This is my local railway station and I use it regularly. It is a full service station and that…read moremeans that it is staffed when open, you can buy tickets for country trains, as well as, local trains. It is helpful to have a staff station when you only have a $50 bill in your pocket and the ticket machines only give less than $10 change. There are toilets and indoor seating on the inward bound side. The redevelopment in front forecourt of the old 19th Century building has been a great improvement for the area and city bound travellers. However, travelling out of the city means that you get off on a narrow platform with only one exit into an unpaved and badly lite carpark. The trains on this line only run every 20 minutes at best.

As far as Melbourne suburban train stations go, Oak Park fares pretty well. It's clean, safe and in…read moreclear view of the local shopping strip, as well as being classed as Zone 1 if you're going from Oak Park to the city (any further past Oak Park the other way you will need a Zone 2). The lighting at night is excellent, and the trains and station are well manned by Metro security, ticket inspectors and police. There are parking areas on both platform sides, although at peak times, particularly in the mornings and the after school period you've got a better chance of winning the lotto then getting one of those spots. Oak Park is serviced by the Craigieburn line, which frustratingly has its fair share of disruptions, delays and cancellations. Things have seemed to have gotten better since timetable changes in August 2011, and trains during the week day peak times have increased to one every ten minutes into the city, and at other times during the day one every 15 - 20 minutes. If you get there at the wrong time of the day be warned, you'll be seething at the express trains they'll go straight through from Broadmeadows, and on weekends the service is positively appalling with only one train leaving every 50 minutes into the city. At that rate it's hard to believe Oak Park Station is a Zone 1 suburban station! All in all not bad; if this station had toilet facilities (particularly for those of us with children), refreshments and snacks this rating would definitely be improved.

Brilliant bus service that somehow bypasses the traffic congestion that is a daily chore on…read morehoddle/punt. Best link between North and South until Australia realizes the advantage of spending on a subway system (sorry, personal desire to travel subterranean I guess). Good bus and they sometime place some great tunes!

OK, so it feel pretty strange reviewing a bus, but the 246 Bus service (provided by Ventura Buses)…read moreis one of the two great public transport routes in Melbourne city. The 246 runs from Clifton Hill to Elsternwick down the notoriously shit arterials of Hoddle Street and Punt Road. Effectively this links the likes of Elsternwick Park (where the annual Community Cup footy game between the Espy Rockdogs and the RRR & PBS Megahertz has been played for the past few years) and Cliffy Hill; but more importantly, the route cuts through Richmond along the way, therefore eliminating the dogleg into the city for those travelling north to south or vice versa. Now you may be thinking 'so what?' 'So what' is that more often than not, the bus will actually charge on past all traffic stranded on the Hoddle/Punt wasteland and get you to your destination quicker and with less stress than driving. Also, if you've a mind for a few beers say, at the Corner Hotel for example, you can leave the car behind and get yourself a skin full. Plus, bloody nobody uses this service, so you always get a seat. And, it's pretty regular (like every 10 minutes during peak times and 20 minutes for the most part after that). It's gold.

Yeah, I'm sure if you live in Melbourne you will be familiar with this station, and with this…read morelocation. I have ended up here a couple of times, namely because it is a major interchange station where you can not only catch the suburban trains but also the V/Line and even the train to Sydney (which runs twice a day, though you can't catch it into Melbourne, which is a shame). Yeah, basically it is one of those places that you should only go to if you really need to go to it.

Set opposite the massive shopping centre, Broadmeadows Train station is a gateway for those in the…read morenorth. Serviced by both the Craigieburn and Broadmeadows lines, metro trains operate at least every ten minutes from here during the week; and between 10-15 minutes on weekends making it one of the better stations in regards to frequency. The other great thing about this station is that V Line trains run through, and stop here. So if you're coming to Melbourne from the country and would prefer to hop off before you get to Southern Cross, Broady's your port of call. My sister comes from North Vic regularly to visit me on the train, and it's so much easier to meet her and drop her off at Broady from my place not even 15 minutes down the road. However, Broadmeadows is well known for its high crime rates and youth unemployment, making the train station a popular hangout for unsavoury types. Because of this I always feel a little uneasy, but if you plan you're travel for during the day and try to get there so you don't have to wait around too long, it's not so bad. Being a premium station Broadmeadows is manned through the Metro and V Line ticketing office so there is a good sense of security whilst the office is open.

Small, quiet train station on the Craigieburn Line. Not much to make you wanna get stuck here; no…read moreservices or toilets etc. Manned in the morning by a friendly young man. Highlight would be that it is close to Windy Hill....