2 more level crossings gone forever!

Trains are back up and running at the new Heatherdale Station, with Heatherdale Road now open to motorists.

After 6 weeks of round the clock works, construction crews have finished removing the level crossings at Blackburn Road in Blackburn and Heatherdale Road in Mitcham. A total of 10 crossings have now been removed since the Level Crossing Removal Project was formed just over 2 years ago.

Traffic is no longer held up by trains and pedestrians can use the new pedestrian bridge to safely cross the rail line between Purchase Street and Tennyson Street. The first train arrived at the new Heatherdale station in the early hours of Monday 6 February. To celebrate the occasion, passengers were treated to free coffee and cupcakes.

Thank you for your patience

This is an exciting milestone with the completion of major works.

We hugely appreciated your patience, support and understanding during these works.

Summer works summary

It has been a massive undertaking to remove these level crossings.

In total, during the summer months the project have:

• delivered the equivalent of 6 months of work in just 6 weeks
• excavated the equivalent of approximately 30 Olympic sized swimming pools worth of dirt
• installed 6383 metres of soil nails
• sprayed 4042 square metres of spray-on concrete
• poured 1200 cubic metres of concrete
• erected 175 tonnes of structural steel
• installed 125 tonnes of architectural material
• laid over 3km of train tracks.

Although the major works are now complete, there is still work yet to be completed over the next few months. Upcoming construction activities include building the walking and cycling path and bridges, completing car park upgrades, installing fencing, landscaping and putting the final touches on the station.

A staged approach to opening car parks will occur until mid 2017 while we complete upgrades.

Community corner

During the summer works, weekly community Q&A sessions were held to give updates about the progress of works.

We were delighted the sessions were so well attended with lots of interesting questions from the community. We hope you have enjoyed watching this significant infrastructure project being built.

To get a closer look at the progression of the works you can check out the recent photos, drone and time lapse footage on our social media channels or website.

Weekend disruption 3 to 6 March

Belgrave/Lilydale Line

To complete the installation of handrails, concrete and fencing, and the walking and cycling path, the following disruptions to train services are scheduled:

• 8.45pm Friday 3 March to 8pm Saturday 4 March – buses will replace trains between Box Hill and Ringwood stations.
• 8pm Saturday 4 March to 5am Monday 6 March – buses will replace trains between Box Hill and Belgrave stations.

Staff will be at stations to assist commuters in connecting with replacement buses.