Your new Lilydale Station

The dangerous and congested level crossings at Manchester Road, Mooroolbark and Maroondah Highway, Lilydale are gone and two new elevated stations built, with new open space areas, bus interchanges and safer walking and cycling connections.

The new Lilydale Station has entrances on both sides of Maroondah Highway. We’ve also created a better connection to the Warburton and Yarra Valley trails.

Want to delve deeper into the Lilydale Station project?

View the Lilydale Station Precinct brochure (see Download on this page) for an interactive reading experience. Scattered throughout the brochure are markers to give you an interactive look at the project. All you need is your device’s camera. First, scan the QR code on the front page of the brochure. Then, find the interactive icon and hold your camera over the image.

Lilydale Station Precinct

Community open space

The Lilydale Station precinct includes a new open space area for the community to enjoy for years to come.

Early in the project, we sought your feedback on what you wanted the new open spaces to look like. Your feedback showed overwhelming support for an informal gathering space. The open space at the new Lilydale Station features a modern, contemporary take on the stone and red-rusty hues which can be found in the station and the surrounding area. The bright colours are vital to making the open activity space vibrant and encourage people to use the facilities and seating. We worked closely with the local council, urban design experts and the Lilydale Stakeholder Liaison Group in the selection of the open space colours.

We’ve incorporated art-friendly spaces into the finished stations.

Reducing waste through re-use

We’re committed to reducing waste on our level crossing removal projects.

As part of this commitment, we’ve donated 2258 metres of track and 432 sleepers to the Yarra Valley Railway for use on their tourist network. Along with part of the existing Mooroolbark Station, these donations help this volunteer group to improve and develop their network for the 20,000 visitors they welcome each year.

We also donated wood and mulch to Healesville Sanctuary, Werribee Open Range Zoo, local woodworking artists and local schools, reducing waste from necessary vegetation removal.

Showcasing Lilydale's history

At Lilydale, we heard from members of the Stakeholder Liaison Group about the historical importance of red bricks to the area.

Thanks to their feedback, the project design acknowledges Lilydale’s link to red bricks and creates continuity between the old station and the new.

Red bricks are used in seating near the former station building. The heritage-listed building provides the perfect setting for the bricks for years to come.

A green legacy

There are over 60,000 plants, shrubs and grasses planted across both Mooroolbark and Lilydale station precincts. Local social enterprise Yarra View Nursery grew and nurtured the plants ready for Ace Landscaping to plant.

The selection of plants creates an open, green feel that links to the rural history at Lilydale and blends well with the other elements of the station design, such as Victorian-quarried sandstone and Corten steel. Their locations have been chosen to make sure tree branches stay clear of the rail corridor, keep sightlines open to discourage antisocial behaviour and create a safe, open atmosphere around the stations.

Building for a sustainable future

Building sustainable infrastructure is a big part of our projects.

The new Lilydale Station is a 5 Star Green Star certified building from the Green Building Council of Australia. The new station reduces water usage by 70 per cent through rainwater harvesting on site. It also gets 30 per cent of its total energy from renewable electricity sources. The precinct encourages walking and cycling, and the landscaping encourages biodiversity.

The station's history

The former Lilydale Station was built in 1882, when Lilydale was a rural town on the outskirts of Melbourne.

The building houses ‘refreshment rooms’, which are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register under the Heritage Act 2017.

The building is still in place, and our project design respects its heritage through the inclusion of a new forecourt on the east side as well as seating and a shared path to the main trail head of the Warburton Rail and Yarra Valley cycle trails.

A new forecourt showcases the former Lilydale Station, providing a welcoming link to the Warburton Rail and Yarra Valley cycle trails.

Thank you, Lilydale

Thank you for your patience as we completed these important infrastructure works in your area.

More than 53,000 vehicles travelled through the Manchester Road and Maroondah Highway level crossings each day, where the boom gates were down for up to a quarter of the morning peak. There has been one collision and five near misses across these two sites in the past 10 years. Early works started in May 2020, the level crossings were removed in November 2021 and the project will be fully completed in 2022.

Thanks for being a part of the Maroondah Highway Level Crossing Removal Project.

Project timeline

Day one to done

August 2019

• We release initial concept designs for community feedback

April 2020

• The site is established and early works begin

December 2020

• We release the final designs and start major construction

June 2021 

• The local community gathers to see massive concrete beams lifted into place between William Street East and West

September to November 2021

• We undertake a massive 24/7 construction blitz

November 2021

• The Maroondah Highway level crossing is gone and the new Lilydale Station opens

November 2021 to mid 2022

• We continue to work on the station precinct finishes and landscaping

Project complete