Melbourne University tram stop is a major terminating point and stop of the Melbourne tram system. It features a single

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

and three shunts. It is located on

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically bisects Melbourne's city centre and is famous as the wor ...

, Carlton, and is the major tram stop for the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, its namesake. It opened in 2005, and is one of the busiest stops on the network; six tram lines terminate at it, while two run through.

History

On 17 January 1996, a

headshunt A headshunt (or escape track in the United States) is a short length of Rail tracks, track provided to release locomotives at Terminal station, terminal platforms, or to allow Shunt (rail), shunting to take place clear of main lines. Terminal hea ...

opened to the north of the Melbourne University tram stop on

, Carlton, adjacent to the

to allow services from the south to terminate. It had one central terminating line accessed by three crossovers. Problems with the length of D class trams resulted in the headshunt being rebuilt as three separate sidings in 2005. The project, begun by M>Tram, was inherited by

Yarra Trams Yarra Trams is the trading name of the operator of the Trams in Melbourne, tram network in Melbourne, Australia, which is owned by VicTrack and leased to Yarra Trams by the Victoria State Government, Victorian Department of Transport and Planni ...

when it commenced operation of the entire tram system in April 2004, and was endorsed by the University of Melbourne and

Melbourne City Council The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2021, the city has an area of and had a population of 149,615. The city's motto is "''vires acquirit eundo''" which ...

. It did however attract some controversy, with the

Public Transport Users Association The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is a community-based public transport lobby group in Victoria, Australia, based in Melbourne. It is run entirely by volunteers and has no full-time staff. History and aims The organisation was fou ...

and

Paul Mees Paul Mees (20 March 1961 – 19 June 2013) was an Australian academic, specialising in urban planning and public transport. Mees died on 19 June 2013, 14 months after the diagnosis of kidney cancer. He was 52. At the time of his death he was ...

claiming that the location was unsuitable, as if would force those wishing to cross Swanston Street to walk a further . Construction of the stop commenced on 11 January 2005, with the stop opening to passengers on 15 February 2005, for the first 12 days of construction tram services terminated either side of the works, with a shuttle bus diverting around the works site connecting the tram routes.

Design

Melbourne University tram stop consists of one

that provides accessible entry to

low-floor tram A low-floor tram is a tram that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace. ...

s, it is long enough to serve two D2-class trams at the same time, and has three shunts.New tram stop in harmony with University precinct
FMSA Architects 11 January 2005 It was designed by FMSA Architects for Yarra Trams and Department of Infrastructure. The design consists of six steel 'trees', clad with

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

roofing protecting the seating areas; staff amenities; and ramps permitting full disabled access to the stop. The island platform is about long and wide; shunt number 1 is long, and shunts 2 and 3 are long.

Services

Melbourne University tram stop is one of the busiest on the system, and is utilised by eight routes, six terminating and two through running.Melbourne University / Swanston St #1

Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was previously the trading name of the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victo ...

References

External links

{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Tram stops in Melbourne Transport in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Transport infrastructure completed in 1996 1996 establishments in Australia