Ballarat railway station
Ballarat | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| PTV regional rail station | ||||||||||||||||||||
 Eastbound view from the Lydiard Street level crossing in December 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Lydiard Street North, Ballarat Central, Victoria 3350 City of Ballarat Australia | |||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°33′31″S 143°51′34″E / 37.5587°S 143.8594°ECoordinates: 37°33′31″S 143°51′34″E / 37.5587°S 143.8594°E | |||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | VicTrack | |||||||||||||||||||
| Operated by | V/Line | |||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 118.80 kilometres from Southern Cross | |||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Connections | Bus V/Line Road Coach | |||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | |||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational, Staffed | |||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | BAL | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | Myki Zone 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Public Transport Victoria | |||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 11 April 1862 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Ballarat West (1862-1865) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Ballarat railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Ballarat, and it opened on 11 April 1862 as Ballarat West. It was renamed Ballarat in 1865.[1]
Located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the state capital, Melbourne, it is considered a major station on the Serviceton line. The extensive building complex is of major architectural and historical significance to Ballarat[according to whom?]; most of its original 19th-century features are intact. Preserved historic features include signal boxes, goods sheds and the largest surviving interlocking mechanical swing gates in Victoria, at Lydiard Street.[note 1] It has a 19th-century arched roof spanning three tracks,[note 2][2] and the complex is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[3]
Disused stations Ballarat East, Warrenheip, Bungaree and Gordon are located between Ballarat and Ballan.
History
As part of the original railway line to Melbourne via Geelong, constructed to service the booming Ballarat goldfields, Ballarat West railway station – as it was then known – was built at a cost of almost £22,000 pounds. A bluestone engine shed was built to the south; a goods shed to the north was added in 1863.[4] In 1877, the footbridge and waiting rooms on the south side were added.[4] In 1885, hand-operated railway gates were added to the level crossing at Lydiard Street, together with the "B" signal box to operate it on the western side.
Extension
Following the opening of the direct line from Ballarat to Melbourne in December 1889, the increase in patronage led to plans to upgrade the station. A grand portico, stationmaster's office and clocktower were designed in 1888 and added in 1891, although no clock was installed in the tower. With the amalgamation of the Ballarat East and West Town Councils in 1921 to form the City of Ballaarat, and the closure of Ballarat East station, the station gradually dropped the name West Ballarat.
Preservation
On 13 December 1981, fire badly damaged the interiors of the 1888 section, including the station-master's office, waiting room, booking office, dining room and clock tower.[5] All of these areas were later repaired and retained. Many of the original features were restored, but some interiors, including the booking office, were subsequently modernised.
In 1983, the State Transport Authority proposed to demolish the interlocking gates at Lydiard Street.[6] The City of Ballaarat, National Trust and Historic Buildings Council responded with a successful campaign to save the gates. A clock was added to the tower in 1984.
In 1990, conservationists succeeded in their lobbying to preserve the historic railway gates. An automated mechanical system was built to enable their continued use. Additional restoration was carried out in 2005, with the station roof replaced with quarried Welsh slate to match the original southern roof.[7]
The bus interchange near the station entrance was upgraded in 1994.[8]
Second boom
 | This section uses shallow references to the home page or some other high level page of a website that contains the cited document. (May 2022) |
Following the 2006 Regional Fast Rail project, and the introduction of V/Line's VLocity trains, as well as the reintroduction of services to Ararat in 2004, passenger numbers at Ballarat station increased by as much as 40% a year.[9] A call for a second station ensued, which became Wendouree, opening in June 2009, to alleviate congestion, mainly caused by park and ride commuters from Ballarat's outer western suburbs. A further increase in trains followed, after the resumption of services to Maryborough in 2010.
Accidents and incidents
On 30 May 2020, a VLocity passenger train, operated by V/Line, failed to stop at Ballarat station, and crashed into the interlocking gates protecting the Lydiard Street North level crossing. Four men were on board the Ballarat-bound service and were injured in the collision, including the driver and conductor.[10] The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigated the incident, and issued a preliminary report[note 3] in September 2020. It established that the train had travelled through the station at 23:35 at about 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour), passed a departure signal at stop, and struck the gates at the level crossing, before coming to rest 600 metres (660 yards) west of the station.[11]
On 16 November 2021, the level crossing reopened with temporary boom barriers installed,[12][13] with the interlocking gates placed in storage in nearby Wendouree.[12][13] The reopening is part of a $10.5 million program to replace the signalling system around the station.[12][13]
Platforms and services
Ballarat has two side platforms. It is serviced by V/Line Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough line services.[14][15][16]
Platform 1:
- Ballarat line services to Wendouree and Southern Cross
- Ararat line services to Ararat and Southern Cross
- Maryborough line services to Maryborough
Platform 2:
- Ballarat line services to Wendouree
- Ararat line services to Ararat
- Maryborough line services to Maryborough
Transport links
Bus services
CDC Ballarat operates fourteen routes to and from Ballarat station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:[17]
- 10 : to Alfredton[18]
- 11 : to Wendouree station[19]
- 12 : to Wendouree station[20]
- 13 : to Invermay Park[21]
- 14 : to Black Hill[22]
- 15 : to Brown Hill[23]
- 20 : to Canadian[24]
- 21 : to Buninyong[25]
- 22 : to Federation University Ballarat Campus[26]
- 23 : to Mount Pleasant[27]
- 24 : to Sebastopol[28]
- 25 : to Delacombe[29]
- 26 : to Alfredton[30]
- 30 : to Creswick[31]
Road coaches
V/Line operates road coach services from Ballarat station to:
- Bendigo via Maryborough and Castlemaine[32]
- Halls Gap and the Grampians National Park via Ararat and Stawell[33][34]
- Horsham, Dimboola, Nhill and Adelaide[35]
- Geelong[36]
- Hamilton and Mount Gambier[37]
- Ouyen, Donald and Mildura[38]
- Warrnambool
Trails
The station is the official starting point of two multi-use trails:
- Wallaby Track, part of the Great Dividing Trail: goes to Daylesford and Buninyong
- Ballarat-Skipton Rail Trail: goes to Skipton
Gallery
Eastbound view from Platform 1 in December 2007
View of the station clocktower in December 2007
Station front and entrance to Platform 1 in December 2011
Westbound view of Platform 2 in May 2017
Preserved A2 class locomotive 986 sits at Platform 2, during the Ballarat Heritage Weekend, in May 2017
Notes
- ^ The level crossing gates were damaged in an accident in May 2020.
- ^ It is one of only three stations in Victoria to have had such a roof; the others are Geelong and St Kilda
- ^ ATSB preliminary reports contain factual information established in the investigation's early evidence collection phase but no analysis or findings, which are detailed in the final report.
References
- ^ Ballarat Vicsig
- ^ "St Kilda Railway Station & Metropol Apartments". St Kilda Historical Society.
- ^ "Ballarat Railway Complex". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Council of Victoria. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Ballarat Australia History – Rail Heritage".
- ^ Ballarat Railway Station relives glory days in gallery Ballarat Courier 19 October 2011
- ^ The Lydiard St. Railway Gates Ballarat - the Drama of Their Preservation Martin, Ray; Hood, Graeme
- ^ Commemorative plaque in station hall
- ^ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. August 1994. p. 250.
- ^ "Media releases". Vline.com.au. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ Miles, Daniel (31 May 2020). "Man hospitalised, historic Ballarat boom-gates destroyed as late-night V-Line service fails to stop". ABC South West Victoria. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ Collision of passenger train 8185 with level crossing gates, Lydiard Street North, Ballarat, Victoria, on 30 May 2020 (Report). Canberra: Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 6 September 2020. RO-2020-007.
- ^ a b c "Ballarat's Lydiard Street rail crossing reopens after 18 months, permanent gate solution still in works". ABC News.
- ^ a b c "Lydiard Street reopening". V/Line Corporate Site.
- ^ Ballarat - Melbourne timetable Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Ararat - Melbourne Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Maryborough - Melbourne via Ballarat Public Transport Victoria
- ^ "Ballarat bus timetables & maps". CDC Victoria. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ 10 Ballarat Station - Alfredton via Wendouree Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 11 Ballarat Station - Wendouree Station via Howitt St Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 12 Ballarat Station - Wendouree Station via Forest St Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 13 Ballarat Station - Invermay Park Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 14 Ballarat Station - Black Hill Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 15 Ballarat Station - Brown Hill Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 20 Ballarat Station - Canadian Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 21 Ballarat Station - Buninyong via Federation University Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 22 Ballarat Station - Federation University via Sebastopol Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 23 Ballarat Station - Mount Pleasant Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 24 Ballarat Station - Sepastopol Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 25 Ballarat Station - Delacombe Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 26 Ballarat Station - Alfredton Public Transport Victoria
- ^ 30 Ballarat Station - Creswick Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Ballarat - Bendigo Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Ballarat - Stawell Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Halls Gap - Bendigo Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Adelaide - Melbourne Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Geelong - Bendigo Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Mount Gambier - Ballarat Public Transport Victoria
- ^ Ouyen - Ballarat Public Transport Victoria
Further reading
- Martin, RL; Ford, RJ; Albazzaz, AJ (5–7 October 1992). The Ballarat railway station and yards. Engineers Australia. ISBN 0-85825-567-7.
External links
- Rail Geelong gallery
- Victorian Railway Stations gallery
- Melway map at street-directory.com.au
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Use Australian English from October 2017
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Use dmy dates from May 2021
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- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2021
- Articles needing more precise reference URLs from May 2022
- All articles needing more precise reference URLs
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Buildings and structures in Ballarat
- Railway stations in Australia opened in 1862
- Regional railway stations in Victoria (Australia)
- Transport in Ballarat
- Victorian Free Classical architecture in Australia
- Victorian Heritage Register Grampians (region)