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.

Well, this is something different, a railway station that has been constructed out of a shipping…read morecontainer. Okay, this might work if it happened to be located in some hipster part of Melbourne, but it isn't - it's Craigieburn, which basically means that it really appears as if the railway station was done on the cheap. In another sense, it sort of feels as if it was supposed to be temporary, but ended up becoming permanent. Still, at least it has restrooms.

There really isn't anything all that great about this particular station. In fact, it is what I…read morewould consider to be one of those newer intermediate stations, namely the ones where they have no facilities, no staff, and you simply come here to get on the train and get off it again (though I usually come here to just get on the train). Then again, there is a shopping centre nearby, and they do have a bus interchange, though a rather small one.

We flew through Melbourne three times on our latest trip to Down Under…read more International arrivals required a little bit of a hike to get to immigration. We were able to use the egate to enter so no more passport stamp. We grabbed our luggage and proceeded through customs. That was the much longer and slower line. Definitely better to declare conservatively (per announcement on our flight) and explain all Yes answers to the agent. To connect to our domestic leg to Hobart we followed the signs to T3 and did the self serve baggage drop like everyone else. Security was next and water was allowed to be carried through. To connect to our international flight to Queenstown in T2 we had to queue to check bags and get our boarding pass since they had to verify our NZETA and return flight. Security screening was quick but a little slower at the egate customs as people fumbled around for their passport (required first step). Some people had to be rerouted to the in person agent when flagged by the egate. After all this, at least there was a good selection of restaurants and shops in each terminal we visited. Prices were roughly just a couple AUD higher than outside the airport so it felt reasonable. Overall good signage and well connected terminals.

Our recent MEL experience included 2 domestic flights, one coming in from Hobart on Virgin…read moreAustralia, and the other flying up to Alice Springs on Quantas. The highlight of these experiences was running into members of Allegaeon at baggage claim. They are an American death metal band from Fort Collins, on tour here I guess. I'm not into that type of music, but one of my step-sons has made some cool art related to that genre. I can't speak for the International side of MEL, but I found Domestic to be "Easy Out/Easy In", even though this is a busy place. It also helps when your tour guide is facilitating baggage check-in and transportation. Security was on our own, but by this time, Gayle and I knew the Australian Rules (everything out of your pocket, plus belt). Signage was good, so there were no problems finding baggage claim or our gate.

This station has been completely refurbished, but that was done a number of years back before I…read moreactually moved to Melbourne, so I don't actually know, or remember, what the original station looked like. However this one is now much better, and not only has a decent waiting room, but also has restrooms, as well as being staffed. Oh, and it is also quite accessible.

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.

Look, even though this station is hardly the centre of public life, nor a grand statement of the…read moreengineering prowess of the Australian people, I will still give this place points for resulting in the value of my mate's house going up (something that railway stations have a habit of being able to do). Mind you, don't expect anything in relation to facilities here, there are none, but at least it provides easy transport for those who happen to land up in this area.

One of the things that I don't particularly like about stations in Melbourne is the entrances - it…read moresort of makes running for a train to be somewhat difficult, but then again I probably shouldn't be so tardy at times. Anyway, this station is rather basic, and in fact I'm not entirely sure how long it is going to be around, that is before they decide to remove this particular level crossing. Then again, it isn't actually on their list, but I suspect that it is not long left for our world.