Wattle Glen railway station
Wattle Glen station is a railway station operated by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the Melbourne rail network. It serves the north-eastern suburb of Wattle Glen, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Wattle Glen station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring one side platform. It opened on 25 June 1912.
Initially opened as Balee, it was changed to Wattleglen on 14 August 1922. However, currently the station is signed and commonly known as Wattle Glen.
History
Wattle Glen station opened on 25 June 1912, when the railway line from [Eltham Train station|railway station, Melbourne|Eltham] was extended to Hurstbridge. Like the suburb itself, the station is named after the wattle trees that are in abundance throughout the area.In 1968, flashing light signals were provided at the Wilson Road level crossing, located nearby in the down direction of the station. In 1979, the former station building was destroyed by fire. In 1987, boom barriers were provided at the Wilson Road level crossing.
In late 2007, an upgrade to the station and its car park took place, and included installing fencing and sealing the car park.
In 2018, it was announced that the Level Crossing Removal Project would undergo a second upgrade on the Hurstbridge line, which involved duplicating the track between Wattle Glen and Diamond Creek. However, no upgrades were proposed for the station itself or the nearby Wilson Road level crossing, with the duplication ending south of the level crossing. The duplication was completed in 2023.
During the 2018/2019 financial year, Wattle Glen was the least-patronised station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with approximately 48,000 passenger movements annually.
In 2020, it was announced that the station car park will be upgraded with 50 new spots, improved CCTV and lighting, as well as more bicycle parking facilities.
Although the railway station signage and the operator's public timetables render the name of the station as two words, some internal sources, such as VicNames, and the internal network map, renders the official spelling of the station as Wattleglen, one word. However, the operator's internal signalling diagram uses the two word form. It is unclear why the Post Office and suburb were made two words when the Post Office was renamed from Diamond Creek Upper on 1 November 1922, particularly after the station had been renamed two and a half months earlier.