Cheltenham railway station, Melbourne

Track layout
	Legend

Cheltenham
Cheltenham
PTV commuter rail station
	Northbound view from Platform 3, November 2020
General information
Location	Charman Road,; Cheltenham, Victoria 3192; City of Bayside; City of Kingston; Australia
Coordinates	37°58′01″S 145°03′17″E / 37.9670°S 145.0547°E
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Frankston
Distance	22.43 kilometres from; Southern Cross
Platforms	3 (1 island, 1 side)
Tracks	3
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Below ground
Parking	356
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	CTM
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	19 December 1881; 142 years ago
Rebuilt	16 August 2020 (LXRP)
Electrified	June 1922 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	1,051,110
2006–2007	1,114,774 6.05%
2007–2008	1,221,956 9.61%
2008–2009	1,361,905 11.45%
2009–2010	1,402,813 3%
2010–2011	1,286,161 8.31%
2011–2012	1,129,856 12.15%
2012–2013	Not measured
2013–2014	962,774 14.78%
2014–2015	957,892 0.5%
2015–2016	901,822 5.85%
2016–2017	900,032 0.19%
2017–2018	903,698 0.4%
2018–2019	823,386 8.88%
2019–2020	454,850 44.75%
2020–2021	233,800 48.59%
2021–2022	319,800 36.78%
2022–2023	450,000 40.71%
Services
	Caulfield Weekday peak express services towards Werribee or Williamstown via Flinders Street
Track layout
Track layout
	Legend

Cheltenham railway station is a commuter railway station on the Frankston line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Cheltenham, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Cheltenham station is a below ground premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It opened on 19 December 1881, with the current station provided in 2020.^[4]

History

Cheltenham station opened on 19 December 1881,^[4] and was one of the earliest stations on the Frankston line.^[5] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after the Cheltenham Inn, which was opened by Charles Whorral in 1853.^[6]^[7] Whorral named the inn after his home town in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.^[6]^[7]

In 1956, the former dock platform (Platform 1) was provided.^[8] A siding originally existed at this dock platform.

In 1966, boom barriers were provided at the former Park Road level crossing, which was located at the up (Melbourne) end of the station.^[8] In 1972, a signal panel was installed in the station building to control trains terminating at Platform 1.^[9] It coincided with the introduction of automatic signalling between Highett and Cheltenham. Also in that year, boom barriers were provided at the former Charman Road level crossing, which was located at the down (Frankston) end of the station.^[8]

In the early 1980s, a fourth track was laid into the bitumen of the former Park Street level crossing in preparation for triplication.^[10] However, triplication was only extended to Moorabbin in 1987.^[11]

There was previously a siding on the eastern side of the station, at the up end.^[12] By 1980, the wiring for the siding was deactivated, when most of the siding was replaced with car parking,^[10] and was removed altogether by 1985.^[13]

On 8 March 1996, Cheltenham was upgraded to a premium station.^[14]

In 2010, Cheltenham was identified as a key part of the Cheltenham Major Activity Centre by the Brumby Labor Government, as part of its Melbourne 2030 strategic planning policy framework. In that year, Kingston City Council proposed a major redevelopment of the station environs, including a new station forecourt with a terraced plaza, giving more prominence to the heritage-listed buildings at the station, and a new taxi rank, similar to that at Mentone.^[15] However, the proposal was not implemented.

In October 2015, the station toilets underwent a refurbishment.^[16]

From its opening in 1881, the station was located between Mentone and Highett. The opening of Southland in 2017 meant that Southland replaced Highett as the closest station to Cheltenham in the up direction.

In February 2017, it was announced that, as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project of the Andrews Labor Government, Cheltenham would be rebuilt in a rail trench, to allow the elimination of the level crossings at Charman and Park Roads. The trench, 1.26 kilometres (0.78 mi) in length and 30 metres (98 ft) wide, facilitated the reinstatement of the dock platform (Platform 1) as part of a duplication of the down track. Road bridges were constructed over the rail line at Charman and Park Roads, and the previous car park was replaced with a multi–storey car park.^[17] On 16 August 2020, the rebuilt station opened in the trench, and a new station building constructed on a deck across the railway line.^[18] The former station building on Platforms 1 and 2 was later donated to the Mornington Railway Preservation Society.^[19]

Incidents

On 10 May 2008, former The Saddle Club actress Jessica Jacobs was fatally hit by a train at Cheltenham.^[20] On 16 March 2012, a motorist was killed after a train hit his car at the former Charman Road level crossing.^[21]

Platforms and services

Cheltenham is serviced by Metro Trains' Frankston line services.^[22] Until March 2020, it had two side platforms and one dock platform. The latter was served by one afternoon terminating service from Flinders Street, that returned empty to the city, but from 12 October 2014, extra weekday Flinders Street bound services began to use the platform.

Following the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the station and tracks, as of July 2020, Platform 1 has been turned into a through track, servicing all Flinders Street trains. The station now has the following configuration:

Platform 1:

Frankston line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street, Werribee and Williamstown

Platform 2:

Frankston line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street, Werribee and Williamstown

Platform 3:

Frankston line all stations services to Frankston

Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates three bus routes via Cheltenham station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

600 : Westfield Southland – St Kilda station^[23]
922 : Westfield Southland – St Kilda station^[24]
923 : Westfield Southland – St Kilda station^[25]

Ventura Bus Lines operates four routes via Cheltenham station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

811 : Dandenong station – Brighton^[26]
812 : Dandenong station – Brighton^[27]
822 : Chadstone Shopping Centre – Sandringham station^[28]
828 : Hampton station – Berwick station^[29]

Gallery

Drawings of the Cheltenham railway station building, c. 1881
Cheltenham railway station, c. 1920
Cheltenham railway station, c. 1920
Southbound view of the station platforms from the former Park Road level crossing,
September 2007
Northbound view from Platform 3, August 2012
Northbound view of the station platforms from the former Charman Road level crossing,
February 2017
Station concourse and entrance, November 2020