Laburnum railway station, Melbourne

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Laburnum

Station information
Code	LAB
Distance from Flinders St	16.6 km
Lines	Lilydale, Belgrave
# Platforms	2
# Tracks	2
Status	Unmanned station
Metlink profile	Link
Google map	Link
Metcard Zone	2

Laburnum is an unmanned railway station on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines in Melbourne, Australia. The station is located in Metcard ticketing Zone 2. It opened in 1958, and was re-built in January 2007 as part of the Middleborough Road Grade Separation Project. It was named after the abundance of Laburnum bushes in the area.

[edit] Facilities

The original Laburnum station had two platforms with a substantial brick building on the citybound platform, and a small brick shelter on the outbound platform. It had four bicycle lockers on the city-bound platform. A Telstra payphone was located on the outbound platform, however this was removed after repeated vandalism well before the station was closed for the grade separation project (see below). The station was fully wheelchair accessible, as access to both platforms was primarily by ramps. Like most suburban stations in Melbourne during the late eighties, the station was a target for graffiti.

The station has not been staffed since the 1990s. Both platforms are accessible via Hillside Crescent, Thiele Court and Laburnum Street in Blackburn.There is a small gravel carpark off Thiele Ct, which is normally full on weekdays.

The new station is made mostly from steel. It has minimal facilities including seats, some rubbish bins, two ticket machines, and some small undercover shelters. It has steel ramps and steps leading from each platform.

[edit] Design

Most of the station is held up by steel stilts, in the same manner as Gardenvale and Balaclava, both stations on the Sandringham line. However, both platforms extend over Laburnum Street, and parts of the platforms are held up by concrete blocks. The station has a rail bridge over Laburnum Street which used to bend sharply, making it a very slow, narrow and dangerous corner. The bend has since been widened and the curve smoothed as part of the re-construction of Laburnum, making the street significantly safer.

Room has been left between the platforms for a future third track, which will allow the running of regular express services through to Blackburn and beyond. However, no room has been left for a platform to serve this track, in the same way that East Richmond railway station has four tracks, but only two platforms.

Photographs of Laburnum Station

The station prior to reconstruction

Steel support structure for old platform 1 building

Steps leading to new platform 1

Ramp leading to new platform 2

[edit] Middleborough Road Grade Separation Project

The Middleborough Road Grade Separation Project involved lowering the Belgrave/Lilydale line 8 metres below Middleborough Road. Consequently, it was announced that Laburnum Station and the bend in Laburnum Street beneath it would be rebuilt. The station buildings were demolished starting from October 28, 2006. Part of Laburnum Street was closed from mid December, Temporary undercover areas were installed and the platforms themselves remained until the start of the four week shutdown from January 1 to 29 2007. Laburnum Street was reopened in mid February 2007.

During the shutdown period (finalised on January 28th 2007), buses replaced trains from Box Hill to Blackburn. Travellers wanting to travel from the vicinity of Laburnum Station to the city needed to catch a bus from Laburnum to Blackburn, and then change to the Box Hill bus and vice versa. The grade separation project was completed at a total cost of $72.5 million.

[edit] Toot Toot - Drive Slowly

Laburnum Station was once known for having a sign reading 'Toot Toot - drive slowly' under the railway bridge, which crosses Laburnum Street. Locals would often toot their horns in acknowledgement of the sign as a warning to oncoming trafic approaching the narrow underpass. Infuriated neighbours would frequently attempt to remove this sign by spraying over it- but to no avail; the local council would restore this sign every time. This was until early 2007 when the rail-line was refurbished, the road underpass substantially widened and the sign finally removed. Locals to this day are at war over the sign, with acts of spray-painting and painting on the area once home to the sign a common occurrence. The only official remnant of the sign is a small informational plaque erected at the former site. Photos can be found by following the link to the Laburnum VICSIG page below.

[edit] External links

• Middleborough Road Grade Separation Project (Vicroads website)
• Middleborough Road Alliance
• Middleborough Road Project (VICSIG)
• VICSIG Laburnum Page - Contains photos of the old and new stations, construction during the Middleborough Road Grade Separation Project and the old toot-toot sign and commerative plaque.