Hurstbridge line

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Hurstbridge line
An X'Trapolis train on an outer, single-track section of the Hurstbridge line near Diamond Creek station, February 2021
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
System	Melbourne railway network
Status	Operational
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Predecessor	Heidelberg (1888–1912) Eltham (1889–1902) Hurstbridge (1902–1926) Heidelberg ^ (1921–1923) Eltham ^ (1923–1926) ^ are electric services
First service	8 May 1888; 136 years ago (1888-05-08)
Current operator(s)	Metro Trains
Former operator(s)	Victorian Railways (VR) (1888–1974) VR as VicRail (1974–1983) MTA (The Met) (1983–1989) PTC (The Met) (1989–1998) Hillside Trains (1998–2000) Connex Melbourne (2000–2009)
Route
Termini	Flinders Street Hurstbridge
Stops	28 (including City Loop stations)
Distance travelled	36.7 km (22.8 mi)
Average journey time	1 hour 9 minutes (via City Loop)
Service frequency	5–20 minutes weekdays peak 20 minutes weekdays off-peak 20 minutes weekend daytime 30 minutes nights 60 minutes early weekend mornings Double frequency between Flinders Street and Clifton Hill in combination with Mernda line Some services only run between Flinders Street and either Heidelberg, Macleod, Greensborough or Eltham
Line(s) used	Hurstbridge
Technical
Rolling stock	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 0:03 1.2 Southern Cross ●●●●●●● 1 0:05 1.3 Flagstaff ●●● 0:07 1.9 Melbourne Central 0:09 3.0 Parliament ●●●●●●● 0:00 0.0 Flinders Street ●●●●●●●●●● 0:12 1.7 Jolimont ■■ 0:13 2.4 West Richmond 0:15 2.9 North Richmond ■■ 0:16 3.6 Collingwood 0:18 4.2 Victoria Park 0:20 5.4 Clifton Hill ● 0:22 6.3 Westgarth 0:24 7.2 Dennis 0:26 7.9 Fairfield 0:28 9.2 Alphington 0:29 10.0 Darebin 1 0:31 10.9 Ivanhoe 1/2 0:33 11.9 Eaglemont 0:35 12.8 Heidelberg 1/2 0:38 14.6 Rosanna 2 0:40 16.5 Macleod 0:43 18.7 Watsonia 0:47 21.8 Greensborough 0:50 23.5 Montmorency 0:54 26.2 Eltham 1:01 31.4 Diamond Creek 1:04 33.8 Wattle Glen 1:09 36.8 Hurstbridge 2 h:mm km zone This diagram: view talk edit

The Hurstbridge Line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^[1] Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's seventh longest metropolitan railway line at 36.7 kilometres (22.8 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street Station in central Melbourne to Hurstbridge Station in the north-east, serving 28 stations via Clifton Hill, Heidelberg, Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Diamond Creek.^[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 hour, headways of up to 15 minutes are operated with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours.^[3] Trains on the Hurstbridge Line run with a two three-car formations of X'Trapolis 100 trainsets.^[4]

Sections of the Hurstbridge Line opened as early as 1888, with the line fully extended to Hurstbridge by 1912. The line was built to connect Melbourne with the rural towns of Greensborough, Eltham, and Hurstbridge, amongst others.

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Hurstbridge Line, significant improvements and upgrades have been made. An upgrade of the corridor from Heidelberg Station onwards began construction in 2016 and mostly completed by 2023, with improvements including the removal of level crossings, rebuilding stations, and the duplication of more than 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of track.^[5] Other works have included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, the introduction of new rolling stock, and station accessibility upgrades.^[5]