Sunshine railway station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne and V/Line on the Sunbury, Geelong and Ballarat lines, serving the western suburb of the same name in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The station opened on 7 September 1885, with the current buildings opening in 2014, after reconstruction as part of the Regional Rail Link project.

Originally named Braybrook Junction, it was given its current name in July 1907 when the suburb of Sunshine took its name from the recently opened Sunshine Harvester Works.

V/Line services on the Bendigo corridor pass through the station but do not stop there. Freight services running towards northern Victoria and Sydney run past the station, as well as freight trains heading for the western standard gauge line via the Newport–Sunshine railway line. The bus interchange at the station is a hub for a large number of routes to surrounding suburbs.

It is planned that the station will receive a significant upgrade as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail project, with work scheduled to commence in early 2026.

History

19th century

In the 1850s, the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company began building a line from Footscray to Bendigo. The company encountered financial difficulties and was sold to the Victorian Government in 1856. No station was built on the site of the current station when the line was opened as far as Sunbury in 1859, the closest one being Albion and Darlington, on the site of the current Albion station.

In 1874, a line to Melton was opened, which branched from the Bendigo line at that point, and a station was built at the site of the junction, which was opened as Braybrook Junction on 7 September 1885. In 1887, the Melton railway was extended westwards to Bacchus Marsh, eventually meeting up with a line extended eastwards from Ballarat in 1889 . That created a direct route from Melbourne to Ballarat. Previously, the rail traffic between Melbourne and Ballarat had to run via Geelong on the Geelong-Ballarat line.

In 1887, the Newport-Sunshine railway line was opened, connecting the new station at Braybrook Junction to Newport and Williamstown, Victoria's major cargo port at the time.

20th century

In 1907, Braybrook Junction station was renamed Sunshine, after Hugh McKay had moved his Sunshine Harvester Works to a site adjacent to the station. The works took place as part of the project to construct a standard gauge line from Sydney to Melbourne. In that same year, boom barriers were provided at the nearby former Anderson Road level crossing, on the Bendigo line.

In January 1963, a fourth platform was provided on the adjacent Melbourne – Sydney standard gauge line, to enable passengers to transfer between the interstate Sydney and Adelaide expresses. By February 1964 the platform had been doubled in length, widening of the base of the original ramp and provision of a second, parallel ramp.

In 1965, control of signals at Albion was transferred to the signal box at Sunshine.

On 5 February 1985, Harris trailer carriage 830T was destroyed by fire in a vandalism attack, whilst stabled in the former down end siding.

In 1988, the sidings leading to the Massey Ferguson factory were booked out of use. The lead to the sidings, which crossed the standard gauge line, was removed in February of that year.

In 1994, the former station underpass, which connected the platforms to nearby City Place, was completed, replacing an underpass. It was removed during the station upgrades between 2012 and 2014. Also in that year, the track leading to the former goods shed was removed,

On 26 July 1996, Sunshine was upgraded to a premium station.

21st century

In mid-2004, the platform on the standard gauge line was removed. The waiting room on the platform was demolished five years earlier, in 1999.

From 2012 to 2014, the station was rebuilt as part of the Regional Rail Link project. Works included:

  • a new bus interchange, completed in September 2013;
  • construction of a new footbridge and concourse, completed in January 2014;
  • upgrading Platforms 1 and 2 with new canopies;
  • rebuilding Platform 3 and a new Platform 4, both completed in April 2014;

The standalone signal box to the north of the station, commissioned in 1914, was closed in 2016, and control of trains in the Sunshine and Albion areas was transferred to Metrol. The former signal box is one of the largest surviving examples of a tappet and lever frame box on the Victorian network, having once housed 80 levers. Although mechanical signalling was replaced with electronic interlocking before the box was finally taken out of service, it remains relatively intact as an example of Victorian Railways signal box architecture.

In early 2020, construction commenced on a new signal control centre south of the station, which will share control of the Sunshine–Dandenong corridor with an existing facility at Dandenong, after completion of the Metro Tunnel.

From Sunday 9 November 2025, SkyBus began operating a direct service from the station to Melbourne Airport.

Future

alt=Map showing the Melbourne Airport Rail link route.|thumb|left|Map showing the [[Melbourne Airport Rail link route.]]

In 2018, the Victorian Government announced that the Melbourne Airport Rail project would operate via Sunshine. The state government announced a significant package of upgrades for the station, branding it the Sunshine Superhub. Works at Sunshine are planned to commence in early 2026, after a combined $4 billion of funding was announced by the Australian Government and the Victorian Government in 2025.

In 2022, early construction commenced on the Melbourne Airport Rail project, and a masterplan for the station's precinct was released. The plan includes new entrances to the station, an integrated bus interchange, new open spaces, high-density housing developments surrounding the station, and the creation of pedestrian and cycling links across the rail lines.

