Highett railway station

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox station

Highett railway station is a commuter railway station on the Frankston line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Highett, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Highett station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 19 December 1881, with the current station provided in 1986.<ref name="vicsighighett">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Initially opened as Highett Road, the station was given its current name of Highett on 14 December 1885.<ref name="vicsighighett">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

Highett station opened when the railway line from Caulfield was extended to Mordialloc.<ref name=vicsighighett/> Like the suburb itself, the station was named after William Highett, a local landowner and a member of the Victorian Legislative Council.<ref name="vphighett">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="heraldsun">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The station was built with the endorsement of Victorian Premier Thomas Bent, who ordered the railway line be redirected through Highett, and also demanded a higher standard of departmental residences there than elsewhere.<ref name=AussieHeritage>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The current station building was erected in 1883 and 1884, and was refurbished in 1966.<ref name=AussieHeritage/> It was refurbished again in 1986, after it had been damaged by fire during the previous year.<ref name="newsrailnov86">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1925, a railway parcels van hit a car at the nearby Wickham Road level crossing, killing eight people in the car. The gatekeeper was found not guilty of a charge of manslaughter, the jury finding the incident was due to the fault of the system, and not human negligence.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1932, there was a shootout between a policeman and a burglar, who was killed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1973, a former wood yard and a lamp room were demolished.<ref name="newsrailoct73">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1985, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Highett Road level crossing, located at the down end of the station.<ref name="somersaultjan90">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The signal box for the level crossing was also abolished during that time.<ref name=vicsighighett/>

On 4 May 2010, as part of the 2010/2011 State Budget, $83.7 million was allocated to upgrade Highett to a premium station, along with nineteen others.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="newsrailjun10">Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, in March 2011, that was scrapped by the Baillieu Government.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2014, the Victorian State Government launched a public safety initiative which involved Protective Services Officers (PSOs) patrolling railway stations at certain times of the day. On 1 June of that year, Highett was added to the list of patrolled stations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A PSO "pod" to provide an office and holding cell was also added to the station.

In October 2017, two PSOs patrolling the station were shot at by a disgruntled 22-year-old, using a battery-powered mechanical handgun filled with gel pellets. One officer was struck in the temple, but was not seriously injured. The shooter, who fired from the balcony of an apartment overlooking the station, was arrested by police and charged with a variety of offences.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In October 2022, it was announced that Highett would be elevated as part of a project to remove seven level crossings on the line. Further details, designs and a construction timeline are to be released closer to the opening of the new station in 2029.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Platforms and services

An X'Trapolis train arriving on a Williamstown-bound service, November 2021

Highett has two side platforms. It is served by Frankston line trains.<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>

Current

colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " \|Highett platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Type
1	Template:RouteBox	Flinders Street, Werribee, Williamstown	Flinders Street	All stations and limited express services
2	Template:RouteBox	Frankston		All stations

From 1 February 2026

colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " \|Highett platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Type
1	Template:RouteBox	Flinders Street	City Loop	All stations and limited express services
2	Template:RouteBox	Frankston		All stations