1.413 million[1] 12.23%
Passengers (2010-2011)1.312 million[1] 7.15%
Passengers (2011-2012)1.315 million[1] 0.23%
Passengers (2012-2013)Not measured[1]
Passengers (2013-2014)1.162 million[1] 11.63%
Services
Preceding station   Metro Trains   Following station
TerminusWerribee line
(Altona loop)
Seaholme
towards Laverton
Spotswood
Werribee line
Laverton
towards Werribee
Williamstown line
towards Williamstown

Two sidings exist at the northern end of the station for the stabling of trains used on Williamstown and Altona line shuttle services. The Western standard gauge line to Adelaide runs behind Platform 1, and the Newport Workshops are situated to the south.

History

Newport railway station opened on 1 March 1859 as Geelong Junction, being renamed Williamstown Junction in January 1869 and Newport on 1 November 1881.[2][3] The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company opened the line to Newport in 1857 from Geelong, but it ran along North Road to a temporary terminus at Greenwich as the line on to Melbourne was not yet complete. In October that year the line towards Williamstown was completed, and so the Geelong line was connected to it.[4]

In 1887 the Newport-Sunshine line was opened to provide easier access to the port of Williamstown from the north of Victoria. A number of sidings were provided in the area, to a flour mill on the Melbourne side, and a goods yard on the western side of the Williamstown line. The Melbourne Road level crossing just south of the station was replaced with the current overbridge in October 1960, and in 1966 a freight line was provided behind platform 1 so that freight trains could bypass the station itself. In 1995, that line was converted to dual gauge to become part Western standard gauge line to Adelaide.[3]

It was upgraded to a Premium station on 18 July 1996.[5]

Platforms & services

Newport has two side platforms. Platform 1 features a large brick building which houses an enclosed waiting area and toilets. Platform 2 features a smaller brick building which also contains toilets. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Werribee and Williamstown services.[6][7] Until the opening of the Regional Rail Link in June 2015, Geelong and Warrnambool line services called at Newport.[8]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Sita Buslines operate three routes via Newport station:

Future

There have been several calls to, after the completion of the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel, build a Melbourne Metro 2 that would stretch from Clifton Hill to Newport via Southern Cross.[12] This project, designed to add capacity on the Mernda and Werribee lines, would bring unprecedented changes to Newport, perhaps adding underground platforms. There have even been suggestions to reroute Regional Rail Link once again via Newport into Southern Cross given the popularity of Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, as well as the lack of space on the new tracks between Sunshine and the city. These lines, however, will be many years away.

References

  1. "Train Station Patronage FY2008-2014". Public Transport Victoria. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original (XLS) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016. (access from Archived 3 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
  2. Newport Vicsig
  3. Newport Station Rail Geelong
  4. "GREENWICH RAILWAY STATION IS NOT EVEN A MEMORY NOW". The Argus. 22 January 1944. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  5. "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Heritage Society (Victorian Division). October 1997. p. 310.
  6. "Werribee Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  7. "Williamstown Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  8. "New timetables from Sunday June 21 - Geelong" (Press release). Geelong: V/Line. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  9. "432 Newport - Yarraville via Altona Gate Shopping Centre". Public Transport Victoria.
  10. "471 Williamstown - Sunshine Station via Newport & Altona Gate SC". Public Transport Victoria.
  11. "472 Williamstown - Moonee Ponds via Footscray". Public Transport Victoria.
  12. "Network Development Plan" (PDF). Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
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