Below Rail Infrastructure, Passenger Rail

Melbourne’s passengers get shared platform

Melbourne Tram

Passengers on Melbourne’s tram Route 55 and bus routes 216, 219 and 220 will now benefit from what Public Transport Victoria is calling a “win for intermodal connectivity”.

Passengers on those routes can now safely and easily switch between modes at Melbourne’s first accessible interchange on Queensbridge Street, PTV said on June 1.

The new platform stop outside Crown Casino is the only place in Melbourne where tram and bus passengers board their vehicle from the same platform.

Two level-access tram stops were built on Queensbridge Street in conjunction with upgrades to track and overhead infrastructure, as part of the $65 million that PTV invests each year to improve Melbourne’s tram network, the authority explained.

PTV said the key customer benefits of the new Stops 112 Casino East and 114 City Road & Kings Way include:

  • easy access to low-floor trams and buses
  • safer and faster boarding
  • new passenger information displays
  • new seating, shelters and pedestrian signals.

The project has been delivered by Yarra Trams on behalf of PTV, in two stages over 10 days.

It is part of a series of major tram network upgrades since the start of May that are scheduled to continue over this long weekend, with the renewal of 40-year-old tram tracks on Swanston Street at Federation Square, Melbourne’s busiest tram stop.

The project will take place from 1am on Saturday, June 6 to 5am on Tuesday, June 9, if all goes according to plan.

During that time Yarra Trams will also take the opportunity to renew the tram tracks on Swanston Street between La Trobe and A’Beckett streets, PTV added.

Preliminary work will begin for the track renewal on Swanston Street in the early hours of Wednesday, June 3, and will continue until the start of the major work at 1am on Saturday, June 6.