"For the number of passengers that use it, Broadmeadows would be the worst station in Victoria," Cr Atmaca​ said.

Drab, "worn out" and with inadequate parking for the many buses that stop there, it is, Cr Atmaca​ says, in urgent need of rejuvenation.

Which is why the City of Hume was so excited when the Labor government committed $80 million to redevelop the station and surrounds as a way to attract new investment to one of Melbourne's most disadvantaged postcodes.

That was in 2010. Then the Brumby government got voted out and their successors in the Coalition diverted most of those funds away from the rusted Labor seat of Broadmeadows and towards redeveloping​ the railway station precinct in marginal Frankston.

Daniel Andrews, then opposition leader and now premier, was furious and labelled the the Napthine government's decision "a slap in the face for families living in the state's key growth areas".

Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire accused the former Napthine government of doing a "reverse Robin Hood", robbing Victoria's poorest community to "buy the tainted vote" of Geoff Shaw, the independent member for Frankston.

But if Denis Napthine was a reverse Robin Hood, the new Andrews government is yet to get into first gear with Labor's old plans for Broadmeadows station.

Five months after taking office and it still has no plans for the station, which will be absent from its list of spending commitments in Tuesday's budget.

Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan sought to blame the former Coalition government for the current administration's inaction.

"Broadmeadows Station was abandoned by the previous Liberal government in a desperate attempt shore-up marginal seats," Ms Allan said.

Cr Atmaca​ said he understood the Andrews government already had its hands full with its transport agenda, but he said they owed it to the Broadmeadows community to make a start before the next election.

"Our message back to the state government now is, Broadmeadows is still here, the opportunity is still here," Cr Atmaca said.

"We understand you've got all these commitments, but there is four years in government – can we see something occur in the next two?"

The station overhaul was planned to help trigger a revival in the fortunes of central Broadmeadows and attract new businesses and employers.

The suburb remains an important "metropolitan activity centre" in the government's long-term plan to create a series of "20-minute cities" in Melbourne, with enough employment opportunities to reduce the need for locals to travel into the CBD to work.

Transport planning expert Dr John Stone, from the University of Melbourne, said those ambitious plans would fail if the suburbs stamped as future "20-minute cities"  remained as car dependent as they are today.

Were Broadmeadows station to remain in its current state, difficult to reach by bus, bike or on foot, then investors would continue to shun the area, he said.

"You can see it's happening away towards Craigieburn and in all those growth corridors," Dr Stone said. "The new development is being built away from the stations, so we're building in car dependence."

Cr Atmaca​ points out that blighted hub stations in other quarters of Melbourne have jumped the queue for rejuvenation.

Sunshine and Footscray have been rebuilt as part of the $4 billion Regional Rail Link project in Melbourne's west, Ringwood station is being redeveloped for $66 million in the east, and of course Frankston's station is being renewed by the Andrews government at a cost of $63 million.

"Broadmeadows is the capital of the north, it's 15 kilometres from the city," Cr Atmaca​ said. "It's time for development – it's a low socioeconomic area and it really needs a boost."