Altona railway station

Altona railway station is located on the Werribee line in Victoria, and serves the western Melbourne suburb of Altona. The station opened on 1 December 1917 as the terminus of the line from Newport.[1][2]

For the railway station in Germany, see Hamburg-Altona station.

Altona
Eastbound view in November 2007
Location	Railway Street South, Altona
Coordinates	37°52′02″S 144°49′48″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Werribee
Distance	17.15 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	1
Tracks	1
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	70
Other information
Status	Unstaffed station
Station code	ALT
Fare zone	Myki zone 1/2 overlap
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	1 December 1917
Electrified	2 October 1926
Services
Preceding station   Metro Trains   Following station Seaholme towards Newport Werribee line (Altona loop) Westona towards Laverton

History

The railway to Altona was constructed by the Altona Bay Estate Company, a private land developer, and opened on 9 November 1888 to a station named Altona Beach, which was about a kilometre to the east of the current station.[3] As a result of the collapse of the 1880s Land Boom, regular services to Altona Beach ceased after August 1890, and the Victorian government declined the offer of the owners to gift it the line. In the 1890s, the company opened a brown coal mine near the terminus of the line, and in 1907, a siding was built in the same area to enable sand to be despatched by rail. In 1910, the Altona Brown Coal Colliery Company began railing quantities of brown coal, using a siding which was a north-west extension of the Altona line.[4]

In 1917, the owners of the railway entered into an agreement with the Victorian Railways (VR) to provide a regular passenger service, having guaranteed to cover any operating losses.[4] On 1 December 1917, the VR opened a new Altona Beach station on the present site.[1] For a period of time, de-motored McKeen railmotors were used as carriages on steam-hauled passenger services.

By 1924, the private owner of the Altona line owed the VR £7,289, being the accumulated deficit on operating passenger services, so the VR took full control of the line on 1 October 1924.[3] The track was electrified in 1926, and the station was renamed Altona in 1938. Apart from a few direct trains between Altona and Melbourne in peak periods, all trains were run as shuttle services between Newport and Altona.

By the early 1980s, the station, and the line itself, was under threat of closure, as recommended in the Lonie Report.[5] In October 1981, the rail service was drastically cut, with all shuttle services withdrawn, and only two morning and evening trains being run to and from Melbourne.[4] However, a change of state government in 1982 saw the restitution of many services in July that year.[4] The line was subsequently extended to Westona on 21 January 1985, and to Laverton, on 14 April 1985.[2][6][7]

Platforms and services

Altona has one platform. It is served by Metro Trains' Werribee line trains.[8]

Platform 1:

• Werribee line: all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street, Werribee & Laverton (weekdays)

Transport links

CDC Melbourne operates three routes via Altona station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria (PTV):

• 411: Laverton station – Footscray station[9]
• 412: Laverton station – Footscray station[10]
• 415: Laverton station – Williamstown[11]

Dysons operates one route via Altona station, under contract to PTV:

•  Night Bus  944: Melbourne CBD (Flinders Street) – Point Cook Town Centre (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)[12]

Transdev Melbourne operates one SmartBus route to and from Altona station, under contract to PTV:

•  SmartBus  903: to Mordialloc station[13]

References

1. Altona Vicsig
2. Altona Station Rail Geelong
3. Harrigan, Leo J (1962). Victorian Railways to ‘62. Melbourne: Victorian Railways Public Relations and Betterment Board.
4. Guiney, Michael (1988). The Altona Bay Railway. self-published.
5. "Traffic". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. September 1981. p. 212.
6. "Victoria" Railway Digest March 1985 page 97
7. "Victoria" Railway Digest May 1985 page 151
8. "Werribee Line". Public Transport Victoria.
9. "411 Laverton Station - Footscray via Altona Meadows & Altona & Millers Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
10. "412 Laverton Station - Footscray via Altona Meadows & Altona & Mills St". Public Transport Victoria.
11. "415 Laverton Station - Williamstown via Altona". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "944 Night bus: City - Newport - Altona - Altona Meadows - Point Cook". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "903 Altona - Mordialloc (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au