Cranbourne and Pakenham line commuters travelling to South Yarra would save up to 10 minutes' travel time if the Melbourne Metro rail project included the station in the multibillion-dollar project, documents show.

The Andrews government has already ruled out creating an interchange at South Yarra for the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.

The two lines will instead bypass the station – the 11th busiest in the network – and travel direct through a tunnel to a new station near St Kilda Rd and on to new CBD stations, Parkville and North Melbourne.