Lilydale train station pub: Lilydale VRI hidden on train platform

We’re a city famous for our hidden laneway bars, but did you know there’s a pub tucked away at a train station in Melbourne’s outer east?

After a long train trip, commuters in Melbourne’s outer east don’t have to go far for a well-earnt drink.

A secret bar is tucked away on platform 2 at Lilydale station.

The Victorian Railways Institute bar opened in the 1970s, with the heritage-listed space previously used as refreshment rooms.

But many people weren’t aware the pub existed until TikTok user ragnarthedon shared his amazement at finding it in a video that has now been viewed more than 22,000 times.

The social club and bar is open on the station platform every Friday from 2pm for members and the public to enjoy a drink with friends.

John Smith, who runs the bar with mate Darren Gloury, said people were constantly amazed to discover the drinking hole at the station.

“Every week we will get someone come in and say ‘I didn’t know this was here, I’ve never seen it before,’” he said.

Mr Smith said Lilydale was the only train station on the metropolitan network that had a licenced premises.

He the bar was previously used as refreshment rooms for travellers, dating back to World War I, when electric trains used to come to Lilydale, before steam trains took people on to the Yarra Valley.

“People would come in here and have a couple of drinks, a cup of tea and sandwiches, then they would get the stream train to Warburton or Healesville,” he said.

“In those days if you lived in Melbourne and said you were going to Warburton for a holiday people would say ‘Gee, you’re going that far out?”

The pub also has a pool table and courtyard, with an outdoor fire for the cooler months.

“It’s not The Ritz … but it has got a good atmosphere,” Mr Smith said.

“Darren and I often say we could write a book about all the characters we’ve met over the years here.”

Box Hill South man Richard Godbehere dropped in for a drink at the bar with his mate after a bike ride to Yarra Junction.

“Where else could you enjoy a drink on a Friday afternoon on a train platform?” he said.

The Level Crossing Removal Authority is in the process of removing the Lilydale level crossing, but Mr Smith said they had been reassured the bar would remain at the station.