Diggers Rest
PTV commuter rail station
Southbound view from Platform 2 in November 2012
General information
LocationOld Calder Highway,
Diggers Rest, Victoria 3427
City of Melton
Australia
Coordinates37°37′37″S 144°43′12″E / 37.627°S 144.720°E / -37.627; 144.720
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)Sunbury
Distance32.69 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 side
Tracks2
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure typeGround
Parking550
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes—step free access
Other information
StatusOperational, unstaffed
Station codeDIT
Fare zoneMyki Zone 2
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened2 October 1859; 164 years ago (1859-10-02)
Rebuilt2012
ElectrifiedAugust 2012 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–200625,747[1]
2006–200731,653[1] Increase 22.93%
2007–200843,046[1] Increase 35.99%
2008–200938,448[2] Decrease 10.68%
2009–201033,851[2] Decrease 11.95%
2010–201131,362[2] Decrease 7.35%
2011–201229,629[2] Decrease 5.52%
2012–2013Not measured[2]
2013–201466,231[2] Increase 123.53%
2014–201587,898[1] Increase 32.71%
2015–2016126,895[2] Increase 44.36%
2016–2017142,588[2] Increase 12.36%
2017–2018184,537[2] Increase 29.42%
2018–2019221,250[2] Increase 19.89%
2019–2020185,050[2] Decrease 16.36%
2020–202159,350[2] Decrease 67.92%
2021–202265,200[3] Increase 9.85%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Watergardens
towards Flinders Street
 Sunbury line Sunbury
Terminus
Track layout
Legend
to Watergardens
Holden Road
(Closing by 2025)
Tame Street Drain
1
2
Old Calder Highway
(Removing by 2026)
Calder Freeway
Watsons Road
(Removing by 2026)
to Sunbury

Diggers Rest railway station is located on the Sunbury line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-western Melbourne suburb of Diggers Rest, and it opened on 2 October 1859.[4]

History

Diggers Rest opened on 2 October 1859, eight months after the railway line from Sunshine was extended to Sunbury.[4] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after the fact that the area was used as a resting place for prospectors travelling to Bendigo during the Victorian gold rush.[5][6]

At the time of opening, a small goods shed and siding were provided. In 1928, interlocked gates were provided at the Calder Highway level crossing, and were replaced with boom barriers in 1982.[7] In 1989, the goods siding was abolished and,[4] in 1992, the remaining crossover was removed.[4] The waiting room and booking lobby inside the building on Platform 1 were also provided in that year[8] and, along with the signal box, was restored in 2002, after being damaged by fire during the previous year.[9] On 16 April 2005, the signal box was abolished, as part of the Regional Fast Rail project.[10]

On 18 November 2012, the station was added to the metropolitan network, when the line between Watergardens and Sunbury was electrified.[11][12] As part of those works, the station was refurbished, with both platforms extended at the up (Flinders Street) end. The car park was also enlarged.[13]

On 21 October 2022, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Old Calder Highway level crossing was to be grade separated with a road over rail design.[14] Also in that year, both platforms were extended in length, from 159m to 163m.[4]

Platforms and services

Diggers Rest has two side platforms. It is served by Sunbury line trains.[15]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

By late 2025, it is planned that trains on the Sunbury line will be through-routed with those on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, via the new Metro Tunnel.

Transport links

Sunbury Bus Service operates one route via Diggers Rest station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b c d Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  3. ^ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
  4. ^ a b c d e "Diggers Rest". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Diggers Rest and Plumpton". Victorian Places. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  6. ^ First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. September 1982. p. 215.
  8. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. October 1992. p. 331.
  9. ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. June 2002. p. 186.
  10. ^ "Diggers Rest Signal Box (DIT)". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Sunbury Electrification Overview". Victorian State Government Department of Transport. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Sunbury Electrification Station Improvements". Victorian State Government Department of Transport. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  13. ^ Sunbury Electrification Project Archived 15 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine diggersrest.com 3 July 2009
  14. ^ "Making the Sunbury Line level crossing-free". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Sunbury Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  16. ^ "483 Sunbury - Moonee Ponds via Diggers Rest". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

Public Transport Victoria railway stations
Categories