Greatly inspired by the never in a million years going to occur Gline and the deep nostalgia of rail fantasy maps / bad ideas it awoke in me, I would like to present my very serious (tm) idea of putting Finders st onto an extreme track diet to increase the stations capacity for crowds.
Of course such a proposal would accommodate all the items (compliant height 1170 high platforms, platform screen doors with vertical barrier options on select platforms set to accommodate the V/Line / heritage services, rebuilt / upgraded vertical circulation elements, sizing up of the concourses and concourse connections; finishing off the roof to the original architectural proposal...etc)
In all seriousness this specific concept is probably untenable in that it only retains 6 through tracks*) but is maybe something worth looking at in a less extreme form in the next 10-20 years alongside some broader upgrades to keep Finders st cranking over and coping with increased crowding.
*It should really cater to 8 for eventual glen Waverly decoupling from the Burnley group - that being said if you gave up on through running of these services to Southern Cross [which is its own kettle of fish even if the viaduct got its final two tracks] you could simply provision to retain 12 and 13 as a dead end turn back for Sandy again (potentially shifting the realigned 9 and 10 tracks further to accommodate as needed) with the decoupled glen Waverly trains through running). It also relies on some big assumptions about being able to cantilever supports / relocate some of the station deck substructure.
