I would say that this station is in the process of being removed, but it turns out that the station…read moreitself will remain intact, it is just that it will be shifted underground. That, personally, is a pretty cool thing because it means that this old style station will remain, something that I certainly do appreciate. It's quite handy as well, being close to numerous shops, though I do have to admit that there isn't really anything of interest in this part of town.

It's a station. If your train comes, it's working. If it comes on-time, even better…read more Note: Let us know how the on-time bit goes. Most of the time in my experience, not well. Good thing about Mentone Station though is that the desk is manned the whole time. So there's someone to feed you information/direct abuse at.

I guess I was a little disappointed that the old station building was knocked down, but then again…read moreI tend to always get disappointed when they go and knock down old station buildings. However, the new station is quite nice, and they needed to do it to remove the level crossings. Trains do regularly come through here, but the other thing is that they have restrooms as well, something that tends to be missing from the older stations. Like, it is fancy, and modern, but it Park would have been nice to keep the old station building as well.

Ok, it's a train station, not the most exciting thing in the world but this one gets a lot of…read morethings right. Good bicycle access without having to ride on the road, bicycle parking built right into the station buildings, no hard to cross busy roads around the station (the one that would be a problem is closed permanently to cars!), right next to a big park, only 400m from two different schools... the list goes on.

This is sort of a beach side railway station, namely because it is actually a short walk to the…read morebeach. However, it is also quite close to the shops as well, making is a rather convenient beachside location. However, one of the catches is that it does take quite a while to actually get down here, depending on where you happen to live of course. Still, as a railway station, this place certainly does work quite well, and the trains are sort of regular, at least as far as Melbourne trains are concerned.

And another random railway station that I'm reviewing. Well, random is probably not the best word…read moreto describe this as that would involve me getting off the train just to review a railway station, and that isn't something that I am really all that keen to do. However, this station wasn't too bad. It's been renovated and also quite clean, and near some pretty decent shops as well.

Ahhh. Balaclava. I used to love getting on and off the train at Balaclava station. OKay, not the…read morewalk down or up those long ramps, that could be a bit painful. But getting off at Balaclava always felt a bit like being in a rock video. First a couple of orthodox jews would get off, all dressed in black and wearing those awesome hats they wear. Then a tough old lesbian couple. Then maybe a backpacker or two, and then finally me. And I'd maybe stop for a coffee, listening to the relaxing thunder of the trains passing overhead, and I'd be happy.

There isn't all that much too the station, other than the fact that it is a short walk from the…read morebeach, and the beach does tend to be somewhat quieter as well, but then again I did land up here on one of the quieter days as well. However, it isn't too flash, though I sort of suspect that it won't be around for too long either. There isn't much in the way of facilities, but at least there are some nice cafes nearby.