Commuters get their first look at newly painted Flinders St Station

MELBURNIANS have had their first glimpse of what a freshly painted Flinders St Station will look like. DO YOU LIKE THE NEW COLOURS?

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MELBURNIANS have had their first glimpse of what a newly painted Flinders St Station will look like.

A small section of freshly painted station is on view facing Southbank, and has gained some early favourable reviews.

The iconic station is undergoing a much needed facelift and is currently being repainted in its original colours.

The mustard colour, familiar to most modern day Melburnians, will become a lighter, stone colour, while the maroon sections and green trimmings will be darkened.

The revamped Flinders St Station. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The front of the station remains hidden behind scaffolding. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The heritage revamp will restore the building to its original 1910 style and will be finished in late 2017.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen tweeted: “Interesting to compare old left vs. new right rendering.”

“I like the new colour, but it does look a bit lego-like.”

Commuter Paul Scott, from Werribee, was also impressed.

“I wasn’t a big fan of the old mustard colour so this is much better,” he said.

“I think it’s a lot more subtle and sophisticated than the old colour, which was a bit garish.”

The job will include sourcing 5000 litres of specially manufactured paints and is part of a $100m investment into the station buildings precinct which is continuing over the next 18 months.

Daniel Bowen from the Public Transport Users Association says he likes the new colour. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Heritage experts were forced to peel back those five coats of paint to reveal the station’s original stone-coloured facade.

Without urgent restoration works, the State Government says parts of the station will become unsafe, unusable, and eventually unsalvageable.

As well as repairing and restoring the station’s crumbling facade, the government’s upgrade will fix its leaky roof, upgrade platforms and entrances, and restore the heritage clock tower.

Other works to be undertaken include fixing toilets, cleaning up dingy and under-utilised areas, and installing new information displays, including a giant timetable board facing Federation Square and the tram interchange.

A business case is also being developed that will consider options to fix the old ballroom and other derelict parts of the building to attract new tenants.

The station project started in 2015 with the full upgrade expected to be complete by the end of next year.

Flinders St has been repainted five times since the early 1900s.

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@AndyJeffo