Melbourne's Strangest Train Line

Sorry for the wait on this one!

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YT Tags Stuff:
Melbourne, Melbourne Trains, Stony Point, V/Line, VLocity, Trains, Frankston, Frankston Line, Strange Train Stations

[QazzyTransport]

Correction: Stony Point trains are driven by specifically trained metro drivers

[Theyadayada]

I used to catch a refurbished red rattler from Bittern to Frankston every weekend, meeting up with friends at Hastings and Somerville. Those old things had the comfiest seats and a conductor known as ''Whistlin' Pete'' because of how well he whistled. This was 2006-2009, never knew how much I'd miss it.

[jdillon]

I'll add my 2 cents as well. It really isn't worth electrifying this line. But I do think they should add a passing loop and add some more trains so that frequency can be higher. Usage is low because frequency is low. Mornington branch should be reopened as well. Then it would be worth adding 2-car Vlocity sets to the mix and a small "light-mantainence" facility for minor repairs and servicing. Major repairs would continue to be done in the city of course. Maybe the line could be extended to portsea as well. If you include the entire Mornington penninsula there is a actually a pretty big population (plus significant tourism), and there isn't much room for road expansion (which just creates more congestion anyway). Time to get Penninsula residents and visiting back onto public transport. If the service is good enough, people will use it.

[TM]

Couple of minor corrections:
•Sprinters are able to run in 8 car sets (authorised to, has happened a few times);
•Stony Point services use Metro drivers based at Frankston; V/line has no involvement beyond maintaining the Sprinters, and providing 2 cars each time a changeover occurs.

[WendyKay]

I lived in Crib Point and relied quite heavily on the Stony Point line for a time. It was always a nice ride, with Whistling Pete watching over his flock of passengers. It closed for several months because I think they were working on the line (there were rumours it would be electrified then, but it obviously wasn't) and I missed it terribly. I had to take the bus, which I believe was even less frequent and a lot less comfortable. The Stony Point line was a blessing!

[purplexs]

My teenage exploration of Melbourne was partly driven by catching trains to many of the Port Philip Bay suburban piers and jetties, from Altona in the North West as far as Table Point, Black Rock on the East side.
Stony Point beckoned on the map, as a mystical, far-away land, where I would be sure to catch lots of fish, if I were ever to journey ... all ... that ... way.
And well done on an excellent little vid.

[RobMcGinley]

Its a life line for the recruits and trainee's at HMAS Cerberus to get off base and into town, even if the schedule sux.
There wasn't any other option twenty years ago when i was there and I doubt that has changed.

[brack]

Don't take these lines for granted! Unfortunately WA Governments of the past have completely lost WA railways of the past and I so wish they were still around. I can't wait to get back over east to use lines like this.

[davidmc]

Good job! A minor point - the Steelworks is not actually called Long Island, it's called Western Port steelworks (I used to work for BHP, Bluescope was BHP Steel). It's only called Long Island in railway circles, it's actually the name of the branch line rather than the steelworks. The Long Island branch line used to run from Long Island Junction on the Stony Point line, beyond the steelworks to the Esso works at Long Island (though there isn't an island there anymore).

[eliyohub]

Note, Vlocity trains can be reduced from three carriages to two very easily. Some of them were initially two-carriage sets, but all were later modified into the current three-carriage sets.

[Kevlar]

This service also used to service the Naval base HMAS Cerberus (also known as Flinders Naval Depot in the past). The Friday afternoon ‘leave’ train was well patronised. Train would run from the on base station to Crib Point where it rejoined the line and reverse direction for the trip to Frankston. There was also a Sunday afternoon train from Frankston to the base. The base platform is still there but never had any buildings.

[jaredmulconry]

Good old Stony Point line. I grew up with this line in the 90s and early 00s. Back then, Hastings still had a staffed station that sold tickets, and the carriage doors were manually operated, so spent most of the journey wide open for us to hang out legs off the side.
The frequency was half of the issue with the service, the other half being the operating hours. Services began criminally late in the morning, and terminated even more criminally early in the evening.
As someone attempting to study in Melbourne, services didn't start early enough for me to get to class on time, and terminated with minutes to spare for me to return home.
I would describe the service as popular in spite of its issues.
I don't see justification to invest a lot of money in the line, given the low patronage. I don't see the popularity of the line changing either.

[robvegas]

Great video mate!!! Back in the late 90's a friend and I went for a mission to catch the stony point line for an adventure one saturday just for something to do. the train itself was one of the big diesel engines with one carriage The view of western port bay was nice, we were there for about 3 hours waiting for the next train back. Good times.

[antontsau]

vlocity trains can be 2 cars. In fact its their original design, middle trailer was added afterwards.

[tekkies-transport]

Great video!
The Stony Point line certainly is an interesting part of the network, and definetly could do with some improvements.
I know the current state opposition at the last two state elections have promised to extend the Frankston line to Baxter if elected, which I think is a bit unnecessary given the size of the town.
(Fun fact: The Stony Point line is known to be taken out of action whenever there are planned disruptions on the Frankston line. I assume this is because the Sprinters get regularly sent up the Frankston line to Southern Cross for refuelling and rotation.)

[joea]

When my kids were 11 and 9 years old we rode our bikes to Edithvale station, train to Frankston, train to Stoney Point and ferry to Phillip Island. After 2 days of cycling we came back the same way. There was a tent on my bike but ended up getting a cabin in both caravan parks for about $20 more than the tent site. My missus still thinks I'm a bit crazy. Loved it all.

[the.bronze]

Back in the 90’s I hitchhiked down to Frankston, took the train to stony point. Quick call to the ferry, and pickup up 30 minutes later by the ferry and off to Phillip island.

[originaluddite]

That line took me to a few of my best holidays ever. Crappy line but great nostalgia.

[Melbournelost]

I love this beautiful line. Take on a beautiful Summers day, drop into the Packing House at Tyabb, then a walk around Stony Point. A fun day.

[thepiratequeen]

Thanks for this video! I've never travelled the Stony Point line before, but now I actually want to experience it! I might make a day of it where I can go by myself and just relax and enjoy it.