Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station (usually just called Flinders Street) 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.
Melbourne's 16 radial electrified train lines all originate from the station. It is also a part of the partly-underground, five-station City Loop which encircles the central business district.
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. 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, however, these were not accepted by the public, who preferred the tradition of analogue clocks, and they were quickly replaced. Similarly, plans in the 1970s to demolish the entire station and replace it with an office building were soon dismissed.
History
The first railway building to occupy the Flinders Street site was simply called Melbourne or City Terminus, and was a collection of weatherboard train sheds. This first station was completed in 1854 and was officially opened on September 12 by the Lieutenant-Governor Sir Charles Hotham. The Terminus was the first steam rail station in Australia, and the opening day saw the first public steam train trip in the country's history. It travelled to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne), over the now derelict Sandridge Bridge.
Melbourne's two other early central-city stations, Spencer Street Station and Princes Bridge Station, opened in 1859. Princes Bridge Station was later amalgamated into the Flinders Street site across the road.
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. Building work began in 1901 and ended in 1910.
Interesting Facts
- 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 4th longest in the world.
- The concourse building contains a ballroom (now 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.
| City Loop
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| Anticlockwise: Parliament ↔ Flinders Street ↔ Clockwise: Spencer Street
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| Frankston, Pakenham, Sandringham, Cranbourne, Belgrave, Glen Waverley, Alamein, Lilydale lines
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| City Loop → Flinders Street → Richmond
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| Hurstbridge, Epping lines
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| City Loop → Flinders Street → Jolimont
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| Upfield, Werribee, Broadmeadows, Sydenham, Williamstown, Flemington Racecourse lines
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| Via City Loop
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| Entire network
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