A number of railway lines and stations which formed part of the greater Melbourne railway network have been closed over time, either in part or in full. The decision to close a railway station has historically been made by the department responsible for rail transport within the State Government of Victoria. Over the history of the Melbourne railway network, a total of eleven complete railway lines, as well as 71 railway stations, have been closed. The most recent railway station to close is General Motors, which closed on 28 July 2002, due to a lack of pedestrian access; while the most recent railway line to close to traffic is the Port Melbourne railway line, which was closed on 11 October 1987, and was subsequently converted to light rail. A number of stations have also been closed and rebuilt at another location, such as West Footscray, which was rebuilt 160 metres away as part of the Regional Rail Link project. Most closed railway lines have been converted to other uses, such as rail trails or linear parkland. In addition, a number of closed railway stations have been converted for other uses, such as retail stores.
Closed railway lines
Stations
Closed
Rebuilt
These stations previously existed in slightly different locations, and/or at a higher or lower level, to their modern-day counterparts. They may be considered the closed predecessors of today's stations.
Boronia – on the Belgrave line; track lowered station rebuilt lowered as part of grade separation under the intersection of Dorset/Boronia Roads. Surface areas and carpark now integrated with Boronia Junction Shopping Centre.
Bentleigh – on the Frankston Line; rebuilt as part of the level crossing removal works at North Rd, McKinnon Rd and Centre Rd.
Box Hill – on the Belgrave/Lilydale line; track lowered and station incorporated into Box Hill Central shopping centre.
Canterbury – on the Belgrave/Lilydale line; current high level station opened on 15 September 1968 and was completed and the Canterbury Rd level crossing closed on 22 December 1968
Hoppers Crossing – Originally located on the Western Side of Old Geelong Road for country trains, rebuilt with longer platforms to cater for Electric Trains on the Eastern Side of Old Geelong Road.
Laburnum – on the Belgrave/Lilydale line; track lowered to create a rail underpass replacing the level crossing at Middleborough Road.
McKinnon – on the Frankston Line; rebuilt as part of the level crossing removal works at North Rd, McKinnon Rd and Centre Rd.
Mitcham – on the Belgrave/Lilydale line; track lowered to create a rail underpass replacing two level crossings at Mitcham Road and Rooks Road. New station opened 25 January 2014.
Moorabbin 1959 – on the Frankston line; new station lowered below road level and provision made for the third track, road underpasses established for South Road and the Nepean Highway
Mornington – on the Mornington line; new station located on the demolished Stopping Place 16 station and opened 2000
Narre Warren – on the Pakenham line
Nunawading – on the Belgrave/Lilydale line; track lowered and station rebuilt with a provision made for a third track as part of the Springvale Road grade separation project.
Officer – on the Pakenham line
Ormond - on the Frankston Line; rebuilt as part of the level crossing removal works at North Rd, McKinnon Rd and Centre Rd.
Richmond has had several incarnations:
*Punt Road low level
*Swan Street low level
*Richmond high level – the opening of this station overlapped with the closure of Swan Street
Sandown Park – on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines; current station opened on 19 June 1965
Southern Cross, the main terminus of regional and interstate services in Victoria.
* Progressively expanded until 1960.
* Rebuilt station building and platform layout beginning in 1960 as part of the works providing a standard gauge railway link to Sydney.
* Beginning 2002, Spencer Street has been substantially rebuilt and renamed Southern Cross. While maintaining the previous platform layout, the station bears no resemblance to the former station.
