Mernda railway station

Mernda was a Steam-era railway station on the Whittlesea line in Mernda, Victoria, Australia.

History

The station opened in December 1889 as South Yan Yean, being renamed Mernda in December 1913.^[1]

Mernda station operated until the closure of the line beyond Lalor Station in 1959, following the electrification of the line as far as Lalor. Epping station was re-opened in the 1960s with the electrification of that section of the line. The remaining section of track from Epping to Whittlesea was dismantled in the 1970s, although the former right-of-way remained intact. All that can be seen of Mernda station now is the degraded platform, which is overgrown with exotic vegetation, including a Peppercorn tree. The station-master's house was moved to the Mernda Recreation Reserve and still serves as clubrooms for the Mernda Football and Cricket Clubs.

Restoration of the railway to Mernda was identified as a goal in the Strategic Transportation Study undertaken by the City of Whittlesea in 2002.

On 21 October 2014 the Coalition State Government matched Labor's promise to extend the railway from South Morang out to Mernda, pledging to build it for $700 million by 2020-21.

The planned 7.5 kilometre double track extension will see extra stations built in South Morang and Mernda.

^[2] The City of Whittlesea has forecast that the population in Mernda and Doreen will be 40,000 by that time. The South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance, which was successful in lobbying the state government to fulfil its promise of reinstating the rail line to South Morang, is now actively lobbying the government to commit to reinstating the line to Mernda.^[3]

References

Coordinates: 37°35′58″S 145°6′5″E / 37.59944°S 145.10139°E / -37.59944; 145.10139