What's growing on in Pakenham?

We’ve removed the dangerous and congested level crossings at McGregor Road, Main Street and Racecourse Road, Pakenham with a rail bridge built over the roads and opened new stations at Pakenham and East Pakenham.

Six MCGs worth of open space has been created below the 2.5km rail bridge between McGregor and Racecourse roads. This area includes a shared path, half-basketball court, playground and parklands.

We've created a space for Pakenham locals to enjoy for generations, with more than 270,000 new trees, shrubs, and grasses across the new Pakenham Station and throughout the open space.

At East Pakenham Station, we’ve planted 60,000 new trees, shrubs and grasses across the station precinct.

Trees, shrubs, plants and grasses

Fifteen varieties of trees have been planted from bee and bird-attracting lemon-scented gum to smooth-barked apple gum. These trees will grow to provide shade and shelter for the community while offering local nesting opportunities and food for local wildlife.

We've planted more than 40 different varieties of shrubs, plants and grasses across Pakenham and East Pakenham. Along the rail corridor, small groups of native fuchsia, coast tussock grass and mat rush will enhance local biodiversity and invigorate the area.

We focused on providing a resilient, sustainable landscape by selecting drought-tolerant plants with low water usage and high growth performance.

Establishing new vegetation is a lengthy process that goes beyond just planting. New vegetation takes multiple seasons to establish, and it is common for around 10% of transplanted vegetation to not thrive in their new environment.

The project has partnered with qualified arborists to undertake a detailed program of monitoring and maintenance. Regular assessments of the planting will continue to determine its health and viability.

The project will monitor the area for 2 years to ensure that all vegetation is properly maintained. After that, care of the maturing green space will be transferred to the appropriate authority such as Cardinia Shire Council or Metro Trains Melbourne.

Did you know?

• Selecting the right plants improves safety around the station precincts.
• Low garden beds and tall trees allow direct sightlines from the street to the station.