Box Hill railway station is a commuter railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, which are both part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the eastern suburb of Box Hill, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Box Hill station is a below ground premium station, featuring four platforms, an island platform with two faces and two side platforms connected by a ground level precinct. It opened on 1 December 1882, with the current station provided in 1985.[3]
Box Hill station opened on 1 December 1882 when the railway line from Camberwell was extended to Lilydale.[3] When the station opened, Box Hill was a separate town with several hundred residents.[4] It was named in 1861 after Box Hill in Surrey, England, which was the birthplace of the local postmaster.[4] In 1895, a large market was opened next to the station.[4]
On 19 December 1922, the section of line from Flinders Street to Box Hill was electrified, and that was extended to Ringwood the following month.[3]
In 1971, the current centre line between East Camberwell and Box Hill was provided.[3] It was also in that year that the overpass over Elgar Road was opened, located in the up direction from the station, replacing a level crossing.[3]
On 29 December 1976, goods services to and from the station ceased.[5]
In 1979, the station was one of three used as trial sites for new bike lockers under the Melbourne Bicycle Strategy, either for occasional, monthly or quarterly hire.[6]
A plaque by VicRail commemorating 100 years of rail service to Box Hill
Beginning in early 1983, construction started on rebuilding the station below ground, as part of the project to eliminate the level crossing at Station Street, which was at the eastern end of the station.[3] Box Hill Central Shopping Centre and the bus terminus were built over the top of the station, with the complex being completed in 1985.[3] Platform 1 was used between 24 April 1983 and 9 June 1984,[3] while the rest of the new station was being built, and has been retained for possible future use. The platform has no track or lighting, and a McDonald's restaurant has been built over the ramp from the station concourse.
During January 2007, the line was closed between Box Hill and Blackburn, to facilitate grade separation works at the Middleborough Road level crossing, near Laburnum. A rail replacement bus service operated between the two stations for the duration and, to cater for that, a temporary bus interchange was constructed at Box Hill. The interchange was built directly on top of the tracks, which had been paved between the rails to the east of the station, and was connected to Platforms 2 and 3 via a raised walkway.[8] With the completion of the major works at the end of January 2007, the bus interchange was removed.
The now replaced CRT Monitor on Platform 4 displaying a Lilydale service, one year prior to been replaced, December 2017An X'Trapolis train on a Flinders Street-bound service arrives at Platform 2, August 2024
Lilydale line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Belgrave line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 4:
Lilydale line weekday all stations and limited express services to Lilydale; weekday all stations and limited express services to Blackburn
Belgrave line weekday all stations and limited express services to Belgrave; weekday all stations and limited express services to Blackburn
Transport links
Bus services
Ventura buses at the bus interchange, January 2013Eastern side of the bus interchange, September 2017
A sheltered thirteen-bay bus terminus is located on the rooftop of the Box Hill Central Shopping Centre, two levels above the station. The terminus serves 20 bus routes operated by CDC Melbourne, Kinetic Melbourne and Ventura Bus Lines. The bus deck originally had 14 bus bays, but bay 12 was removed around 2015 to enable safer access to the elevator in the office suites. In 2018, the position of bays 2 and 3 were swapped so that passengers queuing to board SmartBus route 903 southbound would not be in the way of the food kiosk.[citation needed]
