NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Railways in Melbourne

Melbourne, capital city of the State of Victoria, Australia, has a long history of railway development. Melbourne's first railway opened in 1854, when only 20 years earlier the city did not exist. Today, Melbourne's suburban railway network consists of 16 electrified lines, the central City Loop subway, and 200 stations. It is operated by Connex Melbourne. Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ... Australia, having a federal system of government, is divided into states and territories. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1854 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This is a list of the 200 currently operating suburban railway stations (216 including greater metropolitan stations) in Melbourne, Australia. ... Overhead wire in Coventry, England A railway electrification system is a way of supplying electric power to electric locomotives or multiple units. ... The City Loop (properly called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a railway - mostly underground, but partly surface-level and partly elevated - that encloses the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street station in 1865. ... Connex Melbournes Logo Connex Melbourne is wholly-owned by Connex Australia, a subsidiary of the International Connex Group. ...

The first train

The first steam train to travel in Australia took its maiden trip on September 12, 1854. (Although horse-drawn 'trains' debuted on a railway between Goolwa and Port Elliot in South Australia on May 18 of that year, Melbourne hosted the first mechanical railway). The railway line stretched 4 km from the Melbourne (or City) Terminus (on the site of modern day Flinders Street Station) to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne). As with many of Australia's early railways, it was owned and operated by a private company - the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company, which was formed in 1853. A locomotive (from lat. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... Goolwa (35°30′ S 138°46′ E, population approx 2400) is an historic river port on the River Murray near the Murray Mouth in South Australia, and joined by a bridge to Hindmarsh Island. ... Port Elliot (35°31′ S 138°40′ E) is a town in South Australia on the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. ... Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words Ï‡Î¯Î»Î¹Î± (khilia) = thousand and Î¼ÎÏ„ÏÎ¿ (metro) = count/measure). ... Flinders Street Stations main entrance and dome. ... Port Melbourne is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Work began on laying the railway in March 1853, and trains were ordered from Robert Stephenson and Company of the United Kingdom. The first train was locally built by Robertson, Martin and Smith, however, owing to delays in shipping. Australia's first steam locomotive was built in ten weeks and cost £2,700. Look up March in Wiktionary, the free dictionary March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... UKP redirects here. ...

The opening of the line occurred during the period of the Victorian gold rush - a time when both Melbourne and Victoria undertook massive capital works, each with its own gala opening. The inaugural journey on the Sandridge line was no exception. According to the Argus newspaper's report of the next day: "Long before the hour appointed ... a great crowd assembled round the station at the Melbourne terminus, lining the whole of Flinders Street". Lieutenant-Governor Sir Charles Hotham and Lady Hotham were aboard the train - which consisted of two first class carriages and one second class - and were presented with satin copies of the railway's timetable and bylaws. The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria in Australia between approximately 1851 and the early 1860s. ... Gala may refer to A public celebration or Carnival, especially in the north of England - such as the Durham Miners Gala. ... Flinders Street is a notable street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... List of Governors of Victoria See Governors of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Governor. ... Captain Sir Charles Hotham, RN, KCB, was Governor of Victoria, Australia (22 May 1855 - 31 December 1855) Categories: People stubs ... First class is a particularly high quality travel class offered by passenger airlines, railways and shipping companies. ... Second Class Scout is a rank attainable by a Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and ranks above Tenderfoot and below First Class. ... Look up Satin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Satin is a cloth that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. ... A timetable is an organized list or schedule, usually set out in tabular form, providing information about a series of arranged events: in particular, the time at which it is planned these events will take place. ... A Bylaw (sometimes also seen as By-Law or ByLaw) was originally the Viking town law in the Danelaw. ...

The trip took 10 minutes, none of the later stations along the line having been built. On arriving at Station Pier (onto which the tracks extended), it was hailed with gun-salutes by the warships HMS Electra and HMS Fantome.

By March 1855, the four engines ordered from the UK were all in service, with trains running every half-hour. They were named Melbourne, Sandridge, Victoria, and Yarra (after the Yarra River over which the line crossed). 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Melbourne as seen from south-east side along the Yarra River, home of many rowers and active crew teams The Yarra River is a river in southern Victoria (Australia), originally called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri people who occupied the Yarra valley prior to European settlement. ...

