History
The first station was opened in 1859, as part of the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company's network. The company and network was taken over by the Government of Victoria in 1878 to become part of Victorian Railways. As with the suburb Ripponlea, which had been named after the adjacent "Rippon Lea Estate" of Sir Frederick Sargood, Elsternwick had been named after the largest property in the district, Charles Ebden's "Elster".
In the 1880s, the Elsternwick station also functioned as the Melbourne end of the railway line to the large scale sugar beet processing mill that had been established at Rosstown (see Rosstown Railway) — now known as Carnegie — and beyond. This railway was seldom used and it ceased to function in 1916.
An electric tramline between Elsternwick and Point Ormond opened in 1915; it closed on 22 October 1960. The tram terminated at the railway station, with the route becoming part of the extended 246 bus route. The current station and grade separation of the Glen Huntly Road / tramway / railway level crossing was completed in October 1960. Elsternwick was upgraded to a Premium Station on 13 November 1995. The station ground level carpark was closed in 2002 and 2003 while a residential/retail development was built on it in a deal where the developer got the land and built a multistorey carpark with lift access for commuters. The station itself was refurbished in 2004.
Read more about this topic: Elsternwick Railway Station
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