East Pakenham railway station

Railway station in Victoria, Australia

East Pakenham railway station is a commuter railway station and the terminus of the Pakenham line, serving the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Pakenham East in Victoria, Australia. East Pakenham is a ground-level premium station, featuring an island platform with two faces, and bypass tracks for V/Line regional services. It opened on 3 June 2024.^[1]

East Pakenham station was constructed at the same time as a rebuild of Pakenham station, as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project.^[2][3][4][5] Until mid-2023, the state government referred to the station as Pakenham East railway station. The name "East Pakenham" was confirmed in a new rail network map published in May 2023 by Public Transport Victoria. It was named "East Pakenham" station so it would not be confused with the nearby Pakenham East rail depot.^{[6][5][better source needed]}

History

East Pakenham station was announced in February 2021. It was designed to remove a major bottleneck where through V/Line trains and terminating Metro trains were required to use the same tracks at the old Pakenham station. The new station provides separate turnback tracks for Metro trains and dedicated V/Line bypass tracks, avoiding congestion and improving service reliability.^[7]

On 3 June 2024, East Pakenham station opened to passengers at the same time as the rebuilt elevated Pakenham station.^[8][9]

Platforms and services

East Pakenham has one island platform with two faces. It is served by Pakenham line trains.^[10]

Platform 1:

•  Pakenham line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Pakenham line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

By June 2025, trains on the Pakenham line will be through-routed with those on the Sunbury line, via the new Metro Tunnel.

References

1. Everitt, Corey. "Level crossings gone, new stations open". Pakenham Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
2. Hartmann, Imogen (3 December 2020). "Victoria fast-tracks level crossing removals". Infrastructure Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
3. "Location identified for Pakenham East Station". Level Crossing Removal Project. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
4. "New stations at Pakenham to open next month". Victoria’s Big Build. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
5. "East Pakenham". vicsig.net. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
6. "Victorian train network" (PDF). Public Transport Victoria. May 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
7. "New Pakenham East station location announced and 3 more sets of boom gates to go". Victoria's Big Build. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
8. "New stations at Pakenham to open next month". Victoria's Big Build. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
9. "Level crossings gone, new stations open". Pakenham Gazette. 3 June 2024. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
10. "Pakenham Line". Public Transport Victoria.