Willison railway station

Willison
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view of station building, June 2024
General information
Location	Stodart Street, Camberwell, Victoria 3124 City of Boroondara Australia
Coordinates	37°50′09″S 145°04′13″E / 37.8357°S 145.0703°E / -37.8357; 145.0703
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Alamein
Distance	12.15 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	No—steep ramp
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	WSN
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	8 June 1908; 116 years ago (1908-06-08)
Rebuilt	19 December 1954 1972
Electrified	October 1924 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous names	Golf Links (1908-1936)
Passengers
2005–2006	84,779[1]
2006–2007	96,596[1]  13.93%
2007–2008	102,947[1]  6.57%
2008–2009	96,312[2]  6.44%
2009–2010	96,346[2]  0.035%
2010–2011	97,112[2]  0.79%
2011–2012	87,210[2]  10.19%
2012–2013	Not measured[2]
2013–2014	87,614[2]  0.46%
2014–2015	87,730[1]  0.13%
2015–2016	94,688[2]  7.93%
2016–2017	97,248[2]  2.7%
2017–2018	104,182[2]  7.13%
2018–2019	102,600[2]  1.51%
2019–2020	80,300[2]  21.73%
2020–2021	32,400[2]  59.65%
2021–2022	35,750[3]  10.34%
2022–2023	62,800[3]  75.66%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Riversdale towards Camberwell or Flinders Street Alamein line Hartwell towards Alamein
Track layout Legend to Riversdale 1 2 to Hartwell

Willison railway station is a commuter railway station on the Alamein line, part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Camberwell in Victoria, Australia. Willison is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 June 1908, with the current station provided in 1954 and platforms in 1972.^[4]

Initially opened as Golf Links, the station was given its current name of Willison on 23 July 1936.

Willison station was not part of the original Outer Circle line. It was provided for the convenience of members of the Riversdale Golf Club, which was originally adjacent to the site. It has been said that influential club members did not appreciate having to walk to either Riversdale or Hartwell, and pressed for a closer alternative.^[5] That almost certainly explains why Willison was built so close to Riversdale, being only 400 metres away. The club moved from the site in 1927 and, on 23 July 1936, the station was renamed Willison, after A. J. Willison, a former member of Camberwell Council.^[6][7]

The station was originally served by the so-called Deepdene Dasher, which ran a shuttle on the remnant of the Outer Circle line between Ashburton and Deepdene. After the Deepdene Dasher ceased operation in 1927, the station was served by Ashburton line trains. Twelve years later, on 28 June 1948, the line was extended from Ashburton to Alamein,^[8] the service which still exists today.

In 1954, the current station platforms were provided when the line was duplicated between Riversdale and Hartwell.^[4] In 1972, both platforms were extended at the down end, and a pedestrian crossing was relocated.^[9]

During the 2018/2019 financial year, Willison was the sixth-least-used station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 102,600 passenger movements.^[10]

Willison has two side platforms. It is served by Alamein line trains.^[11]

Platform 1:

•  Alamein line  weekday all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street; all stations shuttle services to Camberwell

Platform 2:

•  Alamein line  all stations services to Alamein

• 
  Northbound view of station platforms, March 2003
• 
  Northbound view of station platforms, December 2018

• Media related to Willison railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au