General Motors
View from platform at General Motors station
Station information
Line	Pakenham
Code	GMH
Distance from Flinders St	33. The Pakenham railway line in Melbourne, Australia is the Suburban electrified portion of the railway to Bairnsdale in eastern Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban rail network of Melbourne, Australia. 8 km
Number of Platforms	2
Number of Tracks	2
Station Status	Closed station
Melway map	Link
Google map of station	Link

View from the Pakenham end of the station looking towards Melbourne

Towards Melbourne from the Down (Pakenham bound) platform

Northward at the former General Motors factory site from the railway station footbridge. Melway (also commonly referred to as Melways or The Melways) is the most ubiquitous Street directory for Melbourne, Australia Google Maps (for a time named Google Local) is a free Web mapping service application and technology provided by Google that powers many map-based services

General Motors is a disused railway station on the Pakenham line of the Melbourne suburban rail system. |}A train station, railway station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which Passengers may board and alight from Trains The Pakenham railway line in Melbourne, Australia is the Suburban electrified portion of the railway to Bairnsdale in eastern Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 Melbourne has a long history of railway development The city's first railway opened in 1854 when only 20 years earlier the city itself did not exist It is located between Dandenong and Hallam stations, in the suburb of Dandenong South. Dandenong railway station (DNG is a railway station located in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia. Hallam is a Railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Hallam, on the Pakenham railway South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. Dandenong South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

History

General Motors station was originally opened as a 'special platform' on October 1, 1956^[1] to service the General Motors Holden car factory to the north. Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. GM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne Victoria. An alternate date for the opening is November 18, 1956. Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[2] Work on the adjacent General Motors Holden factory commenced with the purchase of 152 acres of land in 1951, construction commencing in 1955, and completed in 1956. ^[3]

The station opened at the site of a number of private railway sidings, two years after electrification of the line though it was commissioned, and at a time when suburban services to Pakenham did not exist. A siding, in Rail terminology, is a track section distinct from a through route such as a main line or Branch line or spur Pakenham is a Railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Pakenham, and is the terminus of the As a result, only a single platform was provided on the north side on the Down (Pakenham bound) track, and services operated as extensions of Dandenong trains at factory opening and close times. Dandenong railway station (DNG is a railway station located in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia. ^[1] This was altered on January 20, 1975 when suburban services were extended from Dandenong to Pakenham. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Up (Melbourne bound) platform and footbridge to the north was provided, and Pakenham trains were timetabled to stop at the station at factory opening and close times. ^[1]

The station was provided with a crossover between the double track lines, and a signal box to control it. A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track ^[4] A number of railway sidings also branched from the station in a westerly direction along the main line. In 1979 they served the International Harvester, Heinz, and General Motors Holden factories. International Harvester Company ( IHC or IH; now Navistar International Corporation) was an agricultural machinery construction equipment GM Holden Ltd is an Australian automaker based in Port Melbourne Victoria. ^[4] The station could not be accessed from public roads, with the only way in and out via a gate into the General Motors Holden factory.

In 1991, the General Motors factory closed down,^[5] leaving the station essentially isolated. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. It remained open for a further eleven years, despite the closure and demolition of the factory, and the fact that the footbridge now led to a fenced-off, empty paddock where the factory had once stood. It was estimated to be the least patronised station in the entire city network, with only an average of 11 passengers using it a day. ^[6] By the time it closed, only eight trains stopped at the station each day — four each way.

Visitors from the Signalling Record Society had to obtain permission from General Motors and be accompanied by a security guard while at the station. The Rail Appreciation Association Victoria was another group who organised a trip to the station, travelling via ordinary train services. ^[7] Another group of railfans visited the station the the last day of operation, again using regular trains. A railfan or rail buff ( American English) railway enthusiast or railway buff ( Australian / British English) or (often ^[2]

The only means of accessing the station was to jump off the platform and cross over the tracks on foot, as no new accesses were built after the closure of the factory. This meant that it was one of only two stations on the Melbourne network to be inaccessible to wheelchairs (the other one being Heyington). Heyington is a Railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Toorak, on the Glen Waverley The Public Transport Users Association asked that it be upgraded due to industrial growth in the area. The Public Transport Users Association is a community-based Public transport lobby group in Victoria, Australia, based in Melbourne. ^[8] However, M>Train, who operated the Pakenham line at the time, requested permission to close the station in 2002, due to "safety concerns and a lack of legal access". M>Train is a former operator of half of Melbourne 's suburban railway network. ^[8] The last trains stopped at the station on Friday 26 July 2002, with the station officially closed on Sunday 28 July 2002. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[2]

Current status

Posters about the closure referred to a "temporary suspension". M>Train did not rule out the possibility of re-opening the station at a future time. (The former M>Train network is now operated by Connex, and any plans this company may have for the station are unknown). Connex Melbourne is a wholly owned subsidiary of French company Veolia Environnement.

In 2004 General Motors was still listed in the Pakenham line pocket timetable,^[9], and in 2005 the http://metlinkmelbourne.com.au trip planner was still displaying services to the station, despite the closure. ^[10]

However, the station is no longer displayed on any public transport maps. This is a list of the 200 currently operating suburban railway stations (216 including greater metropolitan stations in Melbourne, Australia As of late 2004, all signage had been removed, "KEEP OUT" signage had been installed, and access to the footbridge between platforms had been fenced off. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Station announcements on the line continued to announce that trains would stop at "all stations except General Motors" until April 2007. April 2007 is the fourth month of that year It began on a Sunday and 30 days later ended on a Monday. ^[11]

References

See also

• List of closed Melbourne railway stations

External links

• Signal diagram: Dandenong to Hallam & Lyndhurst 1979
• Photos: 'metf2nk' gallery
• Photos: 'Station pix by Somebody' gallery
• Photos: 'Victorian Railway Stations' gallery
• PTUA: Monty Python Bureaucracy Closes Railway Station

General Motors is currently not in use and trains no longer stop here. See also Rail transport in Victoria The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983 This is a list of former railway stations and lines in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.