Flinders Street railway station
Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the busiest train station in Australia, serving the entire metropolitan rail network, 15 tram routes travelling to and from the city, as well as some country and regional V/Line services to eastern Victoria.[5] Opened in 1854, the station is the oldest in Australia, backing onto the Yarra River in the central business district, the complex includes 13 platforms and structures that stretch over more than two city blocks, from east of Swanston Street to nearly at Market Street.
Not to be confused with Flinders railway station.
Flinders Street
207–361 Flinders Street[1]
Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Australia
1.23 kilometres from
Southern Cross
13 (plus one removed)
15
At-grade
None
None
Yes—step free access
FSS
Myki Zone 1
12 September 1854
Melbourne Terminus
24.641 million[2]
24.670 million[2] 
0.12%
25.187 million[2] 2.09%
26.187 million[2] 3.97%
Not measured[2]
27.960 million[2] 6.77%
Not measured[3]
28.087 million[3] 0.45%
27.859 million[3] 
0.81%
28.161 million[3] 1.08%
28.320 million[4] 0.56%
Completed
20.6 metres (68 ft) AHD
1900
1909
£A 514,000
James W. Fawcett
H.P.C. Ashworth
Flinders Street Railway Station Complex
A, E, F, G
20 August 1982
H1083[1]
HO649[1]
Flinders Street is served by Metro Trains services and V/Line regional services to Gippsland. It is the busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with an average of 77,153 daily entries recorded in the 2017/18 fiscal year.[3] It was the terminus of the first railway in Australia (the Port Melbourne line) and was reputedly the world's busiest passenger station in the 1920s, owing to the concentration of services there that was only rectified with the construction of the City Loop in the 1970s. Its main platform (operationally divided into platforms 1 and 14) is Australia's 2nd longest, and the eighteenth longest railway platform in the world.[6] Flinders Street connects with several tram services and is responsible for two of Melbourne's busiest pedestrian crossings, both across Flinders Street, including one of Melbourne's few pedestrian scrambles.
The station's current main building was completed in 1909 and is a cultural icon of Melbourne. The distinctive and eclectic Edwardian building, with its prominent dome, arched entrance, tower and clocks is one of the city's most recognisable landmarks, and its grand, somewhat exotic character led to the popular myth that the design was actually intended for Mumbai's Victoria Terminus and vice versa, but was swapped in the post.[7][8]
The Melbourne saying "I'll meet you under the clocks" refers to the row of indicator clocks above the main entrance, which show the next departure for each line;[9] the alternative, "I'll meet you on the steps", refers to the wide staircase beneath the clocks.
It has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register since 1982.[10]
History[edit]
Early terminus[edit]
The first railway station to occupy the Flinders Street site was a collection of weatherboard train sheds. It was opened on 12 September 1854 by the Lieutenant-Governor, Charles Hotham.[11] The terminus was the first city railway station in Australia, and the opening day saw the first steam train trip in the country. It travelled to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne), over the since-redeveloped Sandridge Bridge and along the now-light rail Port Melbourne line.
There is some confusion over the original name of the station. In his book "Victorian Railways to '62", Leo Harrigan[12] indicates that it was first named "Melbourne Terminus". Newspaper articles about the opening in September 1854 refer to "Melbourne terminus" with a lower case t, which may have caused this mis-apprehension.
H.K Atkinson in his book "Suburban Tickets of the Victorian Railways",[13] lists the station as being called "Flinders Street" from its opening. Early tickets for the railway just show "Melbourne" as the destination. Moreover, a newspaper report of December 1854 mentions that the Hobsons Bay Railway Company shareholder meeting was held at "Flinders Street Station".
In all likelihood, the station was called "Melbourne, Flinders Street" from the outset, and the somewhat superfluous "Melbourne" was gradually dropped through common usage. When Prince's Bridge station opened across the street in 1859, the Flinders Street name would undoubtedly have become more prominent. The platforms for trains arriving from Station Pier retained the "Melbourne, Flinders Street" signage well into the twentieth century, so migrants fresh off the boat wouldn't be confused about where they were.
