Prahran railway station

Prahran railway station is a commuter railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened on 22 December 1860, it was initially named Greville Street, then it was given its current name of Prahran on 1 January 1867. The station is named after, and serves, the south-eastern suburb of Prahran.<ref name="vpprahran">Template:Cite web</ref> Prahran station is a ground level host station,<ref name="vicsigprahran">Template:Cite web</ref> featuring two side platforms. The station is accessible, with step free access to the station provided.

Prahran station is served by the Sandringham line, which is part of Melbourne's railway network. The station connects to services on tram route 6. The journey to Southern Cross railway station is approximately Template:Convert.

Description

Prahran railway station is located in the suburb of Prahran, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria.<ref name="vpprahran" /> The station is located near the Prahran Square event precinct, the Prahran Market, and the Alfred Hospital.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station is owned by VicTrack, a state government agency, and is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne.<ref name="metrotrainsprahran"></ref> The station is approximately Template:Convert, or a 7-minute train ride, to Southern Cross station.<ref name="vicsigprahran" /> The adjacent stations are South Yarra station up towards Melbourne, and Windsor station down towards Sandringham.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

The station consists of two side platforms with a total of two platform edges.<ref name="vicsigprahran" /> A station building is located at Porter Street, which has a boom-style verandah extending around the building. The station complex is included in the City of Stonnington's heritage overlay, numbered HO95. The complex is largely the same as when it was originally built, as only minor works such as repainting have been carried out.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Car parking is not available at the station. The station is listed as an "independent access" station on Metro Trains Melbourne's accessibility guide, as step-free access to the station is provided. Prahran station is staffed only during the morning peak.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Prahran station opened on 22 December 1860 as Greville Street, when the railway line from Cremorne was extended to Chapel Street station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 1 January 1867, the station was renamed 'Prahran'.<ref name="vicsigprahran" /> In 1886, a deputation from Prahran's residents was raised to the commissioners of the Victorian Railways, which proposed the removal of Prahran station and the construction of a new station at Commercial Road, which would eliminate the level crossing at Greville Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the removal never took place.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Prahran station was served by the Brighton Beach line until 1887, when the line was extended to Sandringham.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Improvements to the station occurred in 1895.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Another proposal for the station's removal was put forward in 1905.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Victorian Railways started an omnibus service between Prahran station and Malvern town hall which operated between 1 December 1905 to 17 June 1906.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The service shut down due to the unreliability of the buses and rough condition of roads, which made the service unpopular with locals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1908, a pedestrian subway at Prahran station was proposed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was completed in 1915, replacing the overhead footbridge at Greville Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Three-position signalling was provided to the Sandringham line between Richmond station and Prahran station on 4 October 1915, which was the first example of automatic signalling in Victoria.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 16 December 1917, three-position signalling was provided between Prahran station and Ripponlea station.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Sandringham line was electrified on 28 May 1919.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> New brick buildings were provided at the station in 1939 due to its poor condition at the time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1962, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Greville Street level crossing, located at the up end of the station. The signal box that protected the level crossing was also abolished during that time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In October 1979, automatic semaphore signals were replaced with light signals between Prahran and Windsor.<ref name="newsrailapr80">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Automatic pedestrian gates were provided at the Greville Street level crossing on 24 May 1997, which, in turn, abolished the pedestrian subway.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On 4 May 2010, as part of the 2010/2011 State Budget, $83.7 million was allocated to upgrade Prahran to a premium station, along with nineteen others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="newsrailjun10">Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, in March 2011, this was scrapped by the Baillieu Government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, Labor candidate for Prahran, Neil Pharaoh, proposed to open a second entrance to Prahran station on High Street.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By September, it had become an election promise in the 2014 Victorian state election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Liberal Party then matched the pledge in October.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 24 June 2015, then-Labor Member for the Southern Metropolitan Region, Philip Dalidakis, officially opened the second entrance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Platforms and services

A passenger information display on platform 2 displaying a Sandringham-bound service, October 2024

Prahran station has two side platforms.<ref name="vicsigprahran" /> It is served by Sandringham line trains. The Sandringham line runs between Flinders Street station and Sandringham station.<ref name=":1" />

On weekdays, Sandringham line services run every 7–8 minutes during peak hours. Services also run every 10–12 minutes during interpeak periods and every 20 minutes after 8:30pm. Services run every 20 minutes throughout the day on weekends. On Sundays, a service will run every hour until 8:00am, and every 40 minutes until 10:00am.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since the Sandringham line is part of the Night Network, services also run hourly on Friday and Saturday nights.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Current

colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " |Prahran platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Service Type
1	Template:RouteBox	Flinders Street	All stations
2	Template:RouteBox	Sandringham	All stations

After 29 April 2026

colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " |Prahran platform arrangement
Platform	Line	Destination	Via	Service Type
1	Template:RouteBox	Flinders Street, Williamstown, Laverton, Werribee	Flinders Street	All stations
2	Template:RouteBox	Sandringham		All stations

Transport links

Prahran station has one tram connection, which is operated by Yarra Trams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tram route 6 runs from Moreland station to Glen Iris, with Prahran station's connection operating from High Street.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Melbourne tram route 6: Moreland station – Glen Iris<ref name=":0" />

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au