Williamstown line

Williamstown
Platforms at Williamstown Beach station in 2019.
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
System	Melbourne railway network
Status	Operational
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
First service	17 January 1859; 165 years ago (1859-01-17)
Current operator(s)	Metro Trains
Former operator(s)	Geelong and Melbourne Railway (G&MR) (1857–1859) Victorian Railways (VR) (1859–1974) VR as VicRail (1974–1983) MTA (The Met) (1983–1989) PTC (The Met) (1989–1998) Bayside Trains (1998–2000) M>Train (2000–2004) Connex Melbourne (2004–2009)
Route
Termini	Flinders Street (some continue to Frankston) Williamstown
Stops	12 (excluding City Loop stations)
Distance travelled	16.2 km (10.1 mi)
Average journey time	27 minutes
Service frequency	20 minutes weekdays peak 20 minutes weekdays off-peak and weekend afternoons 20–30 minutes at nights and weekend mornings 60 minutes early weekend mornings Triple frequency daytime between Flinders Street and Newport in combination with Werribee line Shuttle-only operation at nighttime and weekends between Newport and Williamstown Certain trains continue or start from Frankston
Line(s) used	Williamstown
Technical
Rolling stock	Comeng, Siemens, X'Trapolis 100
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	1500 V DC overhead
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map Legend h:mm km zone continues as Frankston line to Frankston 0:00 0.0 Flinders Street ●●●●●●●●●●●● 1 0:04 1.2 Southern Cross ●●●●●●●●● 0:07 2.9 North Melbourne ●●●●● 0:10 4.7 South Kensington 0:13 6.9 Footscray ●●●●●●●●●■ 0:14 7.9 Seddon 0:16 8.8 Yarraville 0:18 10.5 Spotswood 0:21 11.9 Newport ● 0:23 13.5 North Williamstown 0:25 14.4 Williamstown Beach 0:27 15.4 Williamstown 1 h:mm km zone This diagram: view talk edit

The Williamstown Line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^[1] Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's third shortest metropolitan railway line at 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Williamstown station in the inner west, serving 12 stations via Footscray, Yarraville, and Newport.^[2] The line operates for approximately 19 hours a day (from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 am) with 24-hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hours, the line operates with headways of up to 20 minutes, ensuring frequent service for commuters. During off-peak hours, the service intervals are adjusted to provide service every 20–30 minutes, accommodating the lower demand.^[3] Trains on the Williamstown Line run with two three-car formations of Comeng, Siemens Nexas, and X'Trapolis 100 trainsets.^[4]

Together with the Southern Cross to Sunbury portion of the Echuca railway line, it is the first and oldest government-built line in the State of Victoria, having been opened on 13 January 1859.^[5] The line was built to serve the port at Williamstown, giving it economic importance to the Colony as it established itself as an important international passenger port.^[5] The line has played an important part in the development of Victoria's railways, with the first workshops opening along the line in the 1800s.^[6]

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Williamstown line, improvements and upgrades have been made. Works have included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, the removal of level crossings, the introduction of new rolling stock, and station accessibility upgrades.^[7]