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Rockbank railway station

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Coordinates: 37°43′45″S 144°39′03″E / 37.7291°S 144.6508°E / -37.7291; 144.6508
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Rockbank
PTV regional rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 1, February 2024
General information
LocationLeakes Road,
Rockbank, Victoria 3335
City of Melton
Australia
Coordinates37°43′45″S 144°39′03″E / 37.7291°S 144.6508°E / -37.7291; 144.6508
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byV/Line
Line(s)Ballarat Ararat Maryborough
(Ararat)
Distance30.19 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 side
Tracks2
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking350
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusOperational, unstaffed
Station codeRBK
Fare zoneMyki Zone 2
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened2 April 1884; 140 years ago (1884-04-02)
Rebuilt26 August 2019
Previous namesMount Atkinson (1884-1889)
Passengers
2013–20146,477[1]
2014–20157,469[1] Increase 15.31%
2015–201610,019[1] Increase 34.14%
2016–201719,312[1] Increase 92.75%
2017–2018Not measured[1]
2018–201941,450[1] Increase 114.63%
2019–202057,650[1] Increase 39.08%
2020–202157,900[1] Increase 0.43%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Victoria V/Line Following station
Caroline Springs
towards Southern Cross
 Ballarat line Cobblebank
towards Wendouree
Ballarat line
(Melton line)
 Cobblebank
towards Melton or Bacchus Marsh
Ararat line Cobblebank
towards Ararat
Maryborough line
One daily service
 Cobblebank
One-way operation

Rockbank railway station is a regional railway station on the Ararat line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the western suburb of Rockbank, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Rockbank station is a ground level premium station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 2 April 1884, with the current station provided in 2019.[2]

Initially opened as Mount Atkinson, the station was given its current name of Rockbank in November 1889.[2]

History

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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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

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. Also in that year, flashing light signals were provided at the Leakes Road level crossing,[2] located nearby in the up direction of the station.[2] 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 former northern platform (was Platform 2, now Platform 1) was not provided until 1992,[5] replacing the former short platform.

In 2002, boom barriers were provided at the Leakes Road level crossing.[2][3] In 2005, control of the signals was transferred to the Ballarat signal box, as part of the Regional Fast Rail project.[3]

In March 2018, as part of the Regional Rail Revival project, work began on the reconstruction of the station.[6][7] The two side platforms were completely rebuilt to fit six-carriage VLocity trains, and an accessible pedestrian overpass was installed over the tracks, accessed by lifts, ramps and stairs. The upgraded station had a new sealed car park for over 350 cars, new bus and taxi bays, secure bike storage areas, and drop-off zones. On 26 August 2019, the rebuilt station was opened to passengers.[8] The project also involved 18 km of duplication of track between Deer Park West and Melton. It was provided in late 2019, coinciding with the opening of Cobblebank.[2][9][10]

First announced by the Andrews State Government in 2018, the station is set to be integrated into the metropolitan railway network, as part of the Western Rail Plan.[11]

Platforms and services

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Rockbank has two side platforms. It is served by V/Line Ballarat and Ararat line trains.[12]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

[edit]

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)[13]
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  • Outside view of Rockbank Station looking at carpark and station concourse in the distance, February 2024
    Outside view of Rockbank Station looking at carpark and station concourse in the distance, February 2024

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Rockbank". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Victorian Station Histories - Rockbank" (PDF). www.vrhistory.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Rockbank Railway Station". Department of Planning & Community Development. Archived from the original on 7 May 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1992. p. 331.
  6. ^ Minister for Public Transport (1 March 2017). "$518 Million Ballarat Line Upgrade Released To Market". Premier of Victoria website. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Ballarat Line Upgrade". Rail Projects Victoria. 2 February 2019. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  8. ^ Rockbank Station Archived 12 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Regional Rail Revival - Ballarat
  9. ^ "Cobblebank Station opening community event". Victoria's Big Build. 24 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Celebrating Cobblebank Station opening". Victoria's Big Build. 24 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  11. ^ "A Real Plan For Fast Regional Rail And Metro Rail For The West". Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  12. ^ Ballarat - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
  13. ^ "456 Sunshine Station - Melton". Public Transport Victoria.
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