Upfield line

The Upfield line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth shortest metropolitan railway line at 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi). The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Upfield station in the north, serving 19 stations via North Melbourne, Brunswick, Coburg, and Fawkner. The line operates for approximately 19 hours a day (from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 am) with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hours, headways of up to 15 minutes are operated with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours. Trains on the Upfield line run with a two three-car formations of Comeng or Siemens Nexas trainsets.

Services on the line began in 1884 when a line opened from North Melbourne to Coburg. In October 1889, it was extended to Somerton, with track, signalling, and other upgrade works taking place. In 1961, the section from Upfield to Somerton was closed, and remains this way into the 21st century. Operations on the Upfield line were in serious doubt in the late 1980s and early 1990s with proposals for the line to be converted into a light rail line or a full closure. The 2018 Victorian Rail Plan has identified the need to reopen the Somerton link and return it to metropolitan services alongside an extension of the line in the near future.

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Upfield line, improvements and upgrades have been made. Works have included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, the removal of level crossings, the introduction of new rolling stock, and station accessibility upgrades.