Stratford railway station is a regional railway station on the Gippsland line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the town of Stratford, in Victoria, Australia. Stratford station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring one side platform. It opened on 8 November 1887, with the current station provided in 2004. It initially closed in August 1993, then reopened on 3 May 2004.[1]
History
When Stratford opened, it was a temporary terminus of the line from Stratford Junction, a few kilometres to the west. On 8 May 1888, the line was extended to Bairnsdale.[1]
Major signalling changes occurred at the station in 1986, including the abolition of the electric staff sections Sale - Stratford Junction, and Stratford Junction - Stratford, which was replaced by the electric staff section Sale - Stratford,[2] with an intermediate electric staff instrument provided at Stratford Junction.[2] All signals and interlocking at Stratford Junction were also abolished during that time.[2]
Under the Kennett government, V/Line passenger services to Stratford were suspended in August 1993. The passenger service was restored on 3 May 2004.[3]
As part of the Regional Rail Revival project to upgrade the Gippsland line, a new railway bridge was built over the Avon River, south of the station.[4] It replaced the previous bridge, dating from 1888,[5] on which train speeds had been restricted to 10 km/h for safety reasons.[6] The new bridge was opened in December 2020.[4][6]
Until their closure, Munro, Fernbank, Lindenow and Hillside stations were located between Stratford and Bairnsdale stations.
