Railways and Tramways of Australia
Sunbury Line
Footscray station, 18 December 2017.
Year Opened:
Footscray–Sunbury 1859
Stations:
North Melbourne, Footscray, Middle Footscray, West Footscray, Tottenham, Sunshine, Albion, Ginifer, St Albans, Keilor Plains, Watergardens, Diggers Rest, Sunbury
Typical Journey Time:
49 minutes (Flinders Street–Sunbury)
Typical Peak Frequency:
7.5 minutes (Watergardens); 15 minutes (Sunbury)
Typical Off-peak Frequency:
20 minutes (Watergardens); 40 minutes (Sunbury)
Typical Weekend Frequency:
20 minutes (Watergardens); 40 minutes (Sunbury)
The Sunbury line extends to the north-western suburbs of Melbourne. There are four tracks for suburban trains between North Melbourne and Footscray, and two tracks for suburban trains between Footscray and Sunshine. The double-track Regional Rail Link line runs adjacent to the Sunbury line as far as Sunshine. Also, a dual gauge line runs from Southern Cross to West Footscray and then becomes the standard gauge line to Albury, which runs adjacent to the Sunbury line as far as Albion, from where it continues north-east to Broadmeadows. The Sunbury line was known as the St Albans line until 2002 when electrification was extended to Sydenham, a station that was relocated, rebuilt and renamed as Watergardens. From 2002 the line was known as the Sydenham line, and was then renamed the Sunbury line in 2012 with the extension of electrification to Sunbury. The Ballarat and Bendigo lines also share the Sunbury line. Most services on the Sunbury line stop at all stations, with some trains running express between Footscray and Sunshine during peak hours. Weekday trains run clockwise around the City Loop until the middle of the day and then anticlockwise after this time, also running clockwise on weekends.