On a recent trip to Tokyo, Michael Ryan had to reach the edges of the city to find a station neglected nearly as badly as his local South Kensington stop.

"There's never been an upgrade to it at all," Mr Ryan said of the West Melbourne station, just two stops from the CBD.

Narrow platforms have led to severe overcrowding, with an extra 300,000 people using the station, compared with 13 years ago.

Michael Ryan commutes from South Kensington station - one of the worst stations in Melbourne, according to the latest RACV survey. Credit:Justin McManus

Commuters frequently miss their trains and are pushed over the yellow safety line, while the station lacks shelter and car parking.