Clifton Hill railway station is a commuter railway station and the junction point on the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines, which are both part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Clifton Hill, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Clifton Hill station is a ground-level premium station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 May 1888, with the current station provided in 1990.[4]
Immediately to the north of the station, the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines diverge.
History
Clifton Hill station opened on 8 May 1888, when a railway line between Collingwood and Heidelberg was provided.[4][5] Like the suburb itself, the station was named after the farm Clifton, which was named in 1841 by early landowner John Docker.[6]Land speculator John Knipe later named the area Clifton Hill.[6]
The disused signal box, previously used for the hand gates at Ramsden Street level crossing
In December 1981, the station building was damaged by fire, although the heritage-registered verandah escaped serious damage. In 1990, the station was renovated, with a matching verandah built on the western platform (Platform 2).[7] In 1992, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Ramsden Street level crossing, located nearby in the up direction of the station.[8]Signal boxes "A" and "B" were also abolished in May of that year, with semaphore signals replaced by coloured light signals.[8] On 25 June 1996, Clifton Hill was upgraded to a premium station.[7]
The level crossing's current boom gates, which were used since 1992, succeeding the hand gates, which were put back for show
Clifton Hill is listed on the Register of the National Estate[9] as an intact example of a Victorian Tudor-style suburban railway station, and is one of eleven that were originally built between 1887 and 1889. It is the only example that still retains the original corrugated iron wings on either side of the main building. The timber verandah on the eastern platform (Platform 1) is also considered architecturally rare. Other features of the complex include two timber-framed gabled roofed signal boxes (built in 1888 and 1901 respectively), located on either side of Platform 2, and the original swinging railway gates (out of use since 1992).[10] One signal box was for the operation of the former level crossing gates across Heidelberg Road, which was replaced by a road overpass in 1957. The other signal box controlled the level crossing gates at Ramsden Street.
Clifton Hill was once part of the Inner Circle line. The Hurstbridge line, between Clifton Hill and Westgarth, was duplicated during late 2008 and early 2009, and included a second bridge over the Merri Creek. On 27 January 2009, it was opened by former premier, John Brumby, and former transport minister, Lynne Kosky.[11]
In the early hours of 25 December 2011, a corrugated iron extension to the Platform 2 station building was damaged by fire.[12] By 12 January 2012, the extension was demolished and removed.[12]
Platforms and services
An X'Trapolis train on a Hurstbridge-bound service arrives at Platform 2, August 2024
Clifton Hill has two side platforms, connected by an underpass. Platform 1 contains an enclosed waiting area, while Platform 2 contains a semi-enclosed waiting area and toilets.
A PID on Platform 2 displaying a Hurstbridge-bound service, August 2024
