Frankston railway line


The Frankston railway line is a 42.7km commuter rail passenger train service in Melbourne, Victoria. It operates between Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district and Frankston through the south-eastern suburbs including Richmond, South Yarra, Armadale, Malvern, Caulfield East, Glen Huntly, Ormond, McKinnon, Bentleigh, Moorabbin, Cheltenham, Mentone, Parkdale, Mordialloc, Aspendale, Edithvale, Chelsea, Bonbeach, Carrum, Seaford, and Frankston. The line continues on to Stony Point as the non electrified Stony Point line from Frankston, however, there are no through services between Stony Point and the City. It is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne and is part of the Public Transport Victoria metropolitan rail network. Between Caulfield and the city, the Frankston line acts as a de facto local service whilst Pakenham/Cranbourne line trains run express.

Description

The Frankston line runs south from Caulfield, functioning from the main line to Pakenham and Gippsland, and runs through built-up areas for its entire length. From Mentone the line is never more than about from the eastern shore of Port Phillip, and runs alongside the Nepean Highway for much of its length.
After Caulfield, the line traverses flat country and has fairly minor earthworks, and has numerous level crossings. The level crossing near Glenhuntly station is one of Melbourne's three remaining crossings with tram tracks, and the only one with three railway tracks crossing two tramway tracks.

Infrastructure

The Frankston railway line shares four tracks with the line to Dandenong and beyond from near Richmond to Caulfield, running next to the Sandringham line as far as South Yarra. From Caulfield, the Frankston line has three tracks to Moorabbin. The centre track is signalled for bidirectional operation, allowing for express trains overtaking stopping trains in the peak direction. From Moorabbin to Frankston the line is double track. Power signalling is provided throughout, and intermediate terminating facilities are provided at Moorabbin, Cheltenham, Mordialloc, and Carrum. Stabling facilities for suburban trains are provided at Mordialloc, Kannanook, and Frankston.

Services

A mix of Local and Express services operate on the Frankston Line. Express service operate exclusively during peak hours in the peak direction of travel. The Frankston Line is the only line on the Melbourne metropolitan rail network to have a 10-minute frequency off-peak and is one of the lines that operate a 20-minute frequency on weekday nights, the other being the Sandringham line.

Local (Stopping all Stations)

Local trains stop all stations between Flinders Street and Frankston and can run direct or via the City Loop. The majority of services operated on the Frankston Line are local trains. Express trains only operate during peak hour on weekdays in the primary direction of travel..

Direct

City Loop (Counter Clockwise CCW)

City Loop (Clockwise CW)

Limited Express

Express

Station Guide

Legend - Stations
Legend - Stopping Patterns

Rolling Stock

All trains are operated as 6 carriage trains:
The line from Caulfield to Mordialloc opened in December 1881 and was extended to Frankston in August 1882. It was electrified in three stages between March and August 1922.
Power signalling of the line was begun in 1933 with the section from Caulfield to Glenhuntly, and the remainder of the line was converted in a number of stages from 1958 to 1986. Amplification of the line from Caulfield to Moorabbin to three tracks was announced by then Transport Minister Steve Crabb in 1984, at a cost of $10 million to save 10 minutes on travel times from Frankston. Work begun in July that year and was due for completion by the end of 1985. However, it did not enter service until June 1986, with three track working commencing in July the same year. Plans in the 1970s included the third track to extend to Mordialloc, however those plans did not eventuate.
The current bridge over the Patterson River was provided in 1974, replacing the previous trestle bridge.
On 1 March 2007, Zone 3 in the Melbourne Metropolitan rail system was abolished. All stations between Patterson and Frankston are now in Zone 2.
In the early 2010s, the line, along with the Werribee and Williamstown lines, was upgraded as part of the Bayside Rail Project. The upgrade included station refurbishments, track, signal and electrical upgrades to allow X'Trapolis trains to operate on the line.