Within Sunshine station itself, works will include a new pair of platforms for Geelong and Ballarat services, an extension of the station's concourse, new rail bridges, new signalling, and a major reconfiguration of the passenger and freight tracks.

A track diagram was released in 2025 depicting the planned reconfiguration. Regional passenger V/Line trains on the Bendigo line, which currently run express through Sunshine, will stop at the Sunshine Superhub using the existing Sunbury line platforms. The Airport line, as well as the future planned electrified Melton line, will run through the Metro Tunnel. Quadruplication of the Melton line is planned to occur to a junction site near Caroline Springs to separate the Melton line from Ballarat services.

Facilities, platforms and services

Sunshine is a ground level, premium station. It has two side platforms and a centre island platform with two faces. Access to the platforms is by stairs, lifts and ramps from an overhead footbridge and concourse, which includes a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room and toilets.

It is served by Sunbury line and V/Line Ballarat and Geelong line trains.

Current (Metropolitan)

{| class="wikitable defaultcenter col1left"

! colspan="7" style="background:#;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #); " |<span style="color:white;">Sunshine platform arrangement</span>

|-

!Platform

!Line

!Destination

!Via

!Service Type

!Notes

!Source

|-

|1

|

|Westall, Dandenong, East Pakenham, Cranbourne

|Town Hall

|All stations and limited express services

|Services to Westall and Dandenong only operate during weekday peaks.

|

|-

|2

||

|Watergardens, Sunbury

|

|All stations

|

|

|}

Current (Regional)

{| class="wikitable defaultcenter col1left"

! colspan="5" style="background:#;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #); " |<span style="color:white;">Sunshine platform arrangement</span>

|-

!Platform

!Line

!Destination

!Service Type

!Notes

|-

|3

|<br><br><br>

|Southern Cross

|Maryborough line: One daily V/Line service

|Set-down only

|-

|4

|<br><br><br>

|Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Wendouree, Ararat, Wyndham Vale, Geelong, Waurn Ponds, Maryborough

|Maryborough line: One daily V/Line service

|Pick-up only

|}

From Airport Line opening

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed defaultcenter col1left"

! colspan="6" style="background:#;background-image: linear-gradient(to right, #); " |<span style="color:white;">Sunshine platform arrangement</span>

|-

!Platform

!Line

!Destination

!Via

!Service Type

!Notes

|-

|1

|

|Westall, Dandenong, East Pakenham, Cranbourne

|Town Hall

|All stations and limited express services

|Services to Westall and Dandenong only operate during weekday peaks.

|-

|2

||

|Watergardens, Sunbury

|St Albans

|All stations

|

|-

|3

|

|Westall, Dandenong, East Pakenham, Cranbourne

|Town Hall

|All stations and limited express services

|Services to Westall and Dandenong only operate during weekday peaks.

|-

|4

|

|Melbourne Airport

|Keilor East

|All stations

|

|}

There are 15 bus services that use the bus interchange at Sunshine station.

CDC Melbourne operates three routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  • : to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with Transit Systems Victoria)
  • : St Albans station – Highpoint Shopping Centre
  • : to Footscray (via Ballarat Road)

Kinetic Melbourne operates four routes via Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  • : to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) (via Dynon Road)
  • : to Melbourne CBD (Queen Street) via (Footscray Road)
  • : to Sunshine South (loop service)
  • SmartBus : Altona station – Mordialloc

Transit Systems Victoria operates eight routes to and from Sunshine station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  • : to Laverton station (via Robinsons Road, shared with CDC Melbourne)
  • : to Brimbank Central Shopping Centre
  • : to Sunshine West (via Forrest Street)
  • : to Sunshine West
  • : to Woodgrove Shopping Centre (Melton) (via Rockbank)
  • : to Williamstown (via Newport and Altona Gate Shopping Centre)
  • Night Bus : to Watergardens station (Saturday and Sunday mornings only)

SkyBus also operates a service to Melbourne Airport from Sunshine station.

<gallery>

File:VLine VLocity departing Platform 3 towards Southern Cross Station at Sunshine Railway Station, Sunshine.jpg|V/Line VLocity train departing Platform 3 towards Southern Cross Station at Sunshine Station in October 2023.

File:Westrans number 58 (4871AO) Volvo on route 410 at Sunshine railway station, December 2013.jpg|Westrans Volgren bodied Volvo B7L at Sunshine station, December 2013

File:Sunshine Station platforms 1 & 2.jpg|North-west bound view from Platform 2, <br/>May 2014

File:Sunshine Station platforms 3 & 4.jpg|South-east bound view from Platform 3 looking at station concourse and entrance, May 2014

</gallery>

References

  • Rail Geelong gallery
  • Melway map