Sunshine railway station
Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox station
Sunshine railway station is a commuter and regional railway station on the Sunbury, Geelong and Ballarat lines, serving the western suburb of the same name in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station opened on 7 September 1885, with the current buildings opening in 2014, after reconstruction as part of the Regional Rail Link project.
Originally named Braybrook Junction, it was given its current name in July 1907 when the suburb of Sunshine took its name from the recently opened Sunshine Harvester Works.<ref name="VicsigSunshine">Template:Cite web</ref>
V/Line services on the Bendigo corridor pass through the station but do not stop there. Freight services running towards northern Victoria and Sydney run past the station, as well as freight trains heading for the western standard gauge line via the Newport–Sunshine railway line. The bus interchange at the station is a hub for a large number of routes to surrounding suburbs.
It is planned that the station will receive a significant upgrade as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail project, with work scheduled to commence in early 2026.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
19th century
In the 1850s, the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company began building a line from Footscray to Bendigo. The company encountered financial difficulties and was sold to the Victorian Government in 1856. No station was built on the site of the current station when the line was opened as far as Sunbury in 1859, the closest one being Albion and Darlington, on the site of the current Albion station.<ref>Brimbank City Council – Travelling: Roads, Railways and Bridges</ref>
In 1874, a line to Melton was opened, which branched from the Bendigo line at that point, and a station was built at the site of the junction, which was opened as Braybrook Junction on 7 September 1885. In 1887, the Melton was extended westwards to Bacchus Marsh, eventually meeting up with a line extended eastwards from Ballarat in 1889 . That created a direct route from Melbourne to Ballarat. Previously, the rail traffic between Melbourne and Ballarat had to run via Geelong on the Geelong-Ballarat line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
In 1887, the Newport-Sunshine railway line was opened, connecting the new station at Braybrook Junction to Newport and Williamstown, Victoria's major cargo port at the time.
20th century
In 1907, Braybrook Junction station was renamed Sunshine, after Hugh McKay had moved his Sunshine Harvester Works to a site adjacent to the station.<ref name=VicsigSunshine/>
On 20 April 1908, Sunshine was the scene of the Sunshine train disaster, the worst train crash in Victorian railway history. 44 people were killed and over 400 were injured.
In 1929, the Albion – Jacana goods line was opened, connecting Sunshine with the North East line, allowing freight trains to avoid the steeper grades and suburban traffic on the suburban line between North Melbourne, Essendon and Broadmeadows.
The road level crossing at Sunshine was removed when grade separation was carried out in 1961.<ref name=Dornan&Henderson>Template:Cite book</ref> The works took place as part of the project to construct a standard gauge line from Sydney to Melbourne.<ref name="VR pub 1960">Template:Cite book</ref> In that same year, boom barriers were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Bendigo line.<ref name=AWaugh>Template:Cite web</ref>
In January 1963, a fourth platform was provided on the adjacent Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line, to enable passengers to transfer between the interstate Sydney and Adelaide expresses.<ref name=Dornan&Henderson/> In 1965, control of signals at Albion was transferred to the signal box at Sunshine.<ref name=Dornan&Henderson/> Also in that year, the Grain Elevator Board sidings, that serve the nearby grail silos, opened for traffic.<ref name=VicsigSunshine/> In 1976, a signal panel was provided to replace an existing panel<ref name=VicsigSunshine/> and, in 1977, boom barriers were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Serviceton line.<ref name=AWaugh/>
White City station was located between Sunshine and Tottenham. It closed on 4 October 1981 and has been removed.<ref name="newsrailnov81">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On 5 February 1985, Harris trailer carriage 830T was destroyed by fire in a vandalism attack, whilst stabled in the former down end siding.<ref name="herald">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="newsrailmay85">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 1988, the sidings leading to the Massey Ferguson factory were booked out of use. The lead to the sidings, which crossed the standard gauge line, was removed in February of that year.<ref name="newsrailapr88">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
In 1994, the former station underpass, which connected the platforms to nearby City Place, was completed,<ref name="newsrailapr94">Template:Cite magazine</ref> replacing an underpass.<ref name="newsrailmay94">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was removed during the station upgrades between 2012 and 2014. Also in that year, the track leading to the former goods shed was removed,<ref name=newsrailmay94/> and a number of semaphore signals were replaced with automatic colour signals.<ref name="newsrailjul94">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
On 26 July 1996, Sunshine was upgraded to a premium station.<ref name="newsrailoct97">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
21st century
In mid-2004, the platform on the standard gauge line was removed.<ref name="newsrailsep04">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The waiting room on the platform was demolished five years earlier, in 1999.<ref name="newsrailmay14">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
From 2012 to 2014, the station was rebuilt as part of the Regional Rail Link project.<ref>Sunshine railway station Regional Rail Link</ref> Works included:
- a new bus interchange, completed in September 2013;<ref>Sunshine bus interchange Regional Rail Link</ref>
- construction of a new footbridge and concourse, completed in January 2014;<ref>Commuters have new concourse at Sunshine The Courier 3 January 2014</ref>
- upgrading Platforms 1 and 2 with new canopies;
- rebuilding Platform 3 and a new Platform 4, both completed in April 2014;<ref>Ballarat services now stopping at new, dedicated platforms at Sunshine station Premier of Victoria 28 April 2014 Retrieved 3 May 2014</ref><ref>"Ballarat services now stopping at new, dedicated platforms at Sunshine station" Railway Digest June 2014 page 21</ref>
The standalone signal box to the north of the station, commissioned in 1914, was closed in 2016, and control of trains in the Sunshine and Albion areas was transferred to Metrol.<ref name="Vicsig signalbox">Template:Cite web</ref> The former signal box is one of the largest surviving examples of a tappet and lever frame box on the Victorian network, having once housed 80 levers. Although mechanical signalling was replaced with electronic interlocking before the box was finally taken out of service, it remains relatively intact as an example of Victorian Railways signal box architecture.<ref name="VHD 1998">Template:Cite web</ref>
