Sandown Park railway station, Melbourne explained

Sandown Park
Type:PTV commuter rail station
Style:Melbourne
Address:Lightwood Road,
Springvale, Victoria 3171
Borough:City of Greater Dandenong
Country:Australia
Owned:VicTrack
Operator:Metro Trains
Line:
    Distance:25.68 kilometres from
    Southern Cross
    Platforms:2 (1 island)
    Tracks:2
    Structure:At-grade
    Parking:250 spaces
    Bicycle:Yes
    Accessible:No — steep ramp
    Electrified:December 1922
    (1500 V DC overhead)
    Status:Operational, unstaffed
    Code:SNP
    Zone:Myki Zone 2
    Website:Public Transport Victoria
    Former:Oakleigh Racecourse (1889-1892)
    Map State:collapsed

    Sandown Park railway station is a commuter railway station on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, which are part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Springvale, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Sandown Park station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring an island platform. It opened 19 June 1965.[1] [2]

    History

    1889-1955

    Sandown Park originally opened on 12 August 1889 as Oakleigh Racecourse.[2] It was renamed Sandown Park in 1892.[1] Named after Sandown Park in Surrey, England,[3] the station was built to service the nearby Sandown Racecourse, and was only used for racecourse traffic.

    Upon opening, the station did not feature in any timetables for the Eastern line.[2] By 1892, it was featured in timetables for the first time.[2]

    By 1909, in addition to the two main lines, there was a signal box and booking office located at the up end of the station,[2] and two sidings each over 600 metres long on the eastern side of the tracks,[2] for the stabling of special race services. The station had no platform on the up track, instead having an island platform on the down track, with the other face serving one of the sidings on the eastern side.[2] [4]

    By 1929, four sidings existed at the down end of the station, parallel to the main lines.[2] In 1937, a crossover at the down end of the station was abolished[1] [2] and, in 1943, three sidings that adjoined the back platform road were abolished.[1] [2] By 1954, the back platform road and the remaining siding were placed out of use.[1] [2] On 16 May 1955, Sandown Park was closed.[1] [2]

    1965-present

    On 19 June 1965, Sandown Park reopened as an island platform,[1] [2] coinciding with the first race day meeting at the adjacent racecourse.[5] [6] Like the first station, it was open for passengers on race days only.[1] [2] On October 4 of that year, it was opened for general passenger traffic.[1] [2]

    The station once had a second exit and a pedestrian underpass at the up end of the platform, but that has since been closed and filled in.

    Nearby, towards Noble Park, the Corrigan Road level crossing was removed in 2018, as part of the Victorian Government's Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP).

    Platforms and services

    Sandown Park has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Cranbourne and Pakenham line services.[7] [8]

    Platform 1:

    Platform 2:

    Future services:
    In addition to the current services, the PTV Network Development Plan proposes linking the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to both the Sunbury line and under-construction Melbourne Airport rail link via the Metro Tunnel.[9]

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Sandown Park. vicsig.net. 22 January 2023.
    2. May 2005. Sandown Park. David Langley. Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. 45–50.
    3. Web site: Sandown Park. Victorian Places. 22 January 2023.
    4. Victorian Railways signalling diagram – Web site: Sandown Park 743'09. www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com. 2009-07-12.
    5. News: Strollalong to miss at Sandown. Kennedy. Tony. 19 June 1965. 1. The Age.
    6. News: Endurance Stakes at Sandown. 21 June 1965. 20. The Age.
    7. train.
    8. train.
    9. Web site: December 2012 . Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail Overview . 13 February 2023 . Public Transport Victoria . 19 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210919131436/https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/PTV-default-site/footer/legal-and-policies/growing-our-rail-network-2018-2025/PTV_Network-Development-Plan_Metropolitan-Rail_Overview_2016update.pdf . live .