One of Melbourne's busiest train stations, South Yarra, is getting a $12 million renovation – it must be an election year.
The Toorak Road entrance will be widened and the rest of the station is set to get a lot bigger under the plans, which were announced by the Andrews government yesterday.
Almost 32,000 people pass through South Yarra station every weekday, according to Stonnington Council, and it is a major interchange point for the Cranbourne, Frankston, Pakenham and Sandringham lines. The station currently has no lifts or escalators, and the improvement works will make the station much more accessible as well as improving connections with the nearby tram stop.
The works will also make it easier for the new high-capacity trains, which are due to start running after the Metro Tunnel is finally finished, in 2026.
Why the sudden cash splash for South Yarra? Victorians go to the polls in November, and the Andrews government will be fighting hard to take back the state seat of Prahran from the Greens' Sam Hibbins. But we're sure the train station upgrade is just a civic-minded project to improve our city, politics or no.