In early 2020, construction commenced on a new signal control centre south of the station, which will share control of the Sunshine–Dandenong corridor with an existing facility at Dandenong, after completion of the Metro Tunnel.<ref name="Star 30 Mar 2020">Template:Cite news</ref>
From Sunday 9 November 2025, SkyBus began operating a direct service from the station to Melbourne Airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Future
In 2018, the Victorian Government announced that the Melbourne Airport Rail project would operate via Sunshine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The state government announced a significant package of upgrades for the station, branding it a "superhub".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Works at Sunshine are planned to commence in early 2026, after a combined $4 billion of funding was announced by the Australian Government and the Victorian Government in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2022, early construction commenced on the Melbourne Airport Rail project,<ref name=":0"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a masterplan for the station's precinct was released. The plan includes new entrances to the station, an integrated bus interchange, new open spaces, high-density housing developments surrounding the station, and the creation of pedestrian and cycling links across the rail lines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Within the station itself, works will include a new pair of platforms for Geelong and Ballarat services, an extension of the station's concourse, new rail bridges, new signalling, and a major reconfiguration of the passenger and freight tracks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A track diagram was released in 2025 depicting the planned reconfiguration. Trains on the Bendigo line, which currently run express through Sunshine, are planned to begin stopping at the station using the existing Sunbury line platforms. The Airport line and a future electrified Melton line will run through the Metro Tunnel, and the Sunbury line will be reconfigured to no longer include Tottenham, which will be served instead by the Airport and Melton lines. Quadruplication of the Melton line is planned to occur to a junction site near Caroline Springs to separate the future Melton line from Ballarat services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Facilities, platforms and services
Sunshine is a ground level, premium station. It has two side platforms and a centre island platform with two faces. Access to the platforms is by stairs, lifts and ramps from an overhead footbridge and concourse, which includes a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room and toilets.
It is served by Sunbury line and V/Line Ballarat and Geelong line trains.<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref><ref>Ballarat – Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria</ref><ref>Geelong – Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria</ref>
Current (Metro)
| colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " |Sunshine platform arrangement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Line | Destination | Via | Service Type |
| 1 | Template:RouteBox | Flinders Street | City Loop | All stations and limited express services |
| 2 | Template:RouteBox | Sunbury, Watergardens | All stations |
Current (V/Line)
| colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " |Sunshine platform arrangement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Line | Destination | Service Type | Notes |
| 3 | Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox |
Southern Cross | Maryborough line: One daily V/Line service | Set-down only |
| 4 | Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox Template:RouteBox |
Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Wendouree, Ararat, Wyndham Vale, Geelong, Waurn Ponds, Maryborough | Maryborough line: One daily V/Line service | Pick-up only |
From 30 November 2025 to 1 February 2026
| colspan="6" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr, #Template:Rcr); " |Sunshine platform arrangement | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Line | Destination | Via | Service Type | Notes |
| 1 | Template:RouteBox | Flinders Street | City Loop | All stations and limited express services | |
| Template:RouteBox (weekends only) | Westall or East Pakenham | Town Hall | Limited express services | Between 10:00am and 7:00pm on weekends | |
| 2 | Template:RouteBox | Watergardens, Sunbury | All stations | ||
| Template:RouteBox (weekends only) | Sunbury | All stations | Between 10:00am and 7:00pm on weekends |
After 1 February 2026
| colspan="5" style="background:#Template:Rcr;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #Template:Rcr); " |Sunshine platform arrangement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Line | Destination | Via | Service Type |
| 1 | Template:RouteBox | East Pakenham, Cranbourne | Town Hall | All stations and limited express services |
| 2 | Template:RouteBox | Sunbury, Watergardens | All stations |
Transport links
There are 15 bus services that use the bus interchange at Sunshine station.
CDC Melbourne operates three routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- Template:Color box: to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with Transit Systems Victoria)<ref name="bus400">Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: St Albans station – Highpoint Shopping Centre<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Footscray (via Ballarat Road)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
Kinetic Melbourne operates four routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- Template:Color box: to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) (via Dynon Road)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) via (Footscray Road)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Sunshine South (loop service)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- SmartBus Template:Color box: Altona station – Mordialloc<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
Transit Systems Victoria operates eight routes to and from Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:
- Template:Color box: to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with CDC Melbourne)<ref name="bus400" />
- Template:Color box: to Watergardens station (via Deer Park)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Brimbank Central Shopping Centre<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Sunshine West (via Forrest Street)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Sunshine West<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Woodgrove Shopping Centre (Melton) (via Rockbank)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Template:Color box: to Williamstown (via Newport and Altona Gate Shopping Centre)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
- Night Bus Template:Color box: to Watergardens station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)<ref>941 Sunshine Station – Watergardens Station via Keilor Downs Public Transport Victoria</ref>
SkyBus also operates a service to Melbourne Airport from Sunshine station.
Gallery
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V/Line VLocity train departing Platform 3 towards Southern Cross Station at Sunshine Station in October 2023. -
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North-west bound view from Platform 2,
May 2014 -
South-east bound view from Platform 3 looking at station concourse and entrance, May 2014
_Volvo_on_route_410_at_Sunshine_railway_station,_December_2013.jpg)
