The platform switcheroo at Melton

Track duplications on the Ballarat Line Upgrade are nearing completion (via BLU)

Just as the rule on Australian roads is for cars to drive on the left-hand side of the road, the general rule for Australian two-track railways is for trains to use the left-hand track. On single-track railways with crossing loops, including single-track railways where stations have two platforms, this rule isn't applied anywhere near as consistently - there will generally be a "main line" (or at stations, a main platform) that gets used by default, whether it's left or right, whichever direction the train is heading; if a train is coming the other way it'll just have to use the other track. But on two-track lines, we have pretty consistent left-hand running.

As mentioned previously on the blog, the Ballarat Line Upgrade project will make a lot of progress towards the duplication of the Ballarat line - transitioning it from a single-track line with crossing loops into a two-track railway. It will completely duplicate the line between Deer Park West and Melton, as well as adding second platforms at Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Wendouree, and various crossing loops - all in all, it will bring the line from roughly 1/4 duplicated to roughly 1/2 duplicated, which is a great step forward.

Melton station has had two platforms for years, but being on a single-track-with-loops railway means that it used the southern platform (with the station building) by default for trains in both directions, and only used the northern platform (with barely a bus shelter) when it had to. (1)

The southern platform and station building (via Theloon)

At the completion of the BLU project, the line between Melbourne and Melton will transition from a single-track-and-loops line into a proper fully-duplicated line, and will therefore transition to consistent left-hand running. This means that all (or at least the vast majority of) city-bound trains from Melton will depart from the northern platform from now on. Since the bulk of Melton passengers are going to be heading towards the city, people will now have to wait on this platform - which has basically no shelter on it. The station building with its waiting room and canopy will go largely unused, since outbound Melton passengers will just get off the train and exit the station immediately.

It's not just shelter, either - this petition points out other issues. There's only one access point, with one ramp that gets crowded very easily. The gap between the platform and trains is apparently quite significant, and presents safety issues - particularly for passengers with accessibility needs. The bus interchange is also south of the line, so passengers transferring from the bus also need to walk under the underpass to get to the city-bound platform, where previously they could practically walk straight off the bus and onto the platform. These are the kinds of things that build up over the years when you have one "main" platform and one backup platform - everything about the station design is oriented on that basis.

So what do we do?

The petition is asking for the decision to go to left-hand running to be reversed, but this isn't really practical - it would be like asking to rewrite the road rules of cars driving on the left. Instead, this change should be the trigger for improvements to Melton station. It's not just the change of the primary platform - the passenger numbers have gone through the roof over the last few years, so it's quite clear that some improvements are justified.

Rearranging the bus interchange would be a huge undertaking, and not necessarily a good idea - it's good to have a quick interchange when catching your train in the morning, but at the same time it's good to have a quick interchange if you're trying to catch the last bus home in the evening. So probably best to leave that as-is, at least for now.

The northern platform just has one access ramp, shared by the underpass and the carpark (via Google Maps)

But adding a second entrance at the northeast corner would help take pressure off the existing entrance, as well as improving walkability by extending the pedestrian catchment. It'd even be worth considering a third entrance, around halfway between these two, for people coming from the carpark. Adding a lot more shelter would obviously make waiting for your train - in the rain or in the hot sun - a lot more pleasant for all passengers.

Neither of these measures would be massively expensive, but would add to passenger amenity quite a bit - it's a very reasonable ask. The platform gap would likely take a lot more work to fix, but given the safety and accessibility implications, it's important this be addressed quickly too.

Shifting to left-hand running is the right move, but it's something they would have been planning for quite a while - so these issues with the northern platform should have been addressed in advance. The least they can do is make sure they're addressed as soon as possible after the BLU project finishes.

(1) The platform numbers are apparently being switched at the same time as the other changes, so to avoid confusion I've gone with cardinal directions (north/south) throughout this post