South Yarra railway station

South Yarra station opened on 22 December 1860 by the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company as Gardiners Creek Road. Initially, it served the Brighton line, on what was called the "Prahran Branch". On 1 January 1867, the station was renamed South Yarra.[4] The private railway company, by then the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company, was taken over by the Government of Victoria in 1878, and its network became part of the Victorian Railways.

John Cooper (1924) notes that when the South Yarra to Oakleigh line was first constructed, a set of points connected the line to the existing Brighton line. However, it was found that a high embankment obscured the vision of the drivers of approaching trains on both lines. To solve that problem, it was decided that the Oakleigh line should have its own tracks into Melbourne and, soon after, a second bridge, spanning the Yarra River, was built to facilitate that (p. 307). The opening of the South Yarra to Oakleigh line in 1879 made the proposed Outer Circle line largely redundant, but it was constructed anyway, a decade later.

In 1914, the line between South Yarra and Caulfield was completely rebuilt. The works included the quadruplication of the line, and rebuilt stations at Hawksburn, Toorak, Armadale and Malvern.[5]

In 1946, the current bridge over the Yarra River was provided.[4] In 1947, a works siding opened and, in 1955, was disconnected.[4]

Even after the laying of six tracks from Richmond to South Yarra, and the abolition of the signal box, the station retained three emergency crossovers at the up end of Platforms 1 and 2, 3 and 4 and 5 and 6. The latter set was removed in 1983, followed by the middle pair by 23 June 1984,[6] and the final set in August 1986.[7] The crossovers were originally provided in 1945 and 1960.[4] Also occurring in 1960, the "local lines", used by Pakenham and Cranbourne line services, were extended to Richmond, and the signal box, located at the up end of Platforms 4 and 5, was abolished.[4] The signal box still remains in a disused state.

In 1993, major re-signalling works occurred between South Yarra and Toorak,[4] with similar works occurring between South Yarra and Richmond in 1994.[4] In 1997, South Yarra was upgraded to a premium station.[8] As such, the station is staffed from the first to the last service each day.

According to Public Transport Victoria data, it is the eighth-busiest station on the Melbourne metropolitan network, with 4.59 million boardings per year during the 2017/2018 financial year.[9]

In early 2020, South Yarra was scheduled for a $12 million refurbishment. The entrance to the station on Toorak Road was to be widened, and the layout changed to make the station larger.[10][11]

Services on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines will no longer stop at South Yarra when the Metro Tunnel opens, which is scheduled to take place in 2025. The entrance portal to the Metro Tunnel is located near the station, but South Yarra will not be integrated into the new tunnel, which has led to some criticism.[12][13]

South Yarra station has six platforms: two side platforms and two island platforms with four faces. It is served by Cranbourne,[14] Frankston,[15] Pakenham[16] and Sandringham[17] line trains. V/Line's Bairnsdale rail services (Gippsland line) pass non-stop through the station.

Platform 1:

•  Sandringham line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Sandringham line  all stations services to Sandringham

Platform 3:

•  Frankston line  all stations services to Flinders Street, Werribee and Williamstown

Platform 4:

•  Frankston line  all stations and limited express services to Frankston

Platform 5:

•  Pakenham line  all stations services to Flinders Street
•  Cranbourne line  all stations services to Flinders Street

Platform 6:

•  Pakenham line  limited express services to Pakenham
•  Cranbourne line  limited express services to Cranbourne

From 2025, Pakenham and Cranbourne lines will no longer service this station as they route through the Metro Tunnel to Sunbury.

Yarra Trams operates one route via South Yarra station:

• : West Coburg – Toorak[18]

• 
  Southbound view in 1900[19]
• 
  Southbound view from Platforms 2 and 3, June 2014

Cooper, John Butler (1924). The history of Prahran 1836–1924 : from its first settlement to a city. Melbourne, Vic: Modern Printing Co.

Media related to South Yarra railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au