Laburnum railway station

Laburnum
PTV commuter rail station
Eastbound view from Platform 1, with a Comeng train departing Platform 2, January 2007
General information
Location	Laburnum Street, Blackburn, Victoria 3130 City of Whitehorse Australia
Coordinates	37°49′15″S145°08′27″E / 37.8208°S 145.1407°E / -37.8208; 145.1407
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Lilydale Belgrave
Distance	17.83 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	2 side
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Parking	Yes
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational, unstaffed
Station code	LAB
Fare zone	Myki Zone 2
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	13 July 1958;66 years ago (1958-07-13)
Rebuilt	29 January 2007
Electrified	January 1923 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006	313,114 [1]

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Box Hill towards Flinders Street		Lilydale line		Blackburn towards Lilydale
		Belgrave line		Blackburn towards Belgrave

Track layout
Legend to Box Hill 1 2 to Blackburn

Laburnum railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, which are both part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern suburb of Blackburn, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It opened on 13 July 1958, ^{[4] [5]} with the current station provided in 2007. ^[4]

History

Laburnum station was named after the locality of Laburnum, itself named after the shrub of the same name. ^{[6] [7]} The original station had two side platforms, with a substantial brick building on Platform 1, and a small brick shelter on Platform 2. ^[4] In that year the hand-operated gates at the former Middleborough Road level crossing were replaced by with boom barriers. ^[8] The crossing was in the up direction from the station. ^[4]

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. ^[9] As part of the project, provision was made for the future installation of a third track. ^{[10] [11]}

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, because the street was narrow and had a sharp bend at that point. ^[12] Drivers would often sound their car horns, as instructed by the sign, to warn oncoming, and possibly unseen, traffic that might be approaching the narrow underpass. Infuriated neighbours frequently attempted to remove the sign by painting over it, but to no avail, because the local council would restore the sign every time. ^{[13] [14]}

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 was erected which commemorated the sign and outlined its history, ^[12] although that has since been removed.

Platforms and services

Laburnum has two side platforms and is served by Lilydale and Belgrave line trains. ^{[15] [16]}

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 and limited express services to Lilydale
•   Belgrave line   all stations and limited express 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 ^[17]
•  279 : Box Hill station – Westfield Doncaster (deviation) ^[18]

Gallery

• 
  Plaque commemorating the Laburnum Railway Station 'Toot-Toot' sign, January 2008

References

1. Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Department of Transport
2. Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Philip Mallis
3. Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
4. "Laburnum". vicsig.net. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
5. "Works, Etc". Divisional Diary . Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). July 1958. p. 43.
6. "Laburnum". Victorian Places. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
7. First, Jamie (7 January 2014). "The A-Z story of Melbourne's suburbs". Herald Sun . Retrieved 18 February 2023.
8. Sinnatt, John (January 1990). "Level Crossing Protection". Somersault. Signalling Record Society Victoria. pp. 9–17.
9. "Middleborough Road Rail Separation". John Holland. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
10. "Middleborough Road Project". vicsig.net. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
11. "Safely Separatiing Road and Rail". Middleborough Road Alliance. Archived from the original on 18 July 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
12. Gordon, Chris. "Historic information on the Toot Toot sign for Laburnum Street at Laburnum". Vicsig. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
13. Money, Lawrence; Carbone, Suzanne (24 October 2006). "Look up in the sky, it's a blimp". The Age . Retrieved 14 July 2022.
14. Money, Lawrence; Carbone, Susan (6 October 2006). "Gone up in a puff of smoke". The Age. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
15. "Lilydale Line". Public Transport Victoria.
16. "Belgrave Line". Public Transport Victoria.
17. "271 Box Hill - Ringwood via Park Orchards". Public Transport Victoria.
18. "279 Box Hill - Doncaster SC via Middleborough Rd". Public Transport Victoria.

External links

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