Surrey Hills railway station

Surrey Hills railway station was a commuter railway station on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines, part of the Melbourne railway network. It served the eastern Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills in Victoria, Australia. Surrey Hills was a ground level premium station, featuring three platforms, an island platform with two faces and one side platform. It was located between Chatham and Mont Albert and it opened on 13 August 1883 and closed on 17 February 2023, due to the works associated with the Level Crossing Removal Project.<ref name="vicsigsurreyhills">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

Initially, two trains ran to Lilydale each day and five only to Box Hill. At the time, engineers were unwilling to allow trains to stop at Surrey Hills, claiming potential difficulties with re-starting the gradient, and also that there was not enough traffic to warrant the stop.<ref name=vicsigsurreyhills/>

In April 1883, a deputation asked for Surrey Hills to be a flag station, so that passengers wishing to alight could inform the guard of that at the previous station, while those wishing to join the train could show a red flag, or a red lamp at night. By August of that year, trains would stop on request. On 1 September of that year, Surrey Hills was brought into regular service. The station first appeared in the Victorian Railways working timetable on 15 October of that year.<ref name=vicsigsurreyhills/>

On 9 December 1888, a second track opened, combined with a new platform on the north side of the line. By the 1930s, a small goods yard had been provided to the south of the station, in what later became a car-park. The connection to the mainline was at the Box Hill (down) end of the station.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref>

In 1962, boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the former Union Road level crossing, which was located at the up end of the station.<ref name=vicsigsurreyhills/> In 1966, the goods yard, a signal box, a number of sidings and a crossover were removed to allow work on a third track to be carried out.<ref name=vicsigsurreyhills/> At that time, the current station buildings were provided, and the former city-bound platform was converted to an island platform. In December 1971, services on the third track from East Camberwell were extended though the station to Box Hill.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In June 2001, Surrey Hills was upgraded to a premium station.<ref name=vicsigsurreyhills/>

On 14 September 2016, two people were killed when a motor vehicle and an express X'Trapolis train set collided at the Union Road level crossing. Severe damage resulted to the train, and the vehicle was dragged Template:Convert before coming to a mangled rest between the station platform and train. The station underpass was also damaged.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2020, it was announced by the Level Crossing Removal Project that as part of removing level crossings at Union and Mont Albert roads, the Surrey Hills and nearby Mont Albert stations were to be closed by 2023 and replaced with a single new railway station at Union, between the two former stations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Plans for the grade separation of the Union Road level crossing with a road overpass had dated as far back as the late 1970s before this project was ultimately executed.<ref name="newsrailjun79">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Surrey Hills level crossing removal Template:Webarchive City of Boroondara</ref> On 17 February 2023, the station was permanently closed for demolition, alongside Mont Albert.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The replacement new station, Union, opened on 22 May of that year.<ref name="union">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Platforms and services

Surrey Hills had one island platform (Platforms 1 and 2) and a side platform (Platform 3), linked by an underpass. The island platform featured a large brick building with a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room and toilets. There was a small brick building on Platform 3.

It was serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services.<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref><ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>

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

Transport links

At the time of closure, two bus routes serviced Surrey Hills, both under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

• Template:Color box: Box Hill station – Chadstone Shopping Centre (operated by CDC Melbourne)<ref>Template:Cite PTV route</ref>
• Template:Color box: Box Hill station - Burwood (operated by Ventura Bus Lines)<ref name="ptv766">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Gallery

• 
  Looking east towards the Station from the Union Road level crossing, now demolished.
• 
  Former ticket office window in the former pedestrian underpass.
• 
  View looking west along Platform 1 on the south side of the station.

External links

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au