The Melbourne tramway network is a tramway system serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The tramway network is centred around the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and consists of 1,763 tram stops across 24 routes, with 493 trams and 250 kilometres of double tram track which served a patronage of 206 million over the year 2017-2018. It is the largest operational urban tram network in the world and one of the most used. Trams are the second most utilised form of public transport in Melbourne after the cities metropolitan commuter railway network.
Melbourne tram route 112 was operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from West Preston to St Kilda. The 18 kilometre route was operated out of East Preston depot with A, B and D2 class trams.
Melbourne tram route 16 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Melbourne University to Kew. The 20.2 kilometre route is operated out of Malvern depot with Z and D1 class trams.
Melbourne tram route 67 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Melbourne University to Carnegie. The 12.7-kilometre (7.9 mi) route is operated out of Glenhuntly depot with Z and B class trams.
Melbourne tram route 19 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Coburg North to Flinders Street station. The 10.2 kilometre route is operated out of Brunswick depot with B and D2 class trams.
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had been formed by the merger of a number of smaller tramway trusts and companies that operated throughout the city.
The Z-class are single-unit bogie trams that operate on the Melbourne tram network. Between 1975 and 1983, 230 trams spanning three sub-classes were built by Comeng, Dandenong. The design was based on two similar Gothenburg tram models, and a prototype built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. While the Z1 and Z2-class trams were very similar, the Z3-class had significant design changes.
The Hawthorn Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. Its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920.
The Ballarat Tramway Museum is an operating tramway museum, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The museum is run by volunteers and has a fleet of trams which operate on part of the original horse tramway around Lake Wendouree and the Botanical Gardens. It has a large research collection, archive of information and more than 3,500 items about the Ballarat tramways. The trams in Ballarat operated on a large network through the city from 1887 until 1971.
Preston Workshops is the heavy maintenance facility for the Melbourne tram network. The workshop is located on a block surrounded by Miller Street, St George's Road, Oakover Road and the Mernda railway line in Preston, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Following a major redevelopment in April 2016, it also became an operational depot under the name New Preston Depot, taking over from East Preston.
Alexander Cameron was a lawyer, local councillor, and tramways administrator. Following university education he established a legal practice, and later ran for, and won, election on Town of Malvern council. In this position he advocated for the establishment of a local tramway system, and became the inaugural chairman of the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust. In 1919 he was appointed as the inaugural chairman of the newly established Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board and presided in that capacity until 1935, creating a unified tram network from the disparate systems that were hitherto operating in Melbourne. He was recognised as a transport expert from his years of experience managing and expanding tramways of Melbourne.
The L-class was a class of six trams ordered from James Moore & Sons by the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT). However, by the time they were delivered in 1921, the PMTT had been taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB).
The M-class was a class of 17 trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) as numbers 1 to 10, and 33 to 39. All passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920 when it took over the Municipal Tramway Trusts, becoming the M-class and being renumbered 107 to 116, and 183 to 189.
The R-class was a class of eight trams built by James Moore & Sons and the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB). The Fitzroy, Northcote & Preston Tramways Trust (FNPTT) placed five trams in service in 1920. All passed to the MMTB on 2 February 1920 when it took over the FNPTT becoming the R-class and being renumbered 172-176.
The T-class was a class of six trams built by Duncan & Fraser, Adelaide for the Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust (MBCTT) as numbers 13-18. All passed to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920 when it took over the MBCTT. They were then designated T-class and renumbered 177-182.
The X-class was a class of two Birney trams imported from United States manufacturers JG Brill Company and St Louis Car Company by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. In June 1924 both entered service from Hawthorn depot on the Power Street to Hawthorn Bridge service. In 1928 both were transferred to Glenhuntly depot to operate the Point Ormond route.
The X2-class was a class of six trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. Developed from the X1-class, they differed in having larger wheels, angled windshields and only two doors.
The Adelaide D type tram was a class of trams operated by the Municipal Tramways Trust on the Adelaide tram network from 1910 until 1958.
The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia
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.