The beginnings of expansion

In May 1857, a 4.5 km line was opened to St Kilda (converted to light rail in the 1980s). Soon after, lines were opened to Prahran, Brighton, Punt Road (Richmond), Hawthorn, and Essendon. Look up May in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... For other places called St Kilda, see St Kilda Luna Park, one of St Kildas most prominent landmarks St Kilda is a suburb of Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, in Australia. ... This article is about light rail systems in general. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Prahran (pronounced prah-RAN) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Coat of arms of Brighton Brighton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Richmond is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... Hawthorns Glenferrie Road shopping strip, facing north towards Kew. ... Essendon is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

Also in 1857, a line from Geelong, to Melbourne's southwest, had been built to the suburb of Williamstown. This was later extended to the city, and provided both suburban and intercity services. - - Nickname: City by the Bay Geography Area: 1,240 kmÂ² Coordinates: Time Zone UTC +10:00 Population (2003) 200,067 Among Australian cities: Density: persons/kmÂ² Political Mayor: Shane Dowling Governing body: City of Greater Geelong Geelong is a port city of 200,067 people (2003 census) located on Corio... It has been suggested that Suburbia be merged into this article or section. ... Williamstown is one of the oldest suburbs in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

Modern rolling stock

Melbourne's suburban rolling stock currently consists of: Image File history File linksMetadata SiemensFrankston. ... Image File history File linksMetadata SiemensFrankston. ... The Frankston railway line is a suburban railway in Melbourne, Australia. ... Not to be confused with railcar. ...

Also of note is the Double Deck Development and Demonstration train, commonly known as the 4D, which was delivered in the early 1990's and last saw revenue service in 2002 after repeated failures. Only one 4 car set was ever delivered and used. The term Comeng originally defined the company COMmonwealth ENGineering which manufactured Melbourne trains and the Melbourne A/B and Z tram variants. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Downer EDi (ASX code: DOW) is an Australian company specialising in engineering and infrastructure management services to the power, rail, road, telecommunications, mining and mineral processing industries within Australia. ... M>Train was the former operator of half of Melbournes suburban railway network. ... Alstom (formerly GEC-Alsthom) (Euronext: ALO) is a large French company whose businesses are power generation and manufacturing trains (e. ... Connex Melbournes Logo Connex Melbourne is wholly-owned by Connex Australia, a subsidiary of the International Connex Group. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Hitachi train (left) at Flinders Street Station The Hitachi train (often called Hitachis or Silvers) is a type of electric train that operates on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. ... Hitachi Ltd. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... A citybound Siemens train at Newport station. ... Siemens AG (FWB: SIE, NYSE: SI) is the worlds largest electronics company. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The XTrapolis train (also written as XTRAPOLIS) is an electric passenger train, designed by the transport technology company Alstom. ... Alstom (formerly GEC-Alsthom) (Euronext: ALO) is a large French company whose businesses are power generation and manufacturing trains (e. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Harris trains were first introduced to the Melbourne metropoiltan railway system around the 1950s with the last of them seeing service up to the late 1980s. ... The Stony Point line is a greater-metropolitan railway line in Melbourne, Australia. ... The 4D on the Flinders Street viaduct The 4D (standing for Double Deck Development and Demonstration) was a prototype double deck electric train built for the Public Transport Corporation of Melbourne, Australia. ...

(All figures are 3-car sets, with the exception of the MTH carriages and the 4D set. Hitachi trains are required to run with 2 sets coupled together.)

Gauge

All Melbourne trains (except interstate ones) use 1600 mm (Irish Broad Gauge) gauge. All trams, including the rail lines converted to light rail, and interstate trains use standard gauge, 1435 mm. Great Western Railway broad gauge steam locomotives awaiting scrapping in 1892 after the conversion to standard gauge. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ...

Map

External links

Contents

The first train

The beginnings of expansion

Modern rolling stock

Gauge

Map

External links

See also

Contents

The first train GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

The beginnings of expansion

Modern rolling stock

Gauge

Map

External links

See also

The first train