Castlemaine railway station
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox station
Castlemaine railway station is a regional railway station on the Deniliquin line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the north-western suburb and town of Castlemaine, in Victoria, Australia. Castlemaine station is a ground level staffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 21 October 1862.<ref name="VicsigCastlemaine">Castlemaine Vicsig</ref><ref name="VRHistory">Castlemaine VR History</ref>
The station is the terminus of the Victorian Goldfields Railway heritage services on the Maldon line. It used to be the terminus of the cross-country Castlemaine-Maryborough railway, but the section from Castlemaine to Moolort was closed in 2004, and the remaining section to Maryborough was closed in 2011.
Disused stations at Elphinstone and Taradale are located between Castlemaine and Malmsbury, while disused stations Harcourt and Ravenswood are located between Castlemaine and Kangaroo Flat. Chewton station, between Castlemaine and Malmsbury, has been demolished.
History
In 1973, the turntable at the station was abolished.<ref name=VicsigCastlemaine/><ref name=VRHistory/> On 9 July 1977, the passenger service to Maryborough was withdrawn.<ref name=VRHistory/> In 1978, a number of points were abolished, as was a crossover and the former carriage dock.<ref name=VicsigCastlemaine/><ref name=VRHistory/>
Rationalisation of the former yard occurred during the late 1980s.<ref name="newsrail">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1989, signal boxes "A" and "B" were abolished, and replaced with a signal panel within the station office.<ref name=VicsigCastlemaine/><ref name=VRHistory/><ref name="SignalBox">Castlemaine Signal Box (CME) Vicsig</ref> Mechanical points were also abolished, and all signals were replaced with two and three position signals.<ref name=VicsigCastlemaine/><ref name=VRHistory/> Also in that year, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Parker Street level crossing, located nearby in the down direction from the station.<ref name=VicsigCastlemaine/><ref name=VRHistory/>
On 17 December 2004, the extension of the Victorian Goldfields Railway from Muckleford to Castlemaine was opened.<ref name=VRHistory/> On 17 January 2005, the signal panel was abolished.<ref name=SignalBox/>
Platforms and services
Castlemaine has one island platform with two faces (Platforms 2 and 3) and one side platform (Platform 1). Platforms 1 and 2 are used by V/Line Bendigo, Echuca and Swan Hill line services in both directions,<ref>Bendigo - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria</ref><ref>Swan Hill - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria</ref> while Platform 3 is used by Victorian Goldfields Railway heritage services to Maldon.<ref>Timetable Victorian Goldfields Railway</ref>
| colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr, #Template:Rcr); " |Castlemaine platform arrangement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Line | Destination | Service Type | Notes |
| 1 | Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox |
Southern Cross, Bendigo, Epsom, Eaglehawk, Echuca, Swan Hill | All stations and limited express services | |
| 2 | Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox |
Southern Cross, Bendigo, Epsom, Eaglehawk, Echuca, Swan Hill | All stations and limited express services | |
| 3 | Template:RouteBox | Maldon | All stations | Victorian Goldfields Railway - heritage railway |
Transport links
Castlemaine Bus Lines operates five routes via Castlemaine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- Template:Color box: Castlemaine – Campbells Creek<ref>1 Castlemaine - Campbells Creek Public Transport Victoria</ref>
- Template:Color box: Castlemaine Town Loop<ref>2 Castlemaine Town Loop Public Transport Victoria</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Maldon<ref>4 Castlemaine - Maldon Public Transport Victoria</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Taradale<ref>5 Castlemaine - Taradale via Chewton Public Transport Victoria</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Chewton<ref>6 Castlemaine - Chewton via Loddon Prison Public Transport Victoria</ref>
References
External links
- Template:Commons category-inline
- Victorian Railway Stations gallery
- Castlemaine and Maldon Junction Victorian Station Histories
- Melway map at street-directory.com.au