Lalor station opened in October 1949, and was provided as part of a
garden suburb created by the
Peter Lalor Home Building Cooperative Society, which was formed by a group of
ex-servicemen to provide cheap homes during a time of high demand and shortage of materials post
World War II. The station was originally served by
Whittlesea trains from Melbourne via the former
Inner Circle line and, in later times, by
Thomastown – Whittlesea railmotor shuttles. In November 1959, the section from Thomastown was
electrified, with the line beyond Lalor closed. On 29 November 1964, the line was reopened and electrified as far as
Epping. In 1980,
boom barriers were provided at the Paschke Crescent level crossing. The current day Platform 1 was formerly a
dock platform. In August 1988,
points from No. 1 track to the main line were provided at the down end of the station, effectively forming a
crossing loop between Thomastown and Epping. This arrangement existed until November 2011, when the line between
Keon Park and Epping was
duplicated, with the points at both ends of the station abolished. On 4 May 2010, as part of the 2010/2011
State Budget, $83.7 million was allocated to upgrade Lalor to a
premium station, along with nineteen others. However, in March 2011, this was scrapped by the
Baillieu Government. Announced as part of a $21.9 million package in the 2022/23 Victorian State Budget, Lalor, alongside other stations, will receive
accessibility upgrades, the installation of
CCTV, and platform shelters. The development process will begin in late 2022 or early 2023, with a timeline for the upgrades to be released once construction has begun. Lalor station, like the suburb in which it is located, was originally pronounced , as it was named after Peter Lalor and, although some people still pronounce it as such, in recent times, the pronunciation has become predominant. In addition, the
Victorian Railways Newsletter of 1973, and
Victorian RailWays of 1974 (
Victorian Railways in-house newsletters) stated that the correct pronunciation was . ==Platforms and services==