Station staff at Carrum recently shared some of their favourite memories ahead of the station closing this Saturday, so that works can progress to remove the level crossings and build the new Carrum Station that will open in 2020.
Of note was the time baby magpies were caught on the train tracks, causing station staff to stop trains in both directions before an officer jumped onto the tracks and took them to safety.
“That bloke was a mad Collingwood supporter too, so it was quite appropriate,” remembers station officer John Heynsbergh. 'We couldn’t risk somebody deciding to jump down and rescue them, so it was best we did it.'
'There certainly have been some dramas,' says John, who has been stationed at Carrum for nearly 20 years.
And he’s not kidding: John was the only officer on duty late one night in the 1990s when a flare came flying through the window.
'We had a couple of trouble-makers who used to throw rocks sometimes, but we’d never had a flare before,' he says.
John recalls crawling through the smoke to the fire extinguisher, calling 000 and pressing the emergency button. Emergency crews were quickly on the scene, he says.
'There probably will be some tears on the final shift – there’s something unique about Carrum and its close-knit team, but it will also be great be together again in a shiny new station.'
The final trains will arrive and leave in both directions after 12.30am on Saturday 6 July.
The red-brick buildings will be demolished in the coming weeks to enable the construction of a temporary track. This means trains can keep running while works continue to remove three dangerous and congested level crossings and start works on the new Carrum Station. Final designs for the new modern Carrum Station will be shared with the community soon.
The project is also creating over 1.2 hectares of new community open spaces as part of Carrum’s $50 million revitalisation.
4 new areas will transform Carrum – a foreshore park, a village green between Station Street and Nepean Highway, a town square at the new Carrum Station main entrance and a station garden at the second entrance near Walkers Road.
