On 1 December 1882, the railway from Melbourne to Camberwell was extended to Lilydale. At this time, the Lilydale line had only a single track, and used a token-based system of signalling. On 12 August 1889, Blackburn was designated a 'crossing station', meaning that it had a loop line to allow trains to pass each other. In December 1891, a second track was added to the section of the Lilydale line, between Box Hill and Ringwood stations. At this time, Blackburn had two platforms. Services terminating at Blackburn began in the late 1890s, due to the large number of passengers visiting the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary. However, there were relatively few trains passing through Blackburn; around two trains per hour in 1901. The Lilydale line was electrified as far as Box Hill on 17 December 1922. By the end of January 1923, electrification had proceeded past Blackburn, as far as Ringwood. Automatic signalling, which had reached Box Hill in 1929, was finally extended to Blackburn on 13 July 1958. However, automatic signalling was not installed between Blackburn and Mitcham until 13 November 1960. Boom barriers replaced hand gates at Blackburn Road in 1970. In 1980, the goods siding was removed and the old station was demolished. It was replaced with a three-platform station, so trains could terminate while Box Hill station was being rebuilt. A new ramp from the old tunnel now provides pedestrian access to the central island platform. Victorian Railways' plan in the late 1970s was to add the third track to the south, but Nunawading Council objected, because it would destroy the park there. By 2001, all services that formerly terminated at Box Hill had been extended to Blackburn. It was upgraded to a Premium station in 1996. Platform 3 is only used on weekdays during peak hours. This typically occurs from early morning; 7am-12:30pm, and mid afternoon; 15:30-18:30. In late 2006 and early 2007, grade separation works at the Middleborough Road level crossing, near Laburnum, led to the closure of the line between Box Hill and Blackburn, and the construction of a temporary bus interchange at Blackburn, for buses which replaced train services. The car-park immediately to the north of Platform 3 was converted into an interchange, and a walkway was constructed to allow passengers to cross from the island platform to the interchange. Blackburn again performed this role in early 2010, when grade separation was undertaken at Springvale Road and Nunawading station was rebuilt, and again in 2014, when Mitcham Road and Rooks Road at Mitcham were separated. In May 2014, the Victorian State Government announced a grade separation project to replace the nearby Blackburn Road level crossing, with a completion date of 2017. The project was a part of the Level Crossing Removal Project. Construction commenced in early 2016. A major shutdown of the line and Blackburn Road occurred during late 2016-early 2017, enabling the removal of the level crossing. Blackburn Road and the railway line reopened in early February 2017. The project also included two new lift shafts from the island platform to the underpass, and to nearby Railway Road. The entire project works were completed in July 2017.
Facilities, platforms & services
Blackburn has one island platform with two faces and one side platform. The island platform features a ticket office and toilets. It is serviced by Metro Trains' Lilydale and Belgrave line services. Platform 1:
Lilydale line: all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street
Belgrave line: all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street
Platform 2:
Lilydale line: services to Flinders Street
Belgrave line: services to Flinders Street
Lilydale line: all stations services to Lilydale
Belgrave line: all stations and limited stops services to Belgrave
Platform 3:
Lilydale line: all stations services to Lilydale
Belgrave line: all stations and limited stops services to Belgrave
