Balaclava railway station, Melbourne

Balaclava railway station is located on the Sandringham line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Balaclava opening on 19 December 1859.[2]

Balaclava
Location	Carlisle Street, Balaclava
Coordinates	37°52′10″S 144°59′36″E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro
Line(s)	Sandringham
Distance	9.09 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Tram
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Premium station
Station code	BCV
Fare zone	Myki zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	19 December 1859
Electrified	Yes
Traffic
Passengers (2008-2009)	1.099 million[1]
Passengers (2009-2010)	1.151 million[1]  4.73%
Passengers (2010-2011)	1.163 million[1]  1.04%
Passengers (2011-2012)	1.046 million[1]  10.06%
Passengers (2012-2013)	Not measured[1]
Passengers (2013-2014)	1.107 million[1]  5.83%
Services
Preceding station   Metro Trains   Following station Windsor towards Flinders Street Sandringham line Ripponlea towards Sandringham

It is an elevated station located above the Carlisle Street rail overpass. In 1981 the station buildings were reconstructed[3] and was reconstructed again in 2013/14 as part of an upgrade to the station.

In 1996 two men found $200,000 in a drum buried beneath one of the platforms.[4] They handed it into the police and the find was reported in the media. In the same week another man found a second drum under the platform containing a similar quantity of money, which he also turned into the police. As no one claimed the money, both men were granted ownership of the money they found, despite being considered trespassers on land owned by the Public Transport Corporation.[5]

Upgrade

In June 2012 a $13.3 million upgrade involving widening the platforms, upgrades to stair and ramp access, signage, booking office facilities, waiting rooms, provision of new station canopies to improve weather protection, wheelchair shelters and toilets was announced.[6] CCTV cameras were added as well as provision for future lifts. The upgrade was completed in October 2014 with the station becoming a Premium station.[7][8][9][10]

Platforms & services

Balaclava has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains Sandringham line services travelling between Flinders Street and Sandringham.[11]

Platform 1:

• Sandringham line: all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

• Sandringham line: all stations services to Sandringham

Transport links

Yarra Trams operate two routes via Balaclava station:

• 3/3a: Melbourne University - East Malvern[12]
• 16: Melbourne University - Kew[13]

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. Balclava Vicsig
3. Vincent Adams Winter (1990). VR and VicRail: 1962 - 1983. p. 107. ISBN 0-9592069-3-0.
4. "ABC Radio National - The Law Report Transcript". www.abc.net.au. 6 February 1996. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
5. "ABC Radio National - The Law Report Transcript". www.abc.net.au. 13 July 1996. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
6. A new look for Balaclava station St Kilda News 4 June 2012
7. Balaclava Station Upgrade Project Archived 29 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Victoria
8. Balaclava Station Upgrade Archived 20 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Victoria
9. Premium experience coming soon to Balaclava station Premier of Victoria 24 September 2014
10. "Premium experience comes to refurbished Balaclava Station" Railway Digest November 2014 page 25
11. "Sandringham Line". Public Transport Victoria.
12. "3-3a Melbourne University - East Malvern". Public Transport Victoria.
13. "16 Melbourne University - Kew via St Kilda Beach". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

• Media related to Balaclava railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au