Cheltenham railway station was one of the earliest stations on the Frankstonrailway line, having opened on 19 December 1881. The current dock platform was provided in 1956. A siding originally existed at this dock platform. Boom barriers were provided at the Park Road level crossing, located at the up end, in 1966. A signal panel was installed in the station building in 1972, to control trains terminating at Platform 1. That coincided with the introduction of automatic signalling between Highett and Cheltenham. Boom barriers were also provided at the Charman Road level crossing, located at the down end of the station, in 1972. A fourth track was laid into the bitumen of the Park St level crossing in preparation for triplication, but it was never connected. There was previously a siding on the eastern side of the station, at the Melbourne end. The wiring for the siding was deactivated by 1980 when most of the siding was replaced with car parking, and was removed altogether by 1985. Cheltenham was designated as a Premium station on 8 March 1996. In 2010, Cheltenham station was identified as a key part of the Cheltenham Major Activity Centre by the Brumby Labor Government, as part of its Melbourne 2030strategic planningpolicy framework. In 2010, Kingston City Council proposed a major redevelopment of the station environs, including a new station forecourt with a terraced plaza, giving more prominence to the heritage-listed buildings at the station, and a new taxi rank, similar to that at Mentone. The proposal was not implemented. In October 2015, the station toilets were refurbished. In February 2017, it was announced that, as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project of the Andrews Labor Government, Cheltenham station would be rebuilt in a rail trench, to allow the elimination of the level crossings at Charman and Park roads. The trench, 1.26 kilometres in length, will be at least 30 metres wide. That will facilitate the reinstatement of the dock platform as part of a duplication of the down track. Road bridges will be constructed over the rail line at Charman and Park roads. A multi–storey car-park will be built within the existing station car park. From its opening in 1881, the station was located between Mentone and Highett. The opening of Southland station in 2017 meant that Southland replaced Highett as the closest station to Cheltenham in the up direction.
Incidents
On 10 May 2008, former The Saddle Club actress Jessica Jacobs died instantly from her injuries after she was hit by a train. In 2012, a motorist was killed after a train hit his car.
Platforms and services
Cheltenham is served by Metro Trains' Frankston line services. It has two side platforms and one dock platform. The latter was served by one afternoon terminating service from Flinders Street, that returned empty to the city, but from 12 October 2014, extra weekday Flinders Street bound services began to use the platform. Platform 1:
Frankston line: terminating services from Flinders Street
Platform 2:
Frankston line: all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street
Platform 3:
Frankston line: all stations services to Frankston
