Flinders Street railway station

Flinders Street
PTV metropolitan and regional rail station
Flinders Street station main entrance, corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets,
February 2021
General information
Location207–361 Flinders Street
Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Australia
Coordinates37°49′05″S 144°58′01″E / 37.818078°S 144.96681°E / -37.818078; 144.96681
Owned byVicTrack
Operated byMetro Trains
Line(s)
Distance1.23 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms13 (plus one removed)
Tracks15
Train operators
Connections
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingNone
Bicycle facilitiesNone
AccessibleYes—step free access
Other information
StatusPremium station
Station codeFSS
Fare zoneMyki Zone 1
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened12 September 1854 (1854-09-12)
Electrified28 May 1919 (1500 V DC overhead)
Previous namesMelbourne Terminus
Passengers
2019-202021.504 million 24.07%
2020-20218.528 million 60.34%
2021–202211.393 million 33.59%
2022–202318.793 million 64.96%
2023–202420.345 million 8.26%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station
Direction of travel through the City Loop on metropolitan lines changes to either Southern Cross or Parliament depending on the line and time of day.
Terminus Hurstbridge line Southern Cross or Jolimont
Mernda line
Alamein line Southern Cross or Richmond
Belgrave line
Lilydale line
Glen Waverley line
Craigieburn line Southern Cross or Parliament
Sunbury line
Upfield line
Cranbourne line Richmond
Pakenham line
Southern Cross Frankston line Richmond
towards Frankston
Werribee line
Williamstown line
Terminus Flemington Racecourse line Southern Cross
Sandringham line Richmond
towards Sandringham
Preceding station V/Line Following station
Southern Cross
Terminus
Gippsland line Richmond
Former services
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Terminus   St Kilda line   South Melbourne
towards St Kilda
Terminus   Port Melbourne line   Montague
towards Port Melbourne
  List of closed railway stations in Melbourne  
Future services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station
through to Werribee or Williamstown Sandringham line Richmond
towards Sandringham
through to Sandringham Werribee line Southern Cross
Williamstown line
Terminus Frankston line Southern Cross or Richmond
towards Frankston
Town Hall
through to Watergardens or Sunbury Pakenham line Anzac
Cranbourne line
through to East Pakenham or Cranbourne Sunbury line State Library
Building details
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeRailway station terminus
Architectural styleFederation/Edwardian Period Baroque
Elevation20.6 metres (68 ft) AHD
Construction started1900 (1900)
Completed1909 (1909)
Cost£A 514,000
Technical details
Material
  • Sandstone, bluestone, granite
  • Copper roof
  • Trägerwellblech system flooring/roofing
  • Corrugated galvanised iron roofing
  • Lead glazed Edwardian Majolica plain and lettered wall tiles
Design and construction
Architect(s)James W. Fawcett
Architecture firmFawcett and Ashworth
EngineerH.P.C. Ashworth
Official nameFlinders Street Railway Station Complex
CriteriaA, E, F, G
Designated20 August 1982
Reference no.H1083
Heritage Overlay numberHO649

Flinders Street railway station is a major railway station located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the busiest railway station in Victoria, serving the entire metropolitan rail network, 15 tram routes travelling to and from the city, and V/Line services to Gippsland.

Opened in 1854 by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company, the station, but not the current building, is the oldest in Australia, backing onto the Yarra River in the central business district. The complex now includes 13 platforms and structures that stretch over more than two city blocks, from east of Swanston Street to nearly at Market Street.

Flinders Street station is served by Metro Trains services, and V/Line regional services to Gippsland. It is the busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with an average of 77,153 daily entries recorded in the 2017/18 fiscal year. It was the terminus of the first railway in Australia (the Port Melbourne line) and was reputedly the world's busiest passenger station in the 1920s, owing to the concentration of services there, which were only dispersed after the construction of the City Loop in the 1970s.

The main platform (operationally divided into platforms 1 and 14) is Australia's second longest, and the eighteenth-longest railway platform in the world. Trains at Flinders Street station connect with several tram services, and is the site of two of Melbourne's busiest pedestrian crossings, both across Flinders Street, including one of Melbourne's few pedestrian scrambles, at the junction with Elizabeth Street.

The current station building was completed in 1909 and is a cultural icon of Melbourne. The distinctive and eclectic Edwardian building, with its prominent dome, arched entrance, tower and clocks is one of the city's most recognisable landmarks, and its grand, somewhat exotic character led to the popular myth that the design was actually intended for Mumbai's Victoria Terminus and vice versa, but was swapped in the post.

The Melbourne saying "I'll meet you under the clocks" refers to the row of indicator clocks above the main entrance, which show the next departure for each line; the alternative, "I'll meet you on the steps", refers to the wide staircase beneath the clocks.

It has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register since 1982.