Proposals

In their "People Plan" for the 2010 Victorian election, the Australian Greens proposed to extend electrification of the Frankston/Stony Point Line and add new stations at Langwarrin and Mornington onto the suburban train network, allowing for increased capacity, increased frequency and easier integration.
At the 2010 state election, both the Labor Party and the Liberal Party promised to provide a new Premium station between Highett and Cheltenham, to serve the Westfield Southland shopping centre. The station was to cost $13-million, would have had two platforms, and was predicted to be used by 1,400 passengers daily. The project was scheduled for completion by 2014, but nothing was done until after the 2014 state election. The Station opened on 26 November 2017.
In 2017 the Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy pledged to extend the Frankston train line to Baxter which would include making it electrified like the majority of Melbourne's train lines. The incumbent Victorian Labor Government pledged an extension of the Frankston Railway Line if they had won the 2018 Victorian state election following Mr Guy's announcement regarding this. The business case and recommendations for this electrification was completed in 2019.
In November 2018, Victorian State Government announced plans to remove two further level crossings at Neerim Road and Glen Huntly Road in Glenhuntly. Brand new Glenhuntly station is included in the project, as well as the elimination of tram-train square outside of station, which will separate tram and train services in the area.

Level Crossing Removals

18 level crossings on the Frankston Line have been identified for removal as part of the Victorian State Government's Level Crossing Removal program. These crossings are:
North Road, McKinnon Road and Centre Road were the first level crossings to be fully grade-separated by the Level Crossing Removal Authority on the Frankston Line. The rail line was sunken into a trench with road bridges being built above. Additionally, the 3 stations adjacent to each level crossing, Ormond, McKinnon and Bentleigh, were rebuilt inside of the trench. The entire line and the 3 new stations were reopened to the public on the 1st of August 2016. This was after a 37 day construction blitz which saw the suspension of all services on the line. There were secret government plans to build a sky-tower above Ormond Station. Evidence of this was through the construction of extra concrete foundations of which had not been anticipated to be built according to plans. There was controversy over these secret plans. However, in 2017, the government decided to cancel the construction of the Sky-Tower. As of January 2020, the extra foundations laid remain idle and unused..

Cheltenham and Mentone

The level crossings at Charman Road, Park Road and Balcombe Road will be grade separated via a rail trench. Cheltenham and Mentone stations will be rebuilt inside of the rail trench, with each rebuilt station retaining elements of the old station buildings and structures for heritage purposes. New walking and cycling paths will also be built adjacent to the rail reserve, better connecting the communities of Cheltenham and Mentone.
With construction underway, all 3 crossings are expected to be fully grade separated by late 2020.

Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach

The Edithvale to Bonbeach project will deliver 3 new stations and remove 5 level crossings. Edithvale Road, Argyle Avenue and Bondi Road will be grade separated by lowering the rail line into a trench. Swanpool Avenue and Chelsea Road will be closed to traffic at the rail line. Thames Promenade will be extended to provide an additional point of connection to the Nepean Highway. Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach stations will be rebuilt inside of the new rail trench. The rebuilt stations will reflect the coastal and indigenous heritage of the area in its design. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

Glen Huntly

The removal of the crossings at Neerim Road and Glen Huntly Road is currently in the planning stage and is expected to be fully grade separated by 2025. The project will also include rebuilding Glen Huntly station.

Carrum

The Carrum project involves the removal of 3 level crossings, construction of a new elevated Carrum Station, construction of a new road bridge across the Patterson River and revitalisation of the local community. The first stage of the project was completed in September 2018 with the opening of the Karrum Karrum Road bridge across the Patterson river.
Station Street in Carrum was grade separated through the use of a rail bridge and Mcleod Road was extended to the Nepean Highway, creating a beach side promenade. The crossings at Mascot Avenue and Eel Race road were removed and closed to traffic in early 2020.
The newly built Carrum Station will form the centre piece of the Carrum community revitalisation works. The immediate vicinity surrounding the station will be redeveloped into a community hub with new open spaces, a town square, station garden, village green, foreshore park, beach side promenade and seating terraces. Local and indigenous heritage has been incorporated into the revitalisation project. This is reflected through the use of native flora in landscaping works and the inclusion of local indigenous artwork and design features.

Seaford

A hybrid design was adopted to grade separate Seaford Road from the rail line, with Seaford Road being lowered by 1.5m and the rail line being elevated onto an embankment. New cycling paths, walking paths and community spaces were constructed between Seaford and Frankston. The level crossing removal was completed in September 2018 and revitalisation works were completed in 2019.

Frankston

Skye Road in Frankston was grade separated using a rail bridge in June 2018.