Aspendale railway station is a commuter railway station on the Frankston line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the south-eastern suburb of Aspendale, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Aspendale station is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened in April 1891, with the current station provided in 1981.[4]
Initially opened as Aspendale Park Racecourse, the station was given its current name of Aspendale on 1 August 1905.[4]
History
Aspendale station opened in April 1891[4] and, like the suburb itself, the station was named after Aspen, a race-winning mare owned by James Crooke, who had purchased land east of the present-day station to build the former Aspendale Racecourse.[5][6] The first race meeting at the racecourse was in 1891, coinciding with the opening of the station.[5][6]
In 1992, another crossover at the station was abolished, as well as the connection to the former siding.[4] Occurring in that year, the control panel was abolished.[10]
In early 2014, a man was hit and killed by a Frankston-bound train, causing the boom gates at the level crossing to stay down, meaning that road traffic could not travel between the Nepean Highway and Station Street.[11]
On 9 October 2022, it was announced that Aspendale would be lowered into a trench, as part of the removal of seven level crossings on the line. Further details, designs and a construction timeline are to be released closer to the opening of the new station in 2029.[12]