arriving at the original Gardiner Station, 1900 Gardiner railway station opened on 24 March 1890. The line through the station was originally built to link
Burnley to the
Outer Circle line at
Waverley Road, before continuing onto
Oakleigh. The station was named after local pastoralist
John Gardiner, who had settled near the junction of the
Yarra River and
Gardiners Creek in 1836. The station was rebuilt in 1975 to coincide with the construction of the
South Eastern Arterial link and other station rebuilds along the corridor at the time. This was the first station rebuild since its opening. However, it would not be the last, as the station was rebuilt in 2016 to coincide with level crossing removal works. In 1986, manually controlled boom barriers replaced
interlocked gates at the former
Burke Road level crossing, which was located at the
down end of the station. Also at this time, level crossing safety upgrades occurred, with power operated pedestrian gates provided. This crossing was one of the last 4 remaining tram-train level crossings in Melbourne. In 2011, Transport Minister
Terry Mulder announced that the government began early planning works for the removal of the Burke Road level crossing, however, no commencement/conclusion date was released. The Napthine government lost
the state election later that year; however, construction still went ahead under the subsequent
Andrews government. This project was incorporated into the newly formed
Level Crossing Removal Project in 2015. During 2015, construction began on the project with piling works and service relocations to create the rail trench. Major construction ramped up with closures of the Glen Waverley line to facilitate further piling and excavation works. Once the temporary station opened, major excavation works were able to begin. Construction of the station also occurred during this time, with the prefabricated station buildings installed and platforms installed. With works continuing throughout the rest of 2015, the level crossing was removed in early 2016 with the reopening of Burke Road and Gardiner station. The station opened in a basic state, with elevators, paving, additional exits, and other facilities opening later in early 2016. In April 2016, came the completion of the newly resurfaced carpark, the new tram super-stop located north of the station, landscaping, and the rebuilt Gardiner Park—used by the project team as vehicle storage and site office facilities throughout the duration of the project. Also built in conjunction with the removal works was an eleven storey high communication tower, aimed at improving identification of trains, and emergency management around the network. ==Platforms and services==