New stations in Melbourne's west

Concept design of a new Tottenham Station (Big Build)

A bunch of stations in Melbourne's west are set to be rebuilt for various reasons, and they've recently released draft designs. So a quick runthrough of the designs and what kind of feedback I think they need.

Tottenham 

Tottenham is getting rebuilt as part of the Sunshine Superhub/Airport Rail project, which will rejig a bunch of track between West Footscray and Sunshine, and which Tottenham has essentially been caught in the middle of. It does represent a good chance to refresh a slightly dingy and inaccessible station, and facilitate better movement through the precinct - if they get it right.

The underpass design at Tottenham (Big Build)

The designs include a very wide underpass, which crosses the rail corridor and also acts as the station entrance. It is easily wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, but the renders seem to indicate that riding bikes would not be permitted - the only bike shown is being walked, and there is no mention in the text of cyclists being permitted. 

It is crucial that bikes be permitted to use this tunnel to cross the rail corridor. The Victorian Government's Strategic Cycling Corridors includes a C2 "Main Route" along Ashley Street, but there is not currently a safe route along this section. The road itself and the adjacent footpath are narrow and there's really no opportunity to provide safe bike infrastructure there - so this new underpass is really the only opportunity for a safe cycling link. 

Pink C1 Primary Route and blue C2 Main Route intersecting at Tottenham (Transport Vic)

The fact that a C1 "Primary Route" runs along Rupert Street and intersects with the C2 "Main Route" about 50m away only reinforces the importance of using the station underpass as a safe cycling connection; this would give people south of the rail corridor access to that "Primary Route" for trips to Sunshine, Footscray and beyond.

Cuyperspassage in Amsterdam (ceescamel)

For an example of what this could look like at Tottenham, take a look at the Cuyperspassage - a shared cyclist and pedestrian underpass at Amsterdam Centraal Station. Cyclists and pedestrians each have their own section, avoiding conflicts at numbers well in excess of what would be expected at Tottenham.

It seems like it will be important for us to push them on this - so if you only take one thing away from this post, please submit feedback and push for cycling access through the underpass.

Albion 

Concept design for Albion (Big Build)

I was a frequent user of Albion Station back when I lived in Deer Park (Deer Park Station having only a two-hourly frequency at the time), and despite it being quite small and run-down I do have a bit of a soft spot for it. The old John Darling & Son flour mill building that looms over the platform is a particular favourite.

Bus routes around Albion (Transport Vic)

The station will be moved east of the current site. The current station is very close to the corner of Ballarat Rd and Sydney St, and bus routes 426 and 456 stop at that corner - so shifting east will make those bus-train connections significantly worse. It's not immediately clear to me why the station has to move - I'm happy to be corrected, but this doesn't seem to reflect any constraints on the site. 

The FAQs say locating the entrance in the middle of the platform "enables an even spread of commuters along the length of the platform", which, ok, fine, but that doesn't really explain why the platform needs to move. If they kept the platforms in roughly the same spot, but moved the entrance to the middle of the platform, it would cut the increased walking distance basically in half.

Forecourt concept designs (Big Build)

Perhaps more tellingly, the FAQs also say "The locations of the new access points optimise connections not only across the rail corridor, but also to the commuter carpark, the new forecourt, the new pedestrian paths to St Albans Road and Sydney Street/Talmage Street, and to the bus bays on Ballarat Road Service Road." It doesn't really optimise connections across the rail corridor (the existing underpass is best located for that); the new forecourt is being built adjacent to the new entrance, and could be built elsewhere, so that's nonsense; and it's making the access to the bus bays actively worse. 

So it seems to me like they are moving the station and entrances to enable better access to carparks, and then thinking up a bunch of post hoc rationalisations to make themselves sound less car-brained. I have pushed back on the decision to move the station for this reason.

Concept design showing Airport Rail flyover (Big Build)

On the plus side, the FAQs say existing rail underpass will be retained, for cyclists or pedestrians who just want to cross the rail corridor without deviating via the station overpass - which I'm pleasantly surprised by. It is quite cramped and dingy, and I'm sure doesn't comply with Accessibility standards - but keeping it is better than closing it, as many of these kinds of projects do. Those with mobility needs will be able to cross the corridor at the overpass, so retaining the underpass once that's built is a net positive.

Yarraville

Proposed pedestrian forecourt at Yarraville Station (LXRA)

The level crossing at Anderson Rd, Yarraville is being removed by being closed to cars, seemingly because any way of grade separating for cars would cause unacceptable destruction of the surrounding streetscape (or heritage station buildings).

This isn't the first time the LXRP has outright closed a crossing to cars, but it's still worth giving them and the government credit for not chickening out and putting it in the too-hard basket.

Pedestrian and cyclist access was to be retained, though, and I'm a little disappointed with the way that's been implemented in the draft designs. 

Map of proposed design (LXRA)

Having a big, wide, pedestrian and cyclist underpass - looking something like the one at Tarneit, which unfortunately bans cyclists - would allow for very seamless travel through the area, but unfortunately they've decided there isn't enough room for this. Instead, they'll have two crossings - one roughly where the road is, but on a diagonal, and with only stairs; and one up the other end of the platform, which will have both stairs and ramps. The first will also have lifts for those who need them.

The big underpass at Tarneit Station

Based on the renders, I can see how they would have struggled to fit a bike ramp at that first crossing, and I get the feeling that the diagonal approach made siting the lifts a lot easier too. But forcing bike riders to deviate to the ramps up the other end of the platform is not ideal, as is making them wait for the lifts. 

A bicycle stairway (Mateusz Konieczny)

So I think the best outcome, given these constraints, is to make sure it's a bicycle stairway, with mini-ramps that will allow cyclists to easily dismount, walk their bike down one set of stairs and up the other, and ride off. This would give cyclists the option - they can choose a slightly more direct (but clunky) option via the stairs, or a less-direct but smoother option via the ramps.

It would also be great to see some extra secure bike parking incorporated in the designs.

Spotswood 

Spotswood Station concept design (LXRA)

There's a lot to like with this design! 

The elevated railway will create a pedestrian and cyclist link between McLister and Craig Streets - both Strategic Cycling Corridors, and a crucial link to the West Gate Punt. The renders seem to show a new shared use path on McLister that would link into the station precinct, but it's not at all clear how cyclists would travel beneath the station - ie with there be a clear path, or just an undifferentiated pedestrian plaza cyclists will need to navigate? I also don't know if the path along McLister is part of the project scope or just an indication of something council will have to do later - I suspect it's the latter. 

Concept render showing McLister Street end of Spotswood Station (LXRA)

The station will have entrances at both ends, which is a relatively rare thing - most these days are designed with a single, central entrance, which limits the pedestrian catchment around the station somewhat; people walking from either end of the station are parallel with the platforms for 50 plus metres before they reach the entrance, which can be frustrating if that extra walk makes you miss your train. 

Having entrances at either end avoids this problem, and provides good connectivity to both the older Hudsons Road shopping street and the new shopping and apartment complex (and the primary school) on McLister Street. Hudsons Road will get what look like wombat crossings where it crosses Hope Street, which will be good for pedestrian access to the station and the shops.

Wombat crossings on Hudsons Road (LXRA)

One downside is what seems to be a relatively small amount of weather protection on the platform - there are shelters at both ends, where people will arrive on the platform, but none for a long stretch in the middle. This is a common problem with stations in Victoria (although the new Tottenham design seems to have more than average) and will become more and more of a problem as our climate changes and we get more extreme weather of all kinds. With more heat waves and more rain, we will need our public transport infrastructure to be more resilient, and a few more shelters on our train station platforms is a relatively cheap and easy way to do that, as these things go.

The path along Hall Street (LXRA)

Outside the station proper, there will also be a short section of shared-use path built along Hall Street, to the east of the station, continuing an existing path from further north, with a Parkiteer towards the southern end - roughly where the McLister-Craig path intersects it, which is a sensible location.

I don't think there's a whole lot to push LXRA on with this one - I do think a clearly defined path through from McLister to Craig will be important, and I would love to see more shelter for passengers on the platforms, but other than that I think they've done a great job.

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It's great to see these projects going ahead, and I'd encourage people to give their feedback. Surveys for Albion and Tottenham are both on the Airport Rail page; here's Yarraville and here's Spotswood.