Lalor railway station

37°39′57″S 145°01′02″E / 37.6659°S 145.0173°E / -37.6659; 145.0173Owned byVicTrackOperated byMetro TrainsLine(s)MerndaDistance20.72 kilometres from
Southern CrossPlatforms2 (1 island)Tracks2Connections BusConstructionStructure typeGroundParking417Bicycle facilitiesYesAccessibleYes—step free accessOther informationStatusOperational, unstaffedStation codeLALFare zoneMyki Zone 2WebsitePublic Transport VictoriaHistoryOpenedOctober 1949; 74 years ago (1949-10)Rebuilt26 November 1964
1978ElectrifiedNovember 1959
(1500 V DC overhead)Previous namesRail Motor Stopping Place 77
(1949–1952)Passengers2005–2006323,019^[1]2006–2007366,244^[1]  13.38%2007–2008410,353^[1]  12.04%2008–2009423,347^[2]  3.16%2009–2010441,521^[2]  4.29%2010–2011489,944^[2]  10.97%2011–2012521,699^[2]  6.48%2012–2013Not measured^[2]2013–2014488,403^[2]  6.38%2014–2015498,629^[1]  2.09%2015–2016560,852^[2]  12.47%2016–2017569,739^[2]  1.58%2017–2018597,717^[2]  4.91%2018–2019605,050^[2]  1.22%2019–2020477,500^[2]  21.1%2020–2021243,550^[2]  49%2021–2022241,700^[3]  0.75%2022–2023388,600^[4]  60.78% Services

Preceding station	Metro Trains			Following station
Thomastown towards Flinders Street		Mernda line		Epping towards Mernda

Track layout
Legend to Thomastown Manns Crossing Paschke Crescent 1 2 Childs Road to Epping

Lalor railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, which is part of the Melbourne railway network. It serves the northern suburb of Lalor, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Lalor station is a ground-level staffed station. It opened in October 1949, with the current station provided in 1978.^[5]

Initially opened as Rail Motor Stopping Place 77, the station was given its current name of Lalor on 27 August 1952.^[5]

Lalor station opened in October 1949, and was provided as part of a garden suburb created by the Peter Lalor Home Building Cooperative Society, which was formed by a group of ex-servicemen to provide cheap homes during a time of high demand and shortage of materials post World War II.^[6]

The station was originally served by Whittlesea trains from Melbourne via the former Inner Circle line and, in later times, by Thomastown – Whittlesea railmotor shuttles.^[7] In November 1959, the section from Thomastown was electrified, with the line beyond Lalor closed.^[5][8] On 29 November 1964, the line was reopened and electrified as far as Epping.^[9][5] Occurring in that year, the current island platform was provided,^[5] and flashing light signals were provided at the Paschke Crescent level crossing, located at the up end of the station.^[5]

In 1978, the present station building was provided.^[10][11] In 1980, boom barriers were provided at the Paschke Crescent level crossing.^[12]

The current day Platform 1 was formerly a dock platform.^[13][14] In August 1988, points from No. 1 track to the main line were provided at the down end of the station, effectively forming a crossing loop between Thomastown and Epping.^[15] This arrangement existed until November 2011, when the line between Keon Park and Epping was duplicated,^[5][16] with the points at both ends of the station abolished.

On 4 May 2010, as part of the 2010/2011 State Budget, $83.7 million was allocated to upgrade Lalor to a premium station, along with nineteen others.^[17][18] However, in March 2011, this was scrapped by the Baillieu Government.^[19]

Announced as part of a $21.9 million package in the 2022/23 Victorian State Budget, Lalor, alongside other stations, will receive accessibility upgrades, the installation of CCTV, and platform shelters.^[20] The development process will begin in late 2022 or early 2023, with a timeline for the upgrades to be released once construction has begun.

Lalor station, like the suburb in which it is located, was originally pronounced /ˈlɔːlər/, as it was named after Peter Lalor^[6][21] and, although some people still pronounce it as such, in recent times, the pronunciation /ˈleɪlɔːr, -lər/ has become predominant. In addition, the Victorian Railways Newsletter of 1973, and Victorian RailWays of 1974 (Victorian Railways in-house newsletters) stated that the correct pronunciation was /ˈlɔːlər/.^[22]

Lalor has one island platform with two faces. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Mernda line services.^[23]

Platform 1:

•  Mernda line  all stations and limited express services to Flinders Street

Platform 2:

•  Mernda line  all stations services to Mernda

Dysons operates five bus routes via Lalor station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  554 : Thomastown station – Thomastown station (clockwise loop via West Lalor)^[24]
•  555 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre^[25]
•  557 : Thomastown station – Thomastown station (anti-clockwise loop)^[26]
•  559 : Thomastown station – Thomastown station (clockwise loop)^[27]
•  566 : Lalor – Northland Shopping Centre^[28]

• 
  Southbound view from Platform 2, March 2012
• 
  North-west bound view of station building on Platform 1, January 2023
• 
  Southbound view from Platform 1, March 2023
• 
  Northbound view from Platform 1, March 2023
• 
  Station PSO Box and entrance and exit ramp, March 2023
• 
  Station entrance signage, March 2023

• Media related to Lalor railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
• South Morang extension project gallery
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au