Officer railway station is a commuter railway station on the Pakenham line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Officer, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Officer station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 4 August 1881, with the current station provided in 1956.[4]
Initially opened as Officer's Siding, the station was given its current name of Officer on 13 February 1888.[4]
History
Officer station opened on 4 August 1881, almost four years after the railway line was extended from Dandenong to Pakenham.[5] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after Robert Officer, a local pastoralist.[6] Another theory is that the station and suburb were named after the Officer family, who were originally from Deniliquin, New South Wales.[7]
In 1955, the line between Officer and Pakenham was duplicated[5] and, on 13 May 1956, duplication between Officer and Berwick was provided. In that year, a new station was also provided east of the original site.[5]
In 1976, flashing light signals were provided at the former Station Street level crossing, which was located nearby in the up direction of the station.[8] A decade later, in 1986, boom barriers were provided.[9][10]
On 8 May 1987, a collision involving a Flinders Street-bound Comeng train set and V/Line locomotive N457, operating an up Traralgon service, occurred in the down direction of the station.[11][12] 45 people were injured in the collision.[11][12] Comeng carriage 388M was later scrapped due to the collision, however, part of the carriage was later used as a café in the pedestrian underpass at Werribee.[13]
In 1988, the former goods siding was taken out of service.[14] The main line points leading into the siding were spiked, and were removed at a later date.[14]
Sometime during or after 1995, the present station shelters were provided, replacing timber station buildings.[15][16]
On 29 July 2021, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Station Street level crossing will be closed to vehicle traffic by 2025, and was replaced with the pedestrian gates located further up next to the station.[18][19]
On 18 May 2024, Station Street level crossing and equipment was removed and the road was permanently closed. It was replaced by the existing pedestrian crossing gates located further up next to Officer station.[20][21][22]
