Bell railway station, Melbourne

Bell railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Preston, and it opened on 8 October 1889 as Preston-Bell Street. It was renamed Bell on 1 August 1905.[5]

Bell
PTV commuter rail station
Exterior of Bell station, showing stained glass windows and external landscaping, in April 2023
General information
LocationGarnet Street,
Preston, Victoria 3072
City of Darebin
Australia
Coordinates37°44′44″S 145°00′01″E
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)Mernda
Distance11.70 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 side
Tracks2
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure typeElevated
Parking75
Bicycle facilities6
AccessibleYes—step free access
Other information
StatusOperational, premium station
Station codeBEL
Fare zoneMyki Zone 1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened8 October 1889 (1889-10-08)
Rebuilt5 September 2022 (LXRP)[1]
ElectrifiedJuly 1921 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous namesPreston-Bell Street (1889–1905)
Passengers
2005–2006307,030[2]
2006–2007355,959[2] Increase 15.93%
2007–2008393,114[2] Increase 10.43%
2008–2009508,278[3] Increase 29.29%
2009–2010549,773[3] Increase 8.16%
2010–2011532,537[3] Decrease 3.13%
2011–2012523,225[3] Decrease 1.75%
2012–2013Not measured[3]
2013–2014433,148[3] Decrease 17.2%
2014–2015422,536[2] Decrease 2.45%
2015–2016462,990[3] Increase 9.57%
2016–2017477,003[3] Increase 3.02%
2017–2018541,111[3] Increase 13.44%
2018–2019530,900[3] Decrease 1.88%
2019–2020444,100[3] Decrease 16.35%
2020–2021170,000[3] Decrease 61.7%
2021–2022132,450[4] Decrease 22.08%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Thornbury
towards Flinders Street
 Mernda line Preston
towards Mernda
Track layout
to Thornbury
1
2
to Preston

History

Opening on 8 October 1889, when the Inner Circle line was extended from North Fitzroy to Reservoir,[5] Bell station is named after nearby Bell Street, itself named after Francis Bell, a landowner in Coburg who had a property named Bell Manor.[6][7]

It was located adjacent to the former Bell Street level crossing, which was provided with boom barriers in 1969, replacing interlocked gates.[8] In 1973, the platforms at the former ground level station were extended at the up end of the station.[5]

The station once had a goods yard, which was removed in 1986, leaving only a siding at the up end of the station.[9]

On 17 April 1988, the double line block signalling system between Bell and Reservoir was abolished, and replaced with automatic three position signalling.[10] Also in that month, pedestrian gates were provided at the former Bell Street level crossing, in combination with the road boom barriers.[10]

On 31 March 1999, the former ground level station building on Platform 1 was damaged by fire.[5]

On 25 August 2008, Bell was upgraded to a premium station.[11]

There were crossovers located at both ends of the station, and a signal box was located on the former ground level Platform 1, which had a signal panel to control lights and switches in an emergency.[12] In 2012, the panel was abolished.[12]

In January 2016, the Level Crossing Removal Project announced that the Bell Street level crossing would be removed by grade separation. At the time, it had not been decided how the separation would be achieved,[13] but the rail-over option was later chosen.[14] In February 2021, major construction began.[15] On 30 May 2022, the station was closed to allow demolition and construction of the new station. On 5 September of that year, the rebuilt station opened.[16]

Platforms and services

Bell has two side platforms. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.[17]

Platform 1:

Platform 2:

Dysons operates four bus routes via Bell station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  • Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2 in March 2007
    Northbound view from the former ground level Platform 2 in March 2007

References
  1. "Modern stations at Preston just weeks away". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005-2006 to 2018-19 Archived 17 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Department of Transport
  3. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008-2021 Archived 17 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Philip Mallis
  4. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Archived 6 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine Data Vic
  5. "Bell". vicsig.net. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  6. "Bell Street Bridge" (PDF). Merri-bek City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  7. First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. John Sinnatt (January 1990). "Level Crossing Protection". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. pp. 9–17.
  9. "General News". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. July 1986. p. 213.
  10. "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. July 1988. p. 220.
  11. "Bell Station Becomes a Premium Stop for Commuters". Media Release: Premier of Victoria, Australia. premier.vic.gov.au. 25 August 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  12. "Bell Signal Box". Vicsig. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  13. Carey, Adam (31 January 2016). "End of the line for older Melbourne stations being torn down and rebuilt". The Age. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  14. "Bell Street, Preston". Level Crossing Removal Project. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  15. "Full steam ahead at Preston". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  16. "New stations open to passengers today in Preston". Victoria's Big Build. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  17. "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  18. "513 Eltham - Glenroy via Lower Plenty". Public Transport Victoria.
  19. "514 Eltham - Glenroy via Greensborough". Public Transport Victoria.
  20. "552 North East Reservoir - Northcote Plaza via High Street". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  21. "553 Preston - West Preston via Reservoir". Public Transport Victoria.
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