New Edithvale Station

The Level Crossing Removal Project is removing 18 level crossings and building 12 new stations as part of a $3 billion upgrade of the Frankston Line that will improve safety, reduce congestion and allow more trains to run more often.

Works to remove 5 dangerous and congested level crossings in Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach by lowering the rail into a trench, and build 3 brand new stations, will start in 2020.

The new Bonbeach Station is designed to enhance connections around the area. Improved bike facilities and walking and cycling connections will create more ways to get to the new Bonbeach Station.

The Bonbeach Station design has its own unique features, with a large framed window providing views to the ocean as you move around the station, and a vertical garden creating a shaded approach to the station along Nepean Highway.

The connection with traditional owners of the land is recognised in the station design, with woven canopies representing the area's indigenous textiles and craft.

Improving the Frankston Line

• Removing 18 level crossings – more crossings than any other line in Melbourne
• Upgrading signalling to modern technology
• Extra train stabling to allow for more trains
• Building 12 new modern stations
• PLUS the Metro Tunnel project will cut 30 minutes a day from your commute.

Why these level crossings need to go

• 40,000 commuters use Frankston line daily
• 200 passenger trains daily on the Frankston line
• Boom gates down over 35% of morning peak
• Over 50 freight trains weekly

Bonbeach Station's new features

• Improved station facilities and more lighting creating a safer station precinct
• 6 access points to the station reducing commuter congestion
• Better safety for pedestrians and cyclists with dedicated shared use paths
• Better all-abilities access and parking
• Parkiteer bike cage and more bicycle hoops

We heard you want a station design with a coastal look and feel

The new Bonbeach Station design is modern and light to fit the coastal look and feel.

Materials and public art will be chosen to further enhance the local surroundings. Bluestone, pavers, timber and decorative perforated screens featured prominently in community feedback. These durable materials will be used in different ways around the station forecourt.

There was also a clear preference for a combination of native trees, shrubs, flowering plants and grasses that align with the character of the local area. Bonbeach Station will have a customised blue colour palette so it can be easily identified by passing train passengers.

By moving the station's position 180m south, it will be in a shallower section of the trench, which will minimise any potential environmental impacts to surrounding groundwater.

Lighting and safety

As the platforms at Bonbeach Station will only be a couple of metres into the trench, there will be plenty of natural light on the platforms. There will also be CCTV cameras on platforms and station entrances, clear sightlines, and open and well-lit areas.

Car parking

Access to clearly marked commuter parking will be safer and easier, along a well-lit paved pedestrian path.

We understand commuters want more parking but the rail corridor through Bonbeach is very narrow, and we’ve worked hard to deliver a new modern station without reducing commuter car parking spaces.

Walking and cycling

The new station, closer to Monica Avenue, will maintain the connection for commuters, pedestrians and cyclists to local activity hubs, important community facilities and the beach.

With more bike facilities and improved walking and cycling paths, there will be more ways for locals and visitors to get to Bonbeach Station.

There will be a new Parkiteer cage to provide safe and secure bike storage, plus more bike hoops outside the station.

Landscaping and surrounds

Landscaping around the station will include vegetation along walking paths and station entrances, to create a look and feel that locals can enjoy throughout the year.

Three entrances on each side of the station, including stairs, a ramp and a lift, means there’ll be less congestion for commuters entering or leaving the station.

Station accessibility

The new Bonbeach Station design meets Australian design standards for accessibility and mobility.

The lifts to the platform at each station entrance will be big enough to accommodate mobility scooters, wheelchairs and prams.

Commuters with a disability will have access to clearly marked parking close to the station entrances on Nepean Highway and Station Street.

Upgrading the Frankston Line

We’re upgrading important rail infrastructure to improve train services along the Frankston Line.

More than 30km of new overhead wiring and structures and three new substations will provide a more reliable and stronger power source to improve train performance and reliability of services.

Nearly 60% of old train signalling will be replaced with a modern computer-based system that will enable more trains to run more often.

A new train storage facility in Seaford will provide the essential daily services needed to keep Frankston Line trains running on time. The facility also provides space for more trains in the future as demand for services grows.

A new signal maintenance facility is being built in Seaford to enable routine and emergency maintenance works, minimising disruptions to train services.

Project timeline

Late 2019

• Site investigations underway

Early 2020

• Start of relocation of services
• Start of works on Nepean Highway

2021

• Major construction underway
• Bonbeach Station closed
• Major rail closure to dig rail trench and lower rail
• Bonbeach Station opens

2022

• Edithvale, Chelsea and Bonbeach level crossings gone and works complete

* Timeline subject to change