Works full steam ahead

By Lachlan Ellis

VicTrack has provided an update on the latest works at the old Lal Lal Railway Station, which is planned to become a community hub.

Initial designs for the station were released in January, and contractors began works on the station on Monday 28 November.

Works are progressing well, with the restoration expected to be finished by mid-2023, VicTrack says.

“The Lal Lal Station building is being fully restored by VicTrack through the Victorian Government’s Community Use of Vacant Rail Buildings Program. Once the works are complete, the building will become a community neighbourhood house and tourist information centre,” a VicTrack spokesperson told the Moorabool News.

“Early works on the building started this month. Following the appointment of a contractor, major construction is scheduled to get underway from early next year, and take around six months to complete.”

The current early works are expected to take about two weeks to complete, and will enable the major works to be safely carried out next to the live railway line. They include reroofing the veranda and the lamp room and repairing gutters, gables and downpipes on the main station building. They also include asphalting the platform and fencing it off from the railway line.

Following a competitive tender process that closed in September this year, VicTrack expects to appoint a contractor to deliver the major works by early next year.

The works that will be carried out to restore the building include structural repairs, works to make the building safe and accessible, installing a new kitchenette and accessible toilet, internal repairs, and painting the walls, doors, and windows.

The head tenant for the new community hub will be Moorabool Shire Council, with Lal Lal Catchment Landcare Group to also be a tenant.