The Upfield line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth-shortest metropolitan railway line at 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Upfield station in the north, serving 19 stations via North Melbourne, Brunswick, Coburg, and Fawkner. The line operates for approximately 19 hours a day (from approximately 05:00 to around midnight) with a 24-hour service on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hours, headways of up to 15 minutes are operated, with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours. Trains run in two three-car formations of either Comeng or Siemens Nexas sets. Services on the line began in 1884 when it opened from North Melbourne to Coburg. In October 1889, it was extended to Somerton. The line beyond Coburg to Fawkner and Somerton was closed and reopened a number of times during the early-to-mid-20th century and the continued existence of the line was in serious doubt in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with proposals for it either to be converted to a light rail or fully closed. However a major infastructure upgrade in the late 1990s saw the plans for closure abandoned. With the future of the rail line secured, and patronage growth in the 2000s, infrastructure upgrades were carried out on the line. They included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, removing level crossings, introducing new rolling stock, and improving station accessibility. The 2018 Victorian Rail Plan identified the need to reopen the line between Upfield and Somerton/Roxburgh Park, and run regional and metropolitan rail services via that route in the near future. However, there has been virtually no movement on that front since then.
History
19th century
The first part of the Coburg railway line from North Melbourne to Coburg was opened by the Governor of Victoria Henry Loch on 9 September 1884, and cost £53,000. Duplication of the line followed, starting with North Melbourne to Royal Park in September 1888, then Royal Park to South Brunswick (now Jewell) in May 1889, Brunswick to Coburg in December 1891, and South Brunswick to Brunswick in August 1892. In October 1889, the line was extended from Coburg to connect to the North East line at Somerton.
Heritage listing The former Coburg railway line was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 23 October 1997 in recognition of its historical significance. The heritage curtail is extensive that includes seven distinct precincts that contain nineteenth century station buildings and platforms at Coburg, Moreland, Jewell, and Brunswick, substations, signal boxes, gatekeepers cabins, remnant interlocking and safe-working equipment, levers and rodding, signals, gates and industrial sidings.
20th century
Coburg - Somerton closure and reopening to Fawkner (1900–1928) The line from Coburg to Somerton closed in July 1903, but was reopened as far as Fawkner three years later in December 1906. The reopening was for funeral trains only, in conjunction with the creation of the adjacent Fawkner Cemetery. Normal passenger services were re-extended to Fawkner in 1914, and the line was electrified in December 1920.
Fawkner - Somerton railmotor ("The Beetle") (1928 - 1956) In March 1928, despite strong resistance from the Railways Commissioners, the state government ordered the reopening of the section from Fawkner to Somerton for passengers. An extremely basic passenger service was provided by an AEC railmotor, which connected with electric trains at Fawkner and was nicknamed "the Beetle". Stations were reinstated at Campbellfield and North Campbellfield, equipped with low-level platforms and basic waiting sheds. In May 1956, the line from Fawkner to Somerton was closed for the second time.
Reopening to Somerton and electrification to Upfield (1959–1970) Three years after the railmotor service to Somerton was withdrawn in 1959, the line from Fawkner to Somerton reopened again for goods trains and the electrification and suburban service was extended from Fawkner to Upfield to cater for workers at the new Ford automotive factory. In that same year, the line from Coburg to Fawkner was also duplicated. In September 1958, Sunday evening services after 6pm withdrawn, being replaced by adjacent tram routes, particularly the North Coburg line (now Route 19). At the outer end of the railway line, a bus service was provided, connecting with trams in North Coburg. In June 1961, that arrangement was extended to apply for the whole of Sunday and, in October 1961, it was further extended to include services after 7:30pm between Mondays and Saturdays. In January 1963, the line from Somerton to the Ford factory was re-laid as dual gauge gauntlet track, to provide a standard gauge connection with the new North East standard gauge line at Somerton. In October 1968, electric staff safeworking was introduced on the Upfield to Somerton section. However, the Upfield to Somerton section, which included four industrial sidings, has not been used for some time and is out of commission.
Proposed light rail conversion, infrastructure upgrades, CityLink and the demise of the Somerton connection (1970–1998) Automatic signalling advanced a little further along the line in August 1971, with Royal Park to Jewell being converted. In April 1972, the Macaulay to Royal Park section was similarly converted. By May 1988, serious consideration was given to proposals to convert the line to light rail, following the conversion of the St Kilda and Port Melbourne lines in 1987. A report submitted to the Cain government determined that the route suffered from low passenger numbers, redundancy with the Route 19 tram, outdated signalling systems, manned boom gates well past their prime, and that substantial investments would be required to modernise the line to meet modern standards. After discussions with local councils, unions, the public, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority, two options were floated. These options included:
The conversion of the entire line, or part of the line to light rail The closure of large amounts of the line and instead running the light rail via Sydney Road
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