Route 35 (City Circle) | |||||
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Overview | |||||
System | Melbourne tramway network | ||||
Operator | Yarra Trams | ||||
Depot | Southbank | ||||
Vehicle | W class | ||||
Began service | 29 April 1994 | ||||
Route | |||||
Start | Waterfront City | ||||
Via | Harbour Esplanade La Trobe Street Nicholson Street Spring Street Flinders Street Harbour Esplanade | ||||
End | Waterfront City | ||||
Zone(s) | Free Tram Zone | ||||
Timetable | City Circle timetable | ||||
Map | City Circle map | ||||
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The City Circle (Melbourne tram route 35) is a zero-fare tram running around the Melbourne central business district in Australia. Aimed mainly at tourists, the route passes many Melbourne attractions while running along the city centre's outermost thoroughfares, as well as the developing Docklands waterfront precinct. Since October 2023, it operates in a clockwise direction only.
The tram route was introduced on 29 April 1994, [1] [2] requiring a small track extension along Spring Street, between Collins and Flinders Streets, to enable a complete CBD loop to be formed. [3] [4] The Federal Government's Building Better Cities program funded the $6.4 million capital cost of the track expansion, while the State Government funded the running costs. [5]
Until January 2003, the western leg of the original route of the tram was down Spencer Street, but the route was then extended west to run through Harbour Esplanade, Docklands. [6] [7] [8] [9] The travel time around the circle before this change was 40 minutes. [10]
Between May and November 2005, the route temporarily ran between Flinders Street / Spencer Street and Victoria Parade / Nicholson Street due to the closure and removal of the Flinders Street Overpass over King Street. [11] [12]
During early 2006, new Passenger Information Displays were installed along with Digital Voice Announcements.
In April 2008, the service adopted the daylight saving timetable on a permanent basis, operating from 10:00 to 21:00 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The end of service at other times is 18:00. [13]
On 30 May 2009, the route was altered for a second time, being extended from Harbour Esplanade to the NewQuay and Waterfront City precincts via Docklands Drive. This made the route an elongated 'q'. [14] [15]
Services after 18:00 between Thursday and Sunday were removed in November 2020. [16]
Due to driver shortages, the route's operator, Yarra Trams, has found it hard to run all City Circle tram services. Due to this, since 30 October 2023, the route only runs in a clockwise direction between 9:30 and 17:30 daily. [17] [18]
The route of the City Circle trams roughly follows the outer edges of the Hoddle Grid, with three diversions. It takes in all of La Trobe Street, Harbour Esplanade and Flinders Street. It follows Spring Street between Flinders and Bourke Streets, but travels along Nicholson Street and Victoria Street before turning into La Trobe Street. At the junction of Harbour Esplanade and Latrobe Street trams turn off the loop to run to and from a terminus towards the end of Docklands Drive, Waterfront City.
The City Circle route is operated with heritage W class trams, restored to original condition as part of the W8 upgrade. As of 2020, these are the only W-class trams on the system, and there are no plans to retire them. The City Circle trams originally sported a unique maroon livery promoting the service, however as part of the W8 upgrade the trams were restored back to their original green and cream livery. Until 2014, the City Circle was one of several routes to run W-class trams (30, 78 and 79) but the remaining routes controversially had their W-class trams removed, mostly replaced by A class. Trams display the route number 35. [19] [20] The City Circle operates at a headway of 12 minutes in the clockwise direction, with the service taking approximately 60 minutes to complete a loop. An average of three million passengers use the service every year, with each tram circling the city 9 times a day, or 12 times when the tram operates to 21:00. [13]
Southern Cross railway station is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central business district. The Docklands Stadium sports arena is 500 metres north-west of the station.
Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population of 15,495 at the 2021 census.
Parliament railway station is a commuter railway station adjacent to the border between the Melbourne CBD and the suburb of East Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. The station has two island platforms in a two-floor configuration, connected to street level via two underground concourses.
Riversdale railway station is located on the Alamein line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the eastern Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, and it opened on 30 May 1890.
Merri railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Northcote, and it opened on 8 October 1889 as Northcote. It was renamed Merri on 10 December 1906.
Croxton railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, serving the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Northcote, Victoria, Australia. Croxton is a unstaffed status ground structure station featuring two side platforms. It opened on 1 October 1889. The station has connections to Melbourne tram routes 11 and 86 on St George’s Road and High Street.
Thornbury railway station is a commuter railway station on the Mernda line, serving the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Thornbury, Victoria, Australia. Thornbury is an unstaffed status ground structure station featuring two side platforms. It opened on 8 October 1889.
Flinders Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Running roughly parallel to the Yarra River, Flinders Street forms the southern edge of the Hoddle Grid. It is exactly 1 mi (1.6 km) in length and one and a half chains in width.
Melbourne tram route 75 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Vermont South to Central Pier. The 22.8 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams. It is the longest route on the network.
Melbourne tram route 70 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Waterfront City to Wattle Park. The 16.5 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams.
The A-class Melbourne tram is a class of bogie trams that operate on the Melbourne tram network. Seventy were built by Comeng, Dandenong between 1984 and 1987 in two batches, 28 A1s and 42 A2s, with only minor differences. They are the smallest trams by capacity currently operating on the network.
Southbank tram depot is located in Southbank, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operated by Yarra Trams, it is one of eight tram depots on the Melbourne tram network.
Melbourne tram route 86 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Bundoora RMIT to Waterfront City. The 22.2-kilometre (13.8 mi) route is operated out of Preston depot with E class trams.
Melbourne tram route 30 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from St Vincent's Plaza to Central Pier. The 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi) route is operated out of Southbank depot with A and E class trams.
Melbourne tram route 31 was operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Hoddle Street to Victoria Harbour. The route was designed as a supplementary service along Collins Street, with services running between peak hours with reduced services on weekends.
Melbourne tram route 48 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Balwyn North to Victoria Harbour. The 13.5-kilometre (8.4 mi) route is operated out of Kew depot with A and C class trams.
Melbourne tram route 11 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from West Preston to Victoria Harbour. The 13.4-kilometre (8.3 mi) route is operated out of Preston depot with E class trams.
East Preston tram depot was a depot on the Yarra Trams network in Melbourne. Located on Plenty Road, East Preston, it opened in 1955 to coincide with the reintroduction of trams to Bourke Street. It closed in April 2016.
Harbour Esplanade is a waterfront street and thoroughfare in Docklands, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south from Navigation Drive in the south to Docklands Drive in the north. The road also forms the eastern boundary of the Victoria Harbour inlet and is adjacent to Victoria Dock.
The Melbourne tram network began in 1884 with the construction of the Fairfield Horse Tramway. However, the purpose of the line was to increase land prices in the area, and it soon closed during the depression in 1890. The first genuine attempt to construct a tramway network was the construction of the Richmond cable tram line by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1885. Over the next few years, 16 more cable tram lines were constructed, as well as numerous other horse tramways. The depression of the early 1890s slowed further expansion of the cable network. The first electric tram line was the Box Hill and Doncaster tramway which opened in 1889. This was a pioneering line in what was then the countryside and thus didn't receive much patronage. It closed in 1896. The next attempt at an electric tramway was Victorian Railways' St Kilda to Brighton line, which opened in 1906. Later that year, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company opened lines to Essendon and Maribyrnong. Many local councils formed their own tramway trusts and built tramways within their own constituency. The most successful of these was the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust.
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ignored (help)Media related to City Circle Tram at Wikimedia Commons