Princes Pier is a 580 metre long [1] historic pier on Port Phillip, in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was known as the New Railway Pier until renamed Prince's Pier after the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) who visited Melbourne in May 1920. [2]
The pier was constructed between 1912 and 1915 by the Melbourne Harbor Trust to supplement the adjacent Station Pier (originally the 'Railway Pier'). From completion in 1915 until 1969 it was also a major arrival point for new migrants, particularly during the post-war period. In addition to a pier, there was a gatehouse and barriers, terminal building, amenities rooms, goods lockers, ablution blocks, railway sidings and passenger gangways. [3]
From opening the pier was linked by rail to the Port Melbourne railway line, via double lines branching from the Melbourne side of Graham station. Eight railway tracks ran onto the bridge, four along either face. [4] A passenger rail service was provided to the pier after 30 May 1921 operated by suburban electric trains. Running when ships were docked at the pier, it was usually operated by a single double ended 'swing door' motor car until the service ended in November 1930, because it was not financially rewarding for the Victorian Railways. [5] The overhead wiring was removed on 17 August 1953, and the line singled and worked as a siding from 21 March 1961. [5]
With the containerisation boom the pier became unused, being closed to public access in the early 1990s due to the poor timber condition. Squatters caused a fire in the late 1990s that destroyed the store structures. [2] In the three years to 2004, 14 fires occurred. [1] A refurbishment, estimated to cost $14 million, was announced by the State Government in April 2006, with the first 196 metres of the pier to be fully restored. Beyond that point, the decking was removed and the original pylons preserved. A full restoration was estimated to cost $60 million. [6] A contract for the work was awarded in June 2007, [7] and work began in October of the same year. [8] The refurbished section of the pier reopened to the public in December 2011.
Flinders Street railway station is located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1854, the historic station serves the entire metropolitan rail network, as well as some country services to eastern Victoria. Backing onto the Yarra River in the heart of the city, the complex includes platforms and structures that stretch over more than two whole city blocks, from east of Swanston Street nearly to Market Street.
The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of 37 square kilometres (14 sq mi) and had a population of 169,961. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she goes."
Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km (1.9 mi) south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a population of 17,633 at the 2021 census.
The Frankston railway line is a 42.7 km commuter rail passenger train service in Melbourne, Victoria. It operates between Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district and Frankston through the south-eastern suburbs including Richmond, South Yarra, Armadale, Malvern, Caulfield East, Glen Huntly, Ormond, McKinnon, Bentleigh, Moorabbin, Cheltenham, Mentone, Parkdale, Mordialloc, Aspendale, Edithvale, Chelsea, Bonbeach, Carrum, Seaford, and Frankston. The line continues on to Stony Point as the non-electrified Stony Point line from Frankston, however, there are no through services between Stony Point and the city. It is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne and is part of the Public Transport Victoria metropolitan rail network. Between Caulfield and the city, the Frankston line acts as a de facto local service whilst Pakenham/Cranbourne line trains run express.
The Werribee railway line is a commuter rail passenger train service in Melbourne, Australia, operating between Werribee in the western suburbs to Flinders Street in the central business district. The line traverses the flat plains of Melbourne's western suburbs, and after leaving Footscray, has no significant earthworks. The area around the outer end of the line has seen significant residential growth in recent years, resulting in strong patronage growth. It is part of the Melbourne metropolitan rail network operated by Metro Trains.
The Melbourne rail network is a passenger and freight train system in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The metropolitan passenger rail network is centred on the Melbourne CBD and consists of 222 stations across 16 lines, serving a yearly ridership of 243.2 million. It is the core of the larger Victorian railway network, with links to both intrastate and interstate systems.
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 (1.609 km) in length and one and a half chains in width. It is named for the explorer Matthew Flinders, erroneously credited with discovering Port Phillip at the time of its naming. It extends eastwards as far as Spring Street and the Treasury Gardens and westwards past Batman's Hill to the Melbourne Docklands. As the closest street to the river, Flinders Street serviced Melbourne's original river port. Customs House, now the site for Victoria's Immigration Museum, is on Flinders Street.
Station Pier is a historic Australian pier on Port Phillip, in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Opened in 1854, the pier is Melbourne's primary passenger terminal, servicing interstate ferries and cruise ships, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for containerised and general cargo in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, and covers an area at the mouth of the Yarra River, downstream of Bolte Bridge, which is at the head of Port Phillip, as well as several piers on the bay itself. Since 1 July 2003, the Port of Melbourne has been managed by the Port of Melbourne Corporation, a statutory corporation created by the State of Victoria.
The Sandridge Bridge is a historic bridge, originally carrying a railway, over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs diagonally to the river's banks and is 178.4 metres (585 ft) long. In 2006 it was redeveloped as a pedestrian and cycle path featuring public art. It is the third bridge on the site and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Transport in Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, consists of several interlinking modes. Melbourne is a hub for intercity, intracity and regional travel. Road-based transport accounts for most trips across many parts of the city, facilitated by Australia's largest freeway network. Public transport, including the world's largest tram network, trains and buses, also forms a key part of the transport system. Other dominant modes include walking, cycling and commercial-passenger vehicle services such as taxis.
Princes Bridge was a Melbourne railway station built in 1859 and was the terminus for all Epping line and Hurstbridge line trains. The station was named after the adjacent Princes Bridge, which crosses the Yarra River. Originally Princes Bridge station was isolated from Flinders Street station, even though it was adjacent to it, sited just on the opposite side of Swanston Street. Some years later the railway tracks were extended under the street to join the two stations, and Princes Bridge slowly became amalgamated into the larger Flinders Street station. This process was completed in May 1997.
Graham was a railway station, now converted to light rail, on the former Port Melbourne railway line, in the inner Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located to the north of Graham Street, between Evans Street and Station Street, the station has been demolished since 1987, and is now served by route 109 trams, stopping at a pair of low level platforms.
Port Melbourne is a railway station in the Melbourne suburb of the same name located on the former Port Melbourne line, the first significant railway in Australia.
Montague was a railway station, now converted to a light rail stop, on the former Port Melbourne railway line in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Melbourne, Australia. The station was located to the south of the Montague Street road underpass, between Woodgate Street and Gladstone Lane, with a large goods shed located on the Melbourne side of the station. The station buildings and platforms have been demolished, and there are now a pair of low-level platforms forming a tram stop on route 109.
Echuca railway station is located on the Deniliquin line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Echuca, and opened on 19 September 1864.
The rail network of Melbourne, Australia, has a significant number of railway lines and yards serving freight traffic. Rail transport in Victoria is heavily focused on Melbourne, and, as a consequence, much of the state's rail freight passes through the metropolitan network.
The Flinders Street Viaduct is a railway bridge in Melbourne, Australia. Made up of six tracks of varying ages, it links Flinders Street station to Southern Cross station and forms the main link between the eastern and western parts of the Victorian rail network.
Ballarat North Workshops is a railway systems engineering facility located in the provincial city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. They are located in the suburb of Soldiers Hill on Creswick Road, and occupy 5.5 hectares of land beside the junction of the Mildura and Serviceton railway lines.
Jolimont Yard was an array of railway lines and carriage sidings on the edge of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Located between Flinders Street station, Richmond Junction, the Yarra River and Flinders Street they were often criticised for cutting off the city from the river, being the site of many redevelopment proposals. The Princes Gate Towers were built over part of the yard in the 1960s, which themselves were replaced by Federation Square in the 1990s. The rail sidings themselves were progressively removed from the 1980s to the 1990s with only running lines today, but the area continues to be referred to as the 'Jolimont railyards' by Melburnians.
Victorian Railways signal diagrams:
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham | Port Melbourne line, Princes Pier branch | Terminus | ||
| List of closed railway stations in Melbourne | ||||