Flinders Street Station (frequently just called Flinders Street; the context indicates whether the station or the street is being specified) is the central railway station of the suburban rail network of Melbourne, Australia. It is located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city. The building stretches from Swanston Street to Queen Street, covering two city blocks. Each weekday, approximately 105,000 commuters and 1,500 trains pass through the station.
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| Station Information | |
|---|---|
| Code | FLI |
| Line | All lines |
| Number of Platforms | 14 |
| Number of Tracks | 13 |
| Station Status | Premium Station |
| Zone Location | 1 |
| Station Facilities | |
| Customer Service Centre | First - Last Train, Everyday |
| Ticket Machines | Located at all entrances to the station |
| Payphones | Available in concourse and on platforms |
| Toilets | Available in concourse |
| Vending Machines | All Platforms and concourse |
| Number of Bicycle Lockers | 0 |
| Number of Car Park spaces | 0 |
| Connecting Tram Routes | |
| 1 | To South Melbourne Beach / East Coburg |
| 3 | To East Malvern / Melbourne University |
| 5 | To Malvern (Burke Road) / Melbourne University |
| 6 | To Glen Iris / Melbourne University |
| 8 | To Toorak / Moreland |
| 16 | To Kew / Melbourne University via St. Kilda |
| 19 | To North Coburg |
| 48 | To New Quay (Docklands) / North Balwyn |
| 57 | To West Maribyrnong |
| 59 | To Airport West |
| 60 | To West Maribyrnong |
| 64 | To East Brighton / Melbourne University |
| 67 | To Carnegie / Melbourne University |
| 70 | To Corner Spencer & LaTrobe Sts / Wattle Park |
| 72 | To Melbourne University / Balwyn |
| 75 | To Corner Spencer & LaTrobe Sts / Vermont South |
| Connecting Bus Routes | |
| 235 | To Fishermans Bend via Williamstown Rd |
| 237 | To Fishermans Bend via Lormier St |
| 238 | To Port Melbourne |
| 250 | To Port Melbourne / Latrobe University (Bundoora) |
| 251 | To Port Melbourne / Northland S.C |
| 253 | To Port Melbourne / North Carlton |
| 340 | To Latrobe University (Bundoora) via Freeway |
| 350 | To Latrobe University (Bundoora) via Freeway |
| Station Navigation | |
| "City Loop" | |
| Clockwise | Southern Cross |
| Anti - Clockwise | Parliament |
| Next Station >>> | |
| Alamein / Belgrave / Cranbourne / Frankston | |
| Glen Waverley / Lilydale / Pakenham / Sandringham Line | Richmond |
| Epping / Hurstbridge Line | Jolimont |
| Other Lines | |
| Broadmeadows / Flemington Racecourse | |
| Sydenham / Upfield / Werribee / Williamstown Line | Line branches off from Southern Cross |
| and Flagstaff | |
| Entire Network | |
The station is serviced by Connex's suburban and city loop services, and V/Line's regional services.
The Melburnian idiom "I'll meet you under the clocks" refers to the row of clocks above the station's main entrance which indicate the departure time of the next train on each line (though some of the clocks refer to discontinued lines). This is a popular meeting place, at the corner of two of the city's busiest thoroughfares. The original analogue clocks were replaced for a short time with digital ones, but due to a public outcry they were quickly returned. Similarly, plans in the 1970s to demolish the station and replace it with an office building were soon dismissed.
History
The first railway station to occupy the Flinders Street site was simply called Melbourne or City Terminus, and was a collection of weatherboard train sheds. It was completed in 1854 and was officially opened on September 12 by the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Charles Hotham. 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 Sandridge Bridge, which is about to be redeveloped in 2006 as public space for pedestrian and cycle access across the Yarra River.
Melbourne's two other early central-city stations, Spencer Street Station (now known as Southern Cross Station) and Princes Bridge Station, opened in 1859. Princes Bridge was originally separated from Flinders Street, even though it was only on the opposite side of Swanston Street. Once the railway tracks were extended under the street to join the two, Princes Bridge slowly became amalgamated into Flinders Street. It is now the site of Federation Square.
In 1882 the decision was made by the government to build a new central passenger station to replace the existing ad-hoc construction. A world-wide design competition was held, with 17 entries received. The 500 pound first prize went to J. W. Fawcett and H. P. C. Ashworth, whose design included a giant dome and clock tower. Work on the current building began in 1901 and ended in 1910.
Train Platforms
Flinders Street Station's platforms are numbered from north to south, with Platform No. 1 being the furthest north.
Platform 1: Epping & Hurstbridge
Platforms 2/3: Lilydale, Belgrave, Glen Waverley & Alamein
Platforms 4/5: Werribee, Sydenham, Broadmeadows & Upfield
Platforms 6/7: Pakenham, Cranbourne, Frankston & Stony Point
Platforms 8/9: Sandringham & Williamstown
Platforms 10-14: Various services, depending on day and time.
Note that the eastern end of Platform No. 1 is designated as Platform No. 14.
Station Redevelopment
Flinders Street is currently going through a long overdue redevelopment process. It will involve badly needed cleaning and repair jobs, as well as improving general accessibility in the station.
The works include:
- A refurbishment of Platform 10 including resurfacing
- New escalators to provide better access to Platforms 10, 12 and 13
- An additional lift will be installed on Platform 10 (giving a total of two lifts for Platforms 10, 12 and 13)
- New lighting
- The existing V/Line booking office will be relocated to the main ticket office
- New commercial area will be developed at the site of the existing V/Line booking office
- The subway from Elizabeth Street to Southbank and Degraves Street to Flinders Street will be improved
- The roof will be waterproofed
- The development of a business case for possible uses of vacant space, including the currently disused ballroom
- Steam cleaning of the façade
At this stage, improvements to platform 10, the far end of the upper concourse, and the exterior cleaning of the building will be finished by the 2006 Commenwealth Games.
In recent years more than $13 million has been spent on strengthening the deck of the station concourse.
Portions of the concourse deck structure were built in 1906. The works have addressed the deterioration of steel work and concrete arch slabs below deck level which form the concourse floor system. This will ensure the longevity of the concourse structure well into the future.
Works commenced in January 2005 and have been completed on all platforms, except Platforms 3 and 4 which are due for completion by early 2006.
$150,000 has also been put aside to investigate the potential of the public spaces located in the station. The investigation will be overseen by a taskforce comprising representatives from Veolia, the Committee for Melbourne, Melbourne City Council, Heritage Victoria and the National Trust.
Trivia
- The main steps are embedded with electrical circuits to keep them dry, fitted in June 1985.
- Platform No. 1 is the longest railway platform in Australia, and the fourth longest in the world, at 708 metres long.
- The concourse building contains a ballroom (no longer in use), and a creche existed inside the main dome when the station's offices were still in use. The creche included an open-air playground on an adjoining roof.
- One of the original platform verandahs from the Melbourne Terminus building was dismantled and re-erected at Hawthorn station, in the inner-eastern suburbs.
- It is rumoured that the original plans of Flinders Street Station were actually designed for the central station of Mumbai (then Bombay), India, but were mixed up in the London office and sent to Australia instead. This perhaps explains the unusual (for Australia) arches and alcoves that feature in the Banana Alley section of the station, which would have been intended for street market vendors. Of course, this means that the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai should have been built at Flinders Street!