Services Services on the Upfield line operates from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 daily. The Upfield line has one of the least-frequent peak-period services in
Melbourne's railway network due to the single track between Gowrie and Upfield. This results in peak train frequencies being every 15–20 minutes, while outside the peak the frequency is reduced to 20–30 minutes throughout the entire route. On Wednesdays, some Upfield line services terminate at Batman, operating as limited-stop trains via Flinders Street, Southern Cross, North Melbourne, Royal Park and Coburg, and return to the city via the City Loop. Train services on the Upfield line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle bus services are provided throughout the duration of works for affected commuters.
Stopping patterns Legend — Station status • ◼
Premium Station – Station staffed from first to last train • ◻
Host Station – Usually staffed during morning peak, however this can vary for different stations on the network.
Legend — Stopping patternsSome services do not operate via the City Loop • ● – All trains stop • ◐ – Some services do not stop • ▲ - Only inbound trains stop • ▼ - Only outbound trains stop • | – Trains pass and do not stop
Operators The Upfield line has had a total of 7 operators since its opening in 1884. The majority of operations throughout its history have been government run: from its first service in 1884 until the 1999 privatisation of Melbourne's rail network, four different government operators have run the line. These operators,
Victorian Railways, the
Metropolitan Transit Authority, the
Public Transport Corporation, and Bayside Trains have a combined operational length of 121 years. Bayside Trains was privatised in August 1999 and later rebranded as
M>Train. In 2002, M>Train was placed into receivership and the state government regained ownership of the line, with
KPMG appointed as receivers to operate M>Train on behalf of the state government. Two years later, rival train operator
Connex Melbourne took over the M>Train operations including the Frankston line.
Metro Trains Melbourne, the current private operator, then took over the operations in 2009. The private operators have had a combined operational period of years.
Route • Coburg to Somerton on • Fawkner to Somerton on }} • Coburg to Fawkner (Cemetery traffic only) on • Coburg to Fawkner on • Fawkner to Somerton on • Upfield to Somerton on • Fawkner to Upfield on }} • Flinders Street to North Melbourne on • North Melbourne to Fawkner on • Fawkner to Upfield on }} •
Victorian Railways (VR) (1884–1974) • VR as VicRail (1974–1983) •
MTA (The Met) (1983–1989) •
PTC (The Met) (1989–1997) •
VicTrack (1997–Current) }} • Six tracks: Flinders Street to North Melbourne •
Double track: North Melbourne to Gowrie •
Single track: Gowrie to Somerton }} }} The Upfield line forms a linear route from the
Melbourne central business district to its terminus in Upfield. The route is long, making it the fifth shortest line on the Melbourne metropolitan network. Exiting the city, the Upfield line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal
earthworks for most of the line. Some sections of the line have been elevated or lowered into a
cutting to
eliminate level crossings. Despite some removals, there are a number of level crossings still present with no current plans to remove them. Rare in Melbourne, the line travels underneath the
CityLink tollway beside the
Moonee Ponds Creek for a portion of the line, before rising up a lengthy hill and winding through Royal Park until it reaches
Jewell railway station. Notably, the line has one of the lowest proportion of
premium stations amongst Melbourne's railway lines, with only three stations past the North Melbourne junction classified as premium stations. == Infrastructure ==