Melbourne Central railway station

The station was built using cut and cover construction. In December 1973 to permit excavation of the station, La Trobe Street and its tram tracks were temporarily relocated to the south onto the site of what is now the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, and moved back on completion of the work in 1978.[4] The pit was 168 metres (551 ft) long and 22.5 metres (74 ft) wide, 29 metres (95 ft) deep at the Swanston Street end and 22 metres (72 ft) deep at the Elizabeth Street end. Seven layers of struts were used to support the excavation, with 2,600 tonnes of steel temporary supports required.[5]

The station was designed by architectural firm of Perrott Lyon Mathieson, with concept design by David Simpson, and detailed design by Graeme Butler.[6] The design included the two pairs of platforms, a spacious concourse directly under LaTrobe Street, with entries facing the Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street corners. The Swanston Street corner included a set of raised circular platforms above the entry; during the Royal Visit, Queen Elizabeth was shown around the not yet operational station on the 28 May 1980, and unveiled a plaque naming it the Queen Elizabeth Plaza.[7]

The station was finally opened on 24 January 1981, and was named Museum