I recently posted about the updated data that has been released for metropolitan and regional station usage in Melbourne and Victoria.
From this new information we can look at which stations were the most used and least used during the 2024 – 2025 financial year.
Most used stations in Melbourne
For the metropolitan network these were the ten busiest stations.
| Station | 2024-25 patronage | Rank | Rank in 2023-24 | Rank in 2018-19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flinders Street | 19,633,300 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Southern Cross | 14,696,050 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Melbourne Central | 11,876,900 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Parliament | 6,344,650 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Footscray | 4,383,950 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Richmond | 3,712,750 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Flagstaff | 3,445,200 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Caulfield | 3,205,100 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| South Yarra | 3,199,050 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Box Hill | 2,648,350 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
There has been very little movement here. The only change in ranking is Caulfield and South Yarra swapping eight and ninth places but it is a very small difference. Caulfield has seen quite a large increase in patronage of 9% compared to 2023-24 but there is the old caveat that Caulfield’s passenger numbers are overestimated due to the myki gate placement and interchanges.
Box Hill continues to be by far the busiest station furthest away from the CBD.
Most used regional stations in Victoria
For the regional rail network these were the ten busiest stations.
| Station | 2024-25 patronage | Rank | Rank in 2023-24 | Rank in 2018-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Cross | 6,506,100 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tarneit | 1,717,700 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Wyndham Vale | 1,128,400 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Geelong | 974,250 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Melton | 806,050 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Ballarat | 684,050 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Deer Park | 636,300 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Bendigo | 489,350 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Rockbank | 399,800 | 9 | 10 | 43 |
| South Geelong | 356,100 | 10 | 13 | 9 |
Wyndham Vale continues its climb up the ladder, now beating Geelong into third place.
South Geelong has re-entered the top ten and pushed Bacchus Marsh down into eleventh. This was driven by large patronage growth at South Geelong of over 17%, compared to only 4% at Bacchus Marsh.
The most incredible story here I think is Rockbank. Back in 2018-19 it was languishing in 43rd place with only 41,450 passengers per year – with fewer passengers than Ararat and Clarkefield. Now it is the ninth busiest regional station in the entire state. As I mentioned last time, this has been caused by the huge suburban expansion and population growth in the area.
Least used stations in Melbourne
For the metropolitan network these were the ten least used stations.
| Station | 2024-25 patronage | Rank | Rank in 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter | 2,500 | 1 | 1 |
| Morradoo | 3,400 | 2 | 3 |
| Tyabb | 4,050 | 3 | 2 |
| Leawarra | 5,500 | 4 | 5 |
| Stony Point | 6,950 | 5 | 4 |
| Crib Point | 7,900 | 6 | 8 |
| Somerville | 8,050 | 7 | 7 |
| Bittern | 8,800 | 8 | 6 |
| Hastings | 10,850 | 9 | 9 |
| Wattle Glen | 27,200 | 10 | 10 |
For the electrified metropolitan network (i.e. excluding the Stony Point Line) these were the ten least used stations.
| Station | 2024-25 patronage | Rank | Rank in 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wattle Glen | 27,200 | 1 | 1 |
| Tecoma | 47,250 | 2 | 2 |
| East Pakenham | 54,500 | 3 | – |
| Willison | 73,100 | 4 | 3 |
| Hurstbridge | 75,700 | 5 | 4 |
| Seaholme | 93,100 | 6 | 6 |
| Alamein | 96,200 | 7 | 5 |
| Upwey | 97,850 | 8 | 7 |
| Darebin | 112,450 | 9 | 8 |
| Diamond Creek | 114,700 | 9 | 11 |
Once again, nothing has really changed here.
Wattle Glen and Baxter retain their spots as the least used stations on the electrified and non-electrified metropolitan rail networks respectively.
Diamond Creek has come from eleventh place to tenth. This was driven by a 12% decrease in patronage compared to last financial year. The drop in use is probably due to long-term bus replacements for North East Link works putting people off using trains.
East Pakenham is now the third least-used station in its first full year of operation. But I think that it will drop out of this list over the next year or two as urban sprawl continues to spread in its general direction and use subsequently increases.
Least used stations in Victoria
For the regional rail network these were the ten least used stations.
| Station | 2024-25 patronage | Rank | Rank in 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dingee | 550 | 1 | 1 |
| Talbot | 900 | 2 | 2 |
| Raywood | 1,050 | 3 | 3 |
| Huntly | 1,500 | 4 | 4 |
| Goornong | 1,900 | 5 | 9 |
| Avenel | 1,950 | 6 | 6 |
| Clunes | 2,050 | 7 | 7 |
| Elmore | 2,300 | 8 | 8 |
| Creswick | 2,500 | 9 | 5 |
| Springhurst | 3,000 | 10 | 11 |
There has been some movement here but the numbers are so small but any slight change in conditions can mean a bit jump or drop in this ranking.
Dingee has increased in use but remains firmly as the least-used station on the regional rail network, and the least-used station overall in Victoria.
As always there are important notes and context on these data. You can see these in the first tab of the spreadsheets for metropolitan and regional patronage here and here respectively.
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