Violet Town railway station

Violet Town railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Violet Town, and it opened on 20 March 1873.^[1]

Violet Town
PTV regional rail station
Westbound view of the station building in March 2015
General information
Location	Primrose Street, Violet Town, Victoria 3669 Shire of Strathbogie Australia
Coordinates	36°38′16″S 145°43′08″E / 36.6379°S 145.7190°E / -36.6379; 145.7190Coordinates: 36°38′16″S 145°43′08″E / 36.6379°S 145.7190°E / -36.6379; 145.7190
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	V/Line
Line(s)	North East
Distance	169.33 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Status	Operational, Unstaffed
Station code	VTN
Fare zone	Myki not available. Paper ticket only.
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	20 March 1873; 150 years ago (1873-03-20)
Rebuilt	2009
Services
Preceding station V/Line Following station Euroa towards Southern Cross Albury line Benalla towards Albury

The station opened as the temporary terminus of the line from Longwood, before it was extended to Benalla on 18 August 1873.

History

The station opened with the line in 1873, and was an important railhead before the opening of the Goulburn Valley line to the west. A temporary building was initially provided, and was replaced in 1876 by a weatherboard structure. The goods shed that was provided with the opening of the line was still in use in the 1970s.^[2]

In 1909, the goods yard was extended, and a new signal box provided, with the main line slewed to run through the platform, instead of No. 2 road as previously. In 1938, the yard was again altered, and the station building was moved to its current position, at the northern end of the platform.^[2]

Boom barriers replaced interlocked gates at the Cowslip Street level crossing, located at the Albury (Down) end of the station, in 1961.^[3]

On 7 February 1969, the Violet Town rail accident occurred one kilometre south of the station, when the southbound Southern Aurora passenger train collided head on with a northbound freight train.^[4]

In 1979, a road leading to a former crane at the station was abolished.^[1]

On 5 January 1994, a number of track and signal alterations took place, including the abolition of No. 3 road, sidings "A" and "B", and a number of disc signals and points.^[5]

In 1999, the former crossing loop on the standard gauge line was extended at the Down end.^[6]

As part of the North East Rail Revitalisation Project, a second platform was constructed on the 1960s built standard gauge line, in conjunction with the standard gauge conversion of the existing broad gauge track. Work began in December 2008, and was completed in late 2009.^[7][8][9]

Former station Balmattum was located between Violet Town and Euroa, while Baddaginnie was located between Violet Town and Benalla.

Platforms and services

Violet Town has two side platforms. It is serviced by V/Line Albury line services.^[10]

Platform 1:

•  Albury line  services to Southern Cross

Platform 2:

•  Albury line  services to Albury

References

1. Violet Town Vicsig
2. Turton, Keith W (1973). Six And A Half Inches From Destiny. Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 98. ISBN 0-85849-012-9.
3. "Overpass at Albion to open Sunday". The Age. 25 October 1961. p. 7.
4. Australian Emergency Management
5. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. May 1994. p. 154.
6. Banger, Chris (May 2014). "The Standard Way to Albury - Part 7". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 134–137.
7. South Improvement Alliance
8. $500 million rail link upgrade for Victoria's north-east The Age 30 May 2008
9. North East rail project will bring local and national benefits 2009-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Australian Rail Track Corporation 13 March 2009
10. Albury - Melbourne Public Transport Victoria

External links

• Victorian Railway Stations gallery