Lilydale line

Lilydale line
Railways in Melbourne
Northbound view of Lilydale station, with X'Trapolis 174M at the platform, the screen tower station feature can be seen further up the platform
An X'Trapolis train at Platform 2 at Lilydale railway station, the terminus of the Lilydale line, October 2024
Overview
Service typeCommuter rail
SystemMelbourne railway network
StatusOperational
LocaleMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
First service1 December 1882; 141 years ago (1882-12-01)
Current operator(s)Metro Trains
Former operator(s)
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Route
TerminiFlinders Street
Lilydale
Stops27 (including City Loop stations)
Distance travelled37.8 km (23.5 mi)
Average journey time59 minutes (not via City Loop)
Service frequency
  • 6–20 minutes weekdays peak
  • 30 minutes weekdays off-peak
  • 20 minutes weekend daytime
  • 30 minutes nights
  • 60 minutes early weekend mornings
  • Double frequency between Flinders Street and Ringwood in combination with Belgrave line
  • Extra services run between Flinders Street and either Blackburn or Ringwood on weekdays
Technical
Rolling stockX'Trapolis 100
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification1500 V DC overhead
Track owner(s)VicTrack

The Lilydale line is a commuter railway line on the Melbourne metropolitan railway network serving the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia.[1] Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, the line is coloured dark blue and is one of the four lines that constitute the Burnley group. It is the city's sixth-longest metropolitan railway line at 37.8 kilometres (23.5 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Lilydale station in the city's east, serving 27 stations via Burnley, Box Hill, Ringwood, and Croydon.[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, headways of up to 15 minutes are operated, with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours.[3] Trains on the Lilydale line run in two three-car formations of X'Trapolis 100 trainsets.[4]

Sections of the Lilydale line opened as early as 1859, with the line fully extended to Lilydale by 1882. The line was built to connect Melbourne and Ringwood with the rural towns of Croydon, Mooroolbark, and Lilydale, among others.

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Lilydale line, significant improvements and upgrades have been made. Different packages of work have upgraded the corridor to replace sleepers, upgrade signalling technology, introduce new rolling stock, and remove remaining level crossings.[5]

  1. ^ "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Metro's paper timetables mess". Daniel Bowen. 3 September 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  3. ^ "New timetable train line information – Public Transport Victoria". 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. ^ Carey, Adam (7 November 2014). "Trains are working better but seating not guaranteed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  5. ^ Victoria’s Big Build (13 June 2022). "Goodbye Scoresby Road level crossing". Victoria’s Big Build. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.