Lal Lal station revamp a step closer with plans released

The bluestone booking office and combined double-storey station-masters home was built a year after the Ballarat-Geelong duplicated track opened in 1862 - and is one of few surviving stations on country Victoria's first line.

"I think this is positive," Moorabool Mayor Tom Sullivan said .

"It's certainly a very attractive building and it's been unloved for a while. Restoring the station will reinvigorate the town and give it a focal point.

"It's an opportunity for tourists as well - with the (steam-era) railway water tower at Anzac Park nearby as well as the Lal Lal Falls.

"And you never know, we might get a passenger line back. There's been talk about it for some time."

The $700,000 project includes a new welded mesh fence 1.5m from the edge of the platform, which will be resurfaced with 4cm of asphalt.

Until now vintage trains using the track for tourism have not been allowed to pull up to the platform.

Planning documents submitted to Council indicate that VicTrack will lease the Eaglesons Road station buildings to Moorabool, who will then sublease it to the local Landcare group.

It will hold a maximum of 30 people and also serve as a gallery, meeting space and historical/tourist centre.

The rail complex also includes a lamp room, goods shed and toilets - which are included in the restoration.

It is subject to a heritage overlay - and as a place of assembly, it is also subject to a bushfire management overlay.

The revamp will give the station a usable kitchenette, accessible toilets and wider doors.

Restoration will be a mammoth task, with weatherboard walls, potholes, drainpipes, a satellite dish, cracked concrete, septic tanks and damaged stumps to be removed.

Rooves, gutters, cast iron vents, broken glass and cracked plaster will be replaced.

VicTrack said Lal Lal passenger services ended by 1979 and the station closed in 1983.

"The proposal seeks to restore and enhance existing historic Lal Lal railway building to transform a dormant and neglected heritage asset into a community centre that will provide a low-cost focal point for the running of important local cultural and social activities," VicTrack said in its application.

"VicTrack is committed to improve under-used land and add value to major projects to create better commuter links, safer travel and services that add to local streetscapes."

The October 10 application is still subject to referrals and may come before council at a later date.

VicTrack said it expected restoration work to start in early 2023.

Work will also be carried out on similar bluestone stations at Lethbridge and Little River.

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