Heathmont: Belgrave line station still missing toilets despite $1.7m in works

The state government has spent almost $2m in ‘accessibility’ upgrades at an outer east train station – but there’s no relief in sight for commuters hanging on for toilets.

A small railway station in Melbourne’s outer east has received its first spruce-up in decades, but still doesn’t have any on-site toilets.

The state government has completed works at Heathmont station as part of a $24m package to provide improved facilities for passengers at 16 stations across the state.

The works, which Bayswater state Labor MP Jackson Taylor said would cost $1.7m in 2020, included the installation of two shelter canopies and benches, lighting along a path at a nearby reserve, resurfacing platforms, and the creation of two new disabled parking spots.

At the time, the government said the works would focus on better seating, upgrading passenger information, toilet facilities and improving accessibility for passengers.

Heathmont’s last upgrades were in the 1980s and it is one of three stations on the Belgrave line which are unstaffed and don’t have toilets, along with Upwey and Tecoma.

Maroondah Leader campaigned for major upgrades to the station as part of our ‘Make Our Station Safe’ campaign in 2019.

The omission of toilets in the recent upgrades means commuters will have to continue to cross Canterbury Rd to use the public toilets at Heathmont Village shopping centre.

Public Transport Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the decision not to install toilets at the station appeared to be “a missed opportunity”.

“While these are normally located at staffed stations, they (toilets) have been installed at unstaffed stations such as Southland,” Mr Bowen said.

”Given Heathmont has longer waiting times between trains than stations closer to the city, the government should consider installing a public toilet.”

According to the state government, the upgrades were determined following passenger surveys on how key stations could be improved across the network.

Mr Taylor said the government had “responded to the community’s feedback and delivered upgrades at Heathmont railway station to give passengers a more accessible and safer journey.”

Mr Taylor and his office did not respond to Leader’s questions about the non-inclusion of toilets by deadline.

A government spokeswoman said the upgrades at Heathmont would “improve passenger experience on the network by making it safer, more accessible, and lead to a more comfortable journey.”