For information on all transit, including busses, trams and trains, see the metlink website at http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au

As Melbourne is a long-standing system with both mixed-traffic situations as well as separate ROW, it is perhaps an excellent system to compare with Toronto. Some of the grades and tight turning that exist in Toronto also exist in Melbourne. Additionally the system in Melbourne used trolley poles for power pick up in the not-too-distant past, but now uses pantographs, so it is an excellent example of what to expect should this be the future for Toronto.

Yarra Trams operates bi-directional streetcar vehicles. Most of the fleet are high-floor vehicles with steps to climb from street level. The fleet also includes three types of low-floor vehicles, including 36 Citadis 202 trams from Alstom, and 59 Combino trams (two models) from Siemens.

Some interesting aspects of the operation:

• all-door loading: fare cards may be purchased at train stations, convenience stores and news stands and are validated on board vehicles, plus 2-hour and day fare media may be purchased from a vending machine on board vehicles
• most track in the CBD (Central Business District) is not physically separated from traffic - yellow lines separating tram lanes from traffic lanes are generally respected
• there is a substantial amount of interlining of routes, especially in the CBD. This results in very frequent service on many downtown streets with multiple options to move around the CBD.
• right turns (Australia is left-hand driving, so this is like our left turns) in the CBD are often implemented as "Hook" turns to eliminate interference with tram operations (see below)
• A fare free "City Circle" route circles the CBD using heritage W Class trams

Tram Classes

W6 Class tram used on
City Circle route

A1 Class tram at
East Malvern on Route 3

Fare collection:

Fare cards may be purchased at train stations, convenience stores, and news stands. Fares may also be purchased from coin-only vending machines on each vehicle.

Metlink uses a zone system with Zone 1 covering downtown and the inner suburbs, and Zone 2 the outer suburbs. Most tram routes operate entirely within Zone 1, though routes 75, 86, and 109 enter Zone 2. On the network map to the right, yellow portions of routes are in Zone 1, and blue are in Zone 2.

Zone boundaries are overlapping. This means there is not a single point where one zone ends and another begins. Fare paid for either zone allows travel into the overlapping area. Two-zone fares are only required when travelling completely through to the other zone.

The inset shows the City Centre section. A discounted "City Saver" fare is available for travel within the shaded area. City Saver fares are A$2.40 and are good for a single ride within the City Saver area. A card with ten City Saver fares on it is available for the price of nine. The City Circle tram is shown in grey and is free.

Fare card must be validated on first use using one of several on-board validators. As Metlink also oversees train and bus operations, fare cards may be validated at train stations or on buses.

2-hour adult fares are A$3.30 for Zone 1, A$2.50 for Zone 2, and A$5.30 for both zones.

Roving the Routes

Full details of each route are not available at this time, but here are some photos and notes about each route. Click on the route map image to view the full map for the route (maps are between 300k and 650k each):

2-hour fares expire two hours from the next full hour after validation; cards validated after 6 p.m. expire at 3 a.m. the following day.

A day pass costs A$6.30 for Zone 1, A$4.40 for Zone 2, and A$9.90 for both zones. Day passes expire at the end of the calendar day.

One may purchase a card with ten 2-hour fares, five daily fares, or a week of unlimited travel. All three of these choices cost A$27.60 for Zone 1, A$19.00 for Zone 2, and A$46.60 for both zones.

Route 1 arriving at East Coburg

Route 1 entering service turning northbound on Holmes Street from Moorland Road

Route 3 arriving at Melbourne University

The monthly pass costs A$102.40 / A$68.60 / A$157.80 respectively.

The yearly pass is also available for A$1094 / A$733 / A$1689 respectively.

Ticket validator

Route 5 at Burke Road in Malvern

Route 5 turning north at St. Kilda Junction

Route 6 in Glen Iris on High Street at Malvern Road

Route 6 arriving at Melbourne University

Route 16 at St. Kilda

Route 8 on Toorak Road at Glenferrie

Route 8 after turning back on Cameron Street in Moreland

Route 16 at Kew - single track extends past terminal to connect with tracks to the west on Cotham Road to allow trams coming from or returning to Kew Depot

Route 16 ready for departure from Melbourne University

Route 19 at North Coburg

Route 19 on Elizabeth Street at Flinders Street

A pair of W6 Class trams on Route 30 at St. Vincent's Plaza

Route 31 arriving at St. Vincent's Plaza

Route 48 at New Quay Docklands

Route 48 on Doncaster Road at Balwyn Road in North Balwyn

Domain Road Interchange has three tracks. Track 3 (on the left in this photo) is used by Route 55 as it terminates here.

Route 55 at West Coburg

Route 57 on Elizabeth Street at Flinders Street

Route 59 at Airport West

Route 59 on Elizabeth Street at Flinders Street

Route 64 turning after passing southbound through St. Kilda Junction

Route 64 arriving at Melbourne University

Route 67 at Carnegie

Route 67 arriving at Melbourne University

Route 70 terminus at Wattle Park

Route 72 entering single track terminal at Camberwell.
The two separate overhead wires can be seen clearly here.

Route 72 arriving at Melbourne University

Route 75 at Vermont South terminal.
Former trolley pole mounting and hold-down hook is visible on this class A1 tram

Route 75 turning onto Riversdale Road from Camberwell

Route 78 at Victoria Street in North Richmond

Routes 78 and 79 are two versions of the same route.
Route 78 operates for the first part of the day and Route 79 finishes the day.

Route 96 arriving at Blyth Street in East Brunswick

Southbound Route 86 at Hodgson St

Route 86 at RMIT

Route 96 arriving at Blyth Street in East Brunswick

Route 96 about to depart St. Kilda Beach

Alstom Citadis on Route 109 at Port Melbourne southwest of the CBD

Citadis trams on Route 109 at Box Hill northeast of the CBD

Route 112 at Regent Street in West Preston

Route 112 at Fitzroy Street in St. Kilda

Tram Operations

Some aspects of tram operation in Melbourne are described below:

LRT and Private ROW Operations:

While much of Melbourne's tram network operates on public roads, either in full mixed traffic or in reserved lanes with no physical barrier, there is a significant amount of separated right-of-way that ranges from roadway medians to full private right-of-way away from a road.

Road Medians, Parallel ROW, and Transit Malls

Median ROW on Burwood Hwy used by Route 75 in Zone 2

Junction where Routes 96 and 109 branch to LRT sections

Median ROW used by Route 59 in Essendon

Route 112 at Arthurton - from here north to Miller, a wide median provides space for a tree-lined paved path for pedestrians and bicycles between the tracks

Parallel ROW used by Route 59 near Airport West between Matthews Ave (to the left of the photo) and Tullamarine Fwy (to the right)

Median on Brighton Rd at Chapel St used by Route 67
Brighton also has service road on each side

Bourke Street mall between Elizabeth and Swanston

Trams Crossing Railways at Grade:

There are a few locations in Melbourne where the tram network crosses the rail network at grade. In addition to the track crossing (trams use standard gauge, while the rail lines us a wide gauge of 1600 mm/5' 3"), the overhead crossing is not without its technical considerations.

Many stops in the CBD and some stops outside the CBD have information displays showing the expected time until the next tram arrival.

Tram information display on Elizabeth Street at the La Trobe Street stop

The trams use 600 volts DC, while the railway uses 1500 volts DC. The wiring at the intersection is called a railway/tramway square and is interlocked with the signal gates to provide the proper voltage.

Level crossing on Glenhuntly Road at Glenhuntly Station

In addition to, or in place of these visual displays, some stops have a pushbutton/speaker unit that will provide an audible version of this information.

Tram at Bell Street in East Coburg heading for Brunswick Depot

Revenue Service back to Depot:

Trams often run in revenue service, as non-scheduled "Route 0" cars, when returning to a depot...

After its last run on Route 48 to New Quay Docklands, this tram returned to the Kew Depot in revenue service also displaying route number "00"

Single track terminals:

Many routes have a stub terminal with a single track, instead of two tracks with a double crossover or a far side pocket track. This is an economical way of terminating a line where headways at the terminus permits.

The track does not need an automated turnout - a spring switch permits an incoming tram to enter and have the points be aligned for its outgoing return. The overhead wiring is simplified by not having the two wires actually connect. The incoming and outgoing wires run parallel to each other and the pantograph contacts both wires while on the single track section. In the days of trolley pole operation, poles were raised and lowered at the terminal, so the raised pole would be contacted with the outgoing wire.

Arriving Route 16 tram #3502 at Kew awaits departure of tram #3510 from single terminal track. Note how the overhead wiring from the two tracks converge but do not connect over the single terminal track. The pantograph of tram #3510 is contacting both wires.

Southbound view at RMIT

Junction Stops:

On St. Kilda Road, south of the CBD, Domain Road Interchange has three tracks and two platforms:

• The west track is used only by Route 55 as a single track terminus.

• The other two tracks are used by through Routes 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67, and 72.

Domain Road Interchange (tracks 1 to 3 from left to right). This interchange serves Routes 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 55, 64, 67, and 72. Route 55 terminates here using track 3, while all others pass through.

From the street side, the now out of service tram is on the left and the one on the right is ready to depart.

In the northeast corner of the CBD, St. Vincent's Plaza has three tracks and platforms:

• The north track is used only by Route 112 on its northbound run.

• The centre track is used by Routes 24 and 109 on their eastbound run and by arriving Routes 30 and 31.

• The south track is used by all routes in the opposite direction.

Routes 30 and 31 turn back east of this stop using a pocket track on the north side of the trough tracks.

Switch position signals northbound out of Melbourne University

Instead of a diagonal bar to indicate that a single switch is set for the diverging route, a numeric display shows which pocket track is selected

This stop at the north end of the CBD is the northern terminus of seven routes in addition to having Routes 1 and 8 passing through.

Headways during rush hours can be less than sixty seconds at times. Such headways with seven routes turning back at this location is made possible with the use of three tail tracks north of the stop.

A tram arriving that must turn back enters an available tail track for the operator to change ends and enter the southbound track when there is an opening.

Three trams are waiting in pocket tracks north of Melbourne University

Southbound tram passing tram in first pocket track north of Melbourne University

Hook Turns:

Well planning early on has resulted in main streets being fairly wide. Most main streets in the CBD have two lanes of traffic on either side of the two tram lanes, making them at least six lanes wide. Despite the wide streets, there are very few locations in the CBD where separate turn lanes exist.

At many intersections when needing to turn right from a street with trams, you must make your right turn from the left! (Melbourne is left-hand running, so this would be comparable to making left turns from the far right in Toronto).

This way, someone turning does not proceed out to block the trams while waiting to complete their turn. This is known as the hook turn.

When the light turns green, a right-turner proceeds into the intersection, but shifts further to the left, positioning the vehicle closer to the crosswalk line at the intersection.

This leaves them with a little more room for through traffic to pass on their right. In some cases, this even leaves enough space for through traffic in the lane they were in to pass.

Only when the traffic lights change for the other direction do the vehicles complete their turn. It is as if being in the waiting to turn position places the vehicle at the front of the line for the cross traffic to proceed once they receive a green light.

Click on the diagram to the left for the official details on using hook turns.

Send questions, comments, and photos here

This page last updated October 13, 2010