The platform layout at Flinders Street is almost entirely composed of through tracks – a product of the constrained geography of the site and the haphazard development of the rail network around it.[83] The first platform at the station, constructed near and parallel to Flinders Street itself, was barely even 30 m (98 ft 5 in) long, and allowed trains from Port Melbourne to terminate.[11] The opening of the rail connection under Swanston Street in 1865 enabled trains from Brighton to access the platform,[84] and so it was later extended to enable the simultaneous arrival of trains from the east and west.[18]
A second platform to the south of the first was provided in 1877, after the amalgamation of railway companies began to increase traffic at the station.[85] Platform expansion began in earnest following the 1882 recommendation that Flinders Street be developed as a major terminal, and the subsequent government acquisition of the railways; between 1889 and 1892, three further platforms were constructed on land acquired from the former fish market in anticipation of additional traffic, which eventuated when Essendon, Coburg and Williamstown trains were routed across the viaduct in 1894.[86] Development continued with the completion of the 1899 ground plan, which specified a total of 11 platforms – platform 1 along the main building and five pairs of island platforms to the south. The remaining platforms were constructed as works progressed on the main building, and in 1909, a decision was made to extend platforms 10 and 11 eastwards, creating two new platforms originally numbered 10 East and 11 East[87] and now numbered 12 and 13.[19]
Railway officials proposed amalgamating the nearby Princes Bridge station with Flinders Street with improved passenger connections in the 1890s, but failed to obtain funding from the state government for the project despite the massive redevelopment works.[88] Nevertheless, the two stations were merged for signalling and operational purposes in 1910,[89] and in 1966, platform 1 at Flinders Street was extended to meet its counterpart at Princes Bridge, creating a single platform face with a length over 800 m (2,600 ft).[90] The west end of platform 1 could also be used as a separate "Platform 1 West".[91] Eventually, in 1980, Princes Bridge was formally incorporated into Flinders Street and its three platforms were renumbered 14, 15 and 16.[92]
Several platforms were decommissioned in the early 1990s following reductions in suburban train services. Platform 11 fell into disuse following the closure of the Port Melbourne line in 1987, and platforms 14, 15 and 16 were closed to regular services, along with the west end of platform 1.[91] Although proposals were made to reopen it by the East West Link Needs Assessment, the platform 11 site was converted into a bar and restaurant in 2014.[93] Platforms 15 and 16 were demolished to make way for Federation Square, but platform 14 remains intermittently in use.[94]
A short dock platform, known as the Milk Dock or Parcels Dock, was constructed in 1910 to the north of platform 1 at the west end of the main building.[95] Prior to the widespread transport of dairy products by road, the dock was a distribution centre for milk and other small goods arriving in Melbourne on early morning trains from Gippsland.[96] Other small goods and parcels were later also loaded at the dock until most such traffic ceased in the 1960s.[97] The structure remains essentially intact.[98]
Three concourses link the platforms. The main concourse is at the east end of the station, located off Swanston Street and the main dome, and has direct access to all platforms via escalators, stair and elevators. The Degraves Street subway runs under the centre of the station, exiting to Flinders Street at the north end, with stairs directly connecting to all platforms except for platform numbers 12 and 13. The Elizabeth Street subway is at the west end, and has direct access via ramps to all platforms except for platforms 12, 13 and 14, and via a stairway to platform 1, reopened in 2017.[99]
Trains may use a different platform if the platform it is originally scheduled at is occupied.
Platform 1:
Destinations via City Loop – Clifton Hill Group:
Platform 2 & 3:
Destinations via City Loop – Burnley Group:
Platform 4 & 5:
Destinations via City Loop – Northern Group:
Destinations via Richmond (platform 4 only):
Platform 6 & 7:
Destinations via Richmond:
Destinations via Southern Cross (platform 7 only):
Platform 8 & 9:
Destinations via Richmond:
Destinations via Southern Cross (platform 9 only):
Platform 10:
Destinations via Southern Cross:
Platform 11:
Removed and fenced off, Now a restaurant separate from the station.
Platform 12 & 13:
Destinations via Richmond:
Destinations via Southern Cross (platform 12 only):
Platform 14:
Currently not in use, "Emergency Egress Only".[100]