# Box Hill railway station, Melbourne

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.
The station is located underground, beneath the Box Hill Central Shopping Centre. East of the station, towards Lilydale and Belgrave, the three tracks merge into two.

## History

Box Hill station opened on 1 December 1882 when the railway line from Camberwell was extended to Lilydale. When the station opened, Box Hill was a separate town with several hundred residents. It was named in 1861 after Box Hill in Surrey, England, which was the birthplace of the local postmaster. In 1895, a large market was opened next to the station.
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.
In 1971, the current centre line between East Camberwell and Box Hill was provided. 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.
On 29 December 1976, goods services to and from the station ceased.
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.
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. Box Hill Central Shopping Centre and the bus terminus were built over the top of the station, with the complex being completed in 1985. Platform 1 was used between 24 April 1983 and 9 June 1984, 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.
On 18 July 1996, Box Hill was upgraded to a premium station.
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. With the completion of the major works at the end of January 2007, the bus interchange was removed.
During the 2017/2018 financial year, with 3.254 million passenger movements, Box Hill was the tenth-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, as well as being the busiest non-interchange station outside of the Melbourne CBD.
Box Hill will be the northern terminus of stage one of the Suburban Rail Loop project. Construction began in 2022, with the project scheduled for completion by 2032. It will connect Box Hill to the Frankston, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Glen Waverley lines, as well as other new intermediate stations. Stage two of the project will involve the line extending northwards to Doncaster, and eventually to Bundoora, Reservoir, Fawkner, Broadmeadows, Melbourne Airport, Sunshine and Werribee.

## Platforms and services

Box Hill has one island platform with two faces and two side platforms, but Platform 1 is not in use. The station is served by Lilydale and Belgrave line trains.
Platform 1:
* Unused and has no track, with a McDonald's Restaurant built over its entrance.
Platform 2:
* Lilydale line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
* Belgrave line all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street
Platform 3:
* Lilydale line all stations and limited express services to Lilydale
* Belgrave line all stations and limited express services to Belgrave
* 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

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.
Bus routes serving Box Hill station:
| Bay | Route | To | Via |
| 1 | SmartBus 903 | Altona station | Westfield Doncaster, Heidelberg station, Northland Shopping Centre, Preston station, Coburg station, Essendon station and Sunshine station |
| 2 | 735 | Nunawading station | Station Street, Eley Road and Fulton Road |
| 3 | SmartBus 903 | Mordialloc | Deakin University, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Oakleigh station and Mentone station |
| 4 | 302 | Melbourne CBD (Lonsdale Street) | Belmore Road and Eastern Freeway |
| 5 | 281 | Templestowe | Westfield Doncaster |
| 5 | 293 | Greensborough station | Westfield Doncaster |
| 6 | 279 | Westfield Doncaster/ Templestowe | Middleborough Road |
| 6 | 284 | Doncaster Park and Ride | Union Road |
| 7 | 612 | Chadstone Shopping Centre | Union station, Camberwell station and Glen Iris station |
| 8 | 270 | Mitcham station | Blackburn North |
| 8 | 271 | Ringwood station | Park Orchards |
| 9 | 732 | Upper Ferntree Gully station | Vermont South, Westfield Knox and Mountain Gate Shopping Centre |
| 10 | 765 | Mitcham station | Blackburn station, Forest Hill Chase and Brentford Square |
| 10 | 766 | Burwood | Union station |
| 11 | 733 | Oakleigh station | Mount Waverley station, Monash University Clayton Campus and Clayton station |
| 12 | 767 | Westfield Southland | Deakin University and Chadstone Shopping Centre |
| 13 | 201 | Deakin University Burwood Campus | Station Street and Elgar Road |

### Tram services

Yarra Trams operates one route via Box Hill station:
* : Box Hill – Port Melbourne

### V/Line coach services

A V/Line coach stop is located at Whitehorse Road near Watts Street, with services to:
* Mansfield, Victoria (with connection to Mount Buller during snow season)

## Usage

Box Hill is the tenth-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan rail network.

## Gallery

* Frederick McCubbin's 1887 painting, Morning Train, shows a train leaving Box Hill station
* Entrance from Box Hill Central Shopping Centre, July 2004
* Eastbound view from Platform 4, January 2013
* Entrance from Box Hill Central Shopping Centre, July 2016
* The now replaced CRT Monitor screens at the station entrance, one year prior to been replaced, January 2017
* Eastbound view from Platform 4, December 2017
* The station ramp to Platform 4, December 2017
* Box Hill Central and station concourse, December 2017
* The train arrivals and departures signage at the station, December 2017
* The Platform markings at Box Hill station indicating directions of travel, July 2020
* Eastbound view from Platforms 2 and 3, August 2024
* Eastbound view from Platform 2, August 2024
* The Myki gates and main entrance and PIDS to platforms, August 2024
* The main concourse from Box Hill Shopping Centre to Box Hill station, August 2024
* The disused Platform 1 with railway tracks removed, August 2024
* The V/Line and Metro customer services, August 2024
* Stairs and lift at platform level from Platforms 2 and 3, August 2024
* Escalators to concourse from platform level, August 2024