Ararat railway station
Ararat | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Westbound view from Platform 2 in March 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Birdwood Avenue, Ararat | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°16′56″S 142°56′12″E / 37.2823°S 142.9367°ECoordinates: 37°16′56″S 142°56′12″E / 37.2823°S 142.9367°E | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | VicTrack | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operated by | V/Line | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) |
Serviceton Western standard gauge | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 210.82 kilometres from Southern Cross | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 (1 side, 1 dock) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Ground | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Staffed | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | ART | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | Myki zone 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Public Transport Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 7 April 1875 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Ararat railway station is located on the Serviceton and Western standard gauge lines in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Ararat.[1] It is also the junction for the closed Ararat - Maryborough line.
Facilities
Ararat has two platform faces. The full length standard gauge platform is to the north, with broad gauge trains using a dock platform on the south face. A grade crossing exists at the eastern end of the station to allow the broad gauge to continue east towards Beaufort, while the standard gauge heads south towards Geelong.
Control of signals is by the Australian Rail Track Corporation control centre at Mile End, South Australia and Centrol in Melbourne.[1]
A dead end siding is located to the east for broad gauge passenger trains, and across from the main platform are two loop and one dead end standard gauge sidings.[2]
History
The railway first reached Ararat from Ballarat on 7 April 1875. The line south to Portland opened in December 1877, and the mainline was extended west reaching the South Australian border at Serviceton in January 1887. The line to Maryborough opened in 1890.[3] Two signal boxes ('A' and 'B') opened in 1891, and in 1914 the goods sidings were extended, with the locomotive depot built soon after.[3]
In the late 1930s, the locomotive depot was expanded in conjunction with the arrival of the new H class 4-8-4 steam locomotives intended for use on The Overland passenger train. An 85 feet (26 m) turntable was installed with 24 roads around it, the largest on the Victorian Railways network. Before this time Stawell was the major servicing facility in the region.[4]
Rationalisation of the facilities began in the 1980s, the 'B' box was demolished in 1984 and the train control office following in 1988. The locomotive depot closed in 1989, with 'A' box following in 1996. Gauge conversion also came to the station in the 1990s, with the main line to Adelaide converted to standard gauge as part of the One Nation project. The lines west and south were converted, with the line to Maryborough converted to dual gauge soon after.
The former main line to Ballarat had services suspended in April 1995 and was left as broad gauge.[1] V/Line passenger services westward to Dimboola had been withdrawn on 21 August 1993, with the Ballarat to Ararat service withdrawn on 27 May 1994.[5]
On 11 July 2004, the line to Ballarat was reopened with V/Line passenger services reinstated.[6][7] The contract for the works was awarded in February 2003,[8] and required a diamond crossing and signalling to be installed to allow the broad gauge line to reach the platform. The Maryborough line was booked out of use in January 2005.[1]
Platforms & services
Ararat has two platforms. It is serviced by V/Line Ararat line services and Great Southern Rail Overland services.[9][10]
Platform 1:
- The Overland: services to Adelaide Parklands & Southern Cross
Platform 2:
- Ballarat/Ararat line: V/Line services to & from Southern Cross
Transport Links
V/Line operate road coach services from Ararat to Ballarat, Warrnambool and Nhill.[11][12][13]
Ararat Transit operate bus services from the station.[14]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Ararat Vicsig
- ↑ ARTC system maps: Victoria Western Line Australian Rail Track Corporation
- 1 2 The Ararat Story Royal Historical Society of Victoria
- ↑ Lee, Robert (2007). The Railways of Victoria 1854-2004. Melbourne University Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-522-85134-2.
- ↑ Chris Banger (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society). pp. 77–82.
- ↑ "Action-Packed Day to Welcome Trains Back to Ararat". Media Release: Minister for Public Transport. www.legislation.vic.gov.au. 5 July 2004.
- ↑ Ararat sleepers awake to new sound - the train The Age 10 July 2004
- ↑ "$20 Million Contract Signed to Re-open Ararat & Bairnsdale Rail Lines". Media Release: Minister for Public Transport. www.legislation.vic.gov.au. 3 February 2003.
- ↑ Ararat - Melbourne Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Timetables Great Southern Rail
- ↑ Ararat - Ballarat Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Warrnambool - Ararat Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ Nhill - Ararat Public Transport Victoria
- ↑ "Ararat transit launched". Ararat Advertiser. yourguide.com.au. 2008-05-13. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
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