The is a
Suburban electric
Railway in
Melbourne ,
Australia . It serves part of the
City Of Boroondara , to the east of the
Central Business District . It has 6
Stations and branches from the
Belgrave and
Lilydale lines at
Camberwell Station . It is entirely within
Metcard ticketing Zone 1.
The Alamein line head south from Camberwell across gentle hills, with some moderately heavy earthworks. The line crosses under or over several roads by means of bridges, and only has two
Level Crossing s, one of which carries tram tracks, one of four such tram/train crossings in Melbourne. The area served by the line is fully built up and a mostly
Residential Area .
The line is
Double-tracked from the junction at Camberwell station to just before Ashburton station; changing to a
Single Track for the rest of the distance, a short enough section that it is not a serious
Bottleneck . The maximum permissible train speeds range from 65
Km/h on most of the double track sections, to 40 km/h on the single track, and a crawling 15 km/h over the tram/
Train Level Crossing on the line.
There is a crossover point at
Riversdale Station , which allows trains to turn back when they cannot proceed. There are no stabling facilities on the line, although there is a single, rarely-used
Siding at
Ashburton station. The city-bound track between Camberwell and Riversdale stations is
Signalled for two-way running. This is used by shuttle services when running at frequencies greater than 15 minutes.
The Alamein line is the only remaining section of what was originally the , stretching from
Fairfield to
Oakleigh . The section of the Outer Circle from
Camberwell Station to
Ashburton Station was closed on
December 9 1895 , only to be reopened on
July 4 1899 as the '''Ashburton line'''. This line was
Electrified on
October 30 1924 . The line was later extended to
Alamein Station to serve a newly-built
Housing Estate , and opened on
June 28 1948 as the Alamein line.
Into the
1970s the shuttle service was a two-carriage or single-carriage train in which tickets could be bought on board from the guard.
The line was also the first in the city to receive new
Metlink -branded signage, including the new, blue
Colour-code for the train network, and signs directing passengers to connecting
Tram and
Bus services.
The Alamein line is operated as a
Shuttle service between Camberwell and Alamein stations during off-peak periods, while trains run the whole distance to
Flinders Street Station during
Peak Hours .
Frequencies vary according to the time of day and the day of week:
Although moves were made to close the line in the
1980s , the Alamein line has remained open. However, passengers often have to change trains at Camberwell to catch a shuttle service.
Railway enthusiasts as well as
Public Transport activists have called for the line to be extended along the old Outer Circle reservation south of Alamein station. The proposed extension would interchange with the
Glen Waverley Line at
East Malvern Station , include a new station at the sprawling
Chadstone Shopping Centre , and continue on to join the
Pakenham and
Cranbourne lines at
Oakleigh Station . This proposal is not currently being considered by the State Government, however.
The Alamein line was the stage for an elaborate
Practical Joke played on the residents of the area by
Comedian Barry Humphries . While on a train, Humphries was met at each station between Camberwell and Alamein by a waiter who would serve another course of an elaborate breakfast, much to the annoyance of the relatively conservative residents of the suburbs concerned.
Cartoonist Jeff Hook drew a daily cartoon for the newspaper
The Herald Sun , and would often picture a station with the name "Doowrub". This was derived from reversing Burwood station's name. Burwood was also the home of former
Premier Jeff Kennett .
stations are terminuses, ''italic'' stations are staffed.
Branches from the
Belgrave and
Lilydale lines at ''.
