The Victorian Government is removing the dangerous level crossing at Hallam Road, Hallam, and building a new station to improve safety, reduce congestion and pave the way for more trains, more often on the Pakenham line.

The project involves removing the level crossing by building a rail bridge over the road, along with a new dual-entrance station that passengers can access from either side of Hallam Road.

Protecting local fauna: The dwarf galaxias

Dwarf galaxias is a small species of fish listed as threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988, and vulnerable under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Our environmental investigations identified small but important areas of habitat east and west of Hallam Station.

To protect these areas, we have designed the rail bridge and station to avoid most of the habitat in and around our project, and only 0.01% of the total habitat is expected to be affected. We will also fence off no-go zones to protect the areas of habitat close to our works.

Vegetation and landscaping

To complete our works we will remove some trees and vegetation, including some native vegetation.

Every effort is made to protect as much vegetation as possible. Where native vegetation cannot be kept, it will be replaced in accordance with the requirements in the Victorian Planning and Environmental Act 1987.

We will also plant more than 160 trees and about 30,000 shrubs, plants and grasses as part of our landscaping plans for the new Hallam Station and surrounding precinct. That equates to at least 2 new trees for every tree we remove.

We assess trees for any fauna before removal and have qualified fauna handlers who re-home any fauna encountered during tree removal.

How we minimise dust and dirt

We use a range of measures to minimise the amount of dust generated and to keep the air clean. These include:

• using water trucks to wet down work areas, especially on hot and windy days
• covering truck loads and stockpiles
• reducing the speed of construction vehicles.

We also install dust monitors at locations around our site.

Renewable energy

We will install solar panels on the new Hallam Station to reduce the operational energy use of the building.

Reducing waste

The project will use recycled materials such as fill and asphalt where possible and will donate leftover materials, such as old track and ballast.

Conserving rainwater

Three 5000-litre water tanks will be installed to harvest rainwater from the platform canopies, which will be used to flush toilets and clean the station.

Water sensitive Urban Design

The design of the new station car park incorporates bioretention drains, which are shallow basins built into the landscape designed to naturally filter and absorb runoff water.