Box Hill railway station, Melbourne

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Box HillBox Hill
Station information
Code BOX
Distance from
Flinders St		 14.9 km
Operator Connex Melbourne
Lines Belgrave, Lilydale
# Platforms 4 (3 in use)
# Tracks 3
Status Premium station
Metlink profile Link
Google map Link
Metcard Zone 2

Box Hill railway station is on the Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines in Melbourne, Australia. It is located in the Box Hill Central shopping centre near the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street in Box Hill. A major bus interchange is part of the same complex, and the 109 tram route terminates nearby. Box Hill station is located 14.9 km from Flinders Street Station, and is the only Melbourne metropolitan station to be located underground besides those forming the City Loop.

Contents

[edit] Facilities

Box Hill has been a premium station since 1996,[1] and as such, is staffed from first to last train and is in Metcard Zone 2. The station office is located above the platforms, selling both suburban and V/Line tickets. The Lilydale/Belgrave line changes from a triple to a double track at Box Hill.

The station has 4 platforms. Platform 4 is used for outbound trains at peak times, with access by ramp or single escalator. All other trains use the island platform (2 & 3), accessed by stairs, lift and escalators.

Platform 1 was used between 24 April 1983 and 9 June 1984 while the current station was being built, and has been retained for possible future use. The platform has no track or lighting, with a McDonalds Restaurant since opened over the ramp from the station concourse.

Box Hill station is well connected with other forms of public transport. The 109 tram route terminates in Whitehorse Road, and Box Hill bus terminus is located on the roof of the shopping centre. In total, roughly there are more than 20 different routes and about 500 buses go in and out of the terminus every day.

Despite being a premium station, there are no public toilets within the station complex. Toilets for station patrons were originally located out in Main St Mall, however, they have been closed permanently due to vandalism. Station patrons must now used the toilets provided by the adjoining shopping centre, which are only open during trading hours. There have been calls for installation of toilets inside the station complex.

[edit] Platforms/Services

Platform 2:

Platform 3:

Platform 4:

[edit] Bus Services

The Box Hill bus terminus is located on the rooftop of Box Hill Central (also known as Centro Box Hill) shopping centre near the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street. To tram is only a 2-3 minute walk and to train is only a few minutes. Box Hill bus terminus is not a commonly used name for the bus terminus, however, there is an outdated sign that reads 'Box Hill Bus Station' on a section of wall, however, it is in the old PTC's green colour.

Box Hill bus terminus does not have many facilities but was recently upgraded. The terminus was upgraded with better lighting, better timetable information and new clearer and easier to read Metlink signage (orange coloured posts) were erected. Most facilities however are downstairs inside Centro Box Hill. On the bus terminus, each bay has a timetable affixed to the wall with a route map and a bay number sign. Near the entrance to Box Hill Central (near Bay 1 and 2) there is a small kiosk which sells confectionery and a limited range of hot food. This kiosk is not usually open on weekends. The terminus has 14 bus bays serving 20 bus routes.

  • 202 - East Kew via Belmore Road
  • 279 - Shoppingtown via Templestowe
  • 270 - Ringwood via Mitcham Station
  • 271 - Nunawading via Springfield Road
  • 281 - Eltham via High Street and Fitzimons Lane
  • 284 - Doncaster Shoppingtown via Union & Greythorn Roads
  • 286 - The Pines via Blackburn
  • 293 - Greensborough via Doncaster Shoppingtown
  • 295 - The Pines via Doncaster Shoppingtown
  • 302 - City via Eastern Freeway
  • 315 - City via Eastern Freeway
  • 612 - Chadstone via Camberwell and Glen Iris
  • 733 - Oakleigh via Mount Waverley and Monash University
  • 732 - Upper Ferntree Gully via Burwood and Knox City Shopping Centre
  • 735 - Blackburn South
  • 765 - Mitcham via Forest Hill Shopping Centre
  • 766 - Burwood
  • 767 - Southland Shopping Center via Deakin University and Chadstone Shopping Centre
  • 903 - SmartBus Service - Mordialloc via Holmesglen, Chadstone SC and Oakleigh
  • 903 - SmartBus Service - Altona via Heidelberg, Preston and Sunshine

706 buses come in on most weekdays (some routes do not run at Box Hill Central because they start at a nearby school), 331 on Saturday, and 156 on Sunday. The terminus has many waiting benches for passengers as well as a newsagency and toilets located downstairs.

[edit] Tram Services

  • 109 - Beacon Cover (Port Melbourne Light Rail Station) via Whitehorse Road, Cotham Road, High Street, Barkers Road, Victoria Street, Victoria Parade, Collins Street, Spencer Street and Port Melbourne Light Rail

[edit] History

The original station opened in 1882 at ground level, when the railway line was extended from Camberwell to Lilydale.[2] At the time, Box Hill was a separate town, with several hundred residents. In 1895, a large market was opened next to the station. On 19 December 1922 the section from Flinders Street to Box Hill was electrified, and this was continued to Ringwood the following month.

In early 1983 the current station was built to eliminate the level crossing at Station St. Box Hill Central shopping centre and the bus terminal above it were built over the top of the station. This was completed in 1985.

During January 2007, the line was closed between Box Hill and Blackburn to facilitate grade separation works at the nearby Middleborough Road level crossing. Buses were operated between the two stations for the duration, and to cater for this a temporary bus interchange was constructed at Box Hill. The interchange was built directly on top of the tracks, which had been paved between the rails, to the east of the station, and was connected to platforms 2 and 3 by a raised walkway.[3] With the completion of the project's major works at the end of January 2007, the bus interchange was removed.

[edit] Calls for upgrade

After a series of events, including faulty escalators, a once off (though nonetheless fatal) stabbing, along with the closure of a bingo centre (located alongside the bus terminal) on safety grounds, the community has been making calls for an upgrade. The upgrades calls are seeking a full refurbishment and redesign of the railway station and adjoining bus terminal to make it safer, improve integration (currently to get between trains and buses requires two sets of escalators and a layer of shops) and to make it more pleasant by improving the overall amenity. The upgrade call is supported by Anna Burke, Federal MP (ALP) for Chisholm, as well as Robert Clark, State MP (Liberal) for Box Hill and the Public Transport Users Association.

[edit] Gallery

Box Hill station platforms located under the Centro Box Hill shopping centre

Temporary walkway connecting platforms with the bus interchange during the Middleborough Road project

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail (Australian Railway Heritage Society (Victorian Division)): page 310. October 1997. 
  2. ^ VICSIG Infrastructure - Box Hill
  3. ^ VICSIG - Middleborough Road project

[edit] External links


Station Navigation
Lilydale & Belgrave lines
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Coordinates: 37°49′09″S 145°07′17″E / 37.8192°S 145.1214°E / -37.8192; 145.1214

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Hill_railway_station,_Melbourne"
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