With V/Line in crisis and the Herald Sun all but calling for the minister's head on its front page, Ms Allan may have wanted to avoid the spotlight that day.

So the ceremonies were left to junior minister Shaun Leane​, who declared the new station open on Friday evening, perhaps the worst time of the week to gain media coverage.

Yet Ringwood station's re-creation was worth marking, and is part of a wave of projects to turn stations across Melbourne into more user-friendly public facilities.

As many as 20 suburban stations are confirmed for an overhaul, and 17 more are in line for possible upgrades in coming years.

In each case, ageing stations are being repurposed to meet new standards for accessibility and shelter from the elements.

The demolished Ringwood station is a case in point - dubbed the "Berlin Wall" by former Transport Department boss Jim Betts for its inaccessibility and its fortress-like ugliness, its reconstruction has opened it up for pedestrians, cyclists and bus patrons.

Neighbouring Maroondah Highway has a new 40 km/h speed limit and a new pedestrian crossing from the station, making the station easier to walk to from central Ringwood.

Some of this connection was paid for by selling a parcel of state-owned railway land to developer QIC.

Government corporation VicTrack has sold off tracts of dormant railway land to numerous developers of late, and has plans for more.

This includes a fresh agreement with developer SMA Projects to build above the railway tracks at Windsor station, between Chapel Street and a park called the Windsor Siding.

It has also recently sold railway land on Lynch Street in Hawthorn, near Glenferrie Oval and has plans for developments at Victoria Park and West Footscray, also near former VFL grounds.

Planned apartment towers at Jewell station in Brunswick and Hampton station await planning approval from local councils.

VicTrack plans for the redevelopment of Jewell station in Brunswick await approval from the city of Moreland council. Image: Supplied

In each case, funds from land sales will go towards building a better station, VicTrack says.

"Our projects deliver connected urban living, with better commuter links, safer travel, and shops and services that add to local streetscapes," a spokeswoman said.

Not every VicTrack station development has been realised. A five-storey building at Camberwell, bitterly and famously opposed by residents and anti-densification groups, fell over when the developer pulled out in 2012, and plans for new housing overlooking Alphington station were cancelled by the Andrews government last year.

But the government's promise to remove 50 level crossings will result in many stations being demolished and rebuilt, mostly due to engineering necessity, because the station and crossing abut one another and the rail line must be lowered or raised.

The Level Crossing Removal Authority confirmed 14 stations that will be rebuilt in the next few years as part of a level crossing removal.

Planning has not commenced on many of the 50 crossings on Labor's hit list, but perhaps a dozen more stations will be rebuilt because of their proximity to a level crossing.

The new stations add much to the cost of level crossing removals. Level Crossing Removal Authority chief executive Kevin Devlin said amounts varied, but "can be roughly around 10 per cent of the total project cost".

Station car parks are also being remodelled to make it easier to get in and out by other modes of transport, such as bus, walking and cycling, but with the aim of "no net loss of spaces", Mr Devlin said.

"When incorporating car parks into station designs, while we aim for no net loss of spaces, and in built up areas where that might not be possible we will aim to accommodate those spaces nearby on the same train line," he said.

In one case, at the Melton Highway crossing in Sydenham, the old station building will be preserved for heritage reasons, even though it is long dormant.

Design for the planned new Bayswater station, part of the Mountain Highway and Scoresby Road level crossing removals. Image: Supplied.

Stations confirmed for redevelopment as part of level crossing removal:

· Gardiner (Burke Road level crossing removal) – Now open

· Ormond (North Road level crossing removal)

· McKinnon (McKinnon Road level crossing removal)

· Bentleigh (Centre Road level crossing removal)

· St Albans (Main Road crossing removal)

· Ginifer (Furlong Road level crossing removal)

· Bayswater (as part of the Mountain Highway and Scoresby Road level crossing removals)

· Heatherdale (Heatherdale Road level crossing removal)

· Carnegie (as part of Koornang Road level crossing removal)

· Murrumbeena (as part of Murrumbeena Road level crossing removal)

· Hughesdale (as part of Poath​ Road level crossing removal)

· Clayton (as part of Clayton Road level crossing removal)

· Reservoir (as part of High Street level crossing removal)

· Bell* (as part of Bell Street level crossing removal)

Unconfirmed

• Bonbeach
• Carrum
• Edithvale
• Mentone
• Cheltenham
• Moreland
• Coburg
• Aircraft
• North Williamstown
• Rosanna
• Lilydale
• Mooroolbark
• Essendon

VicTrack station redevelopments

• Jewell
• Hampton
• Ringwood
• Windsor
• Victoria Park
• West Footscray

*An earlier version of this story listed Preston Station, instead of Bell Station.