Laburnum railway station

Laburnum railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, serving the eastern Melbourne suburb of Blackburn in Victoria, Australia. Laburnum is a ground-level unstaffed station, featuring two side platforms. It opened on 13 July 1958.

History

Laburnum station opened on 13 July 1958, and was named after the locality of Laburnum, itself named after the shrub of the same name. The original station had two side platforms, with a substantial brick building on Platform 1, and a small brick shelter on Platform 2. Also occurring in that year was the replacement of hand gates at the former Middleborough Road level crossing with boom barriers. The crossing was located in the up direction of the station.

The Middleborough Road grade separation project involved lowering the line eight metres below the road. That required the rebuilding of the station, and the removal of the bend in Laburnum Street beneath it. In October 2006, the station buildings were demolished and, on 29 January 2007, the rebuilt station opened. As part of the project, provision was made for the future installation of a third track.

Toot Toot – drive slowly sign

Laburnum was once known for having a sign reading "Toot Toot – drive slowly" under the railway bridge which crosses Laburnum Street, as the street was both narrow and had a sharp bend at that point. Drivers would often sound their car horns, as instructed by the sign, to warn oncoming, but possibly unseen, traffic that might be approaching the narrow underpass. Infuriated neighbours would frequently attempt to remove the sign by painting over it, but to no avail; the local council would restore the sign every time.

When the station was rebuilt following the 2007 grade separation, the road underpass was substantially widened, so the sign was deemed unnecessary and was removed. A plaque commemorating the sign and describing its history was erected, although it too has since been removed.

Platforms and services

Laburnum has two side platforms. It is served by Lilydale and Belgrave line trains.

Platform 1:

•  Lilydale line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
•  Belgrave line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Lilydale line  all stations services to Lilydale
•  Belgrave line  all stations services to Belgrave

Transport links

Kinetic Melbourne operates two bus routes via Laburnum station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  271 : Box Hill station – Ringwood station
•  279 : Box Hill station – Westfield Doncaster (deviation)

Gallery

References

External links

• Media related to Laburnum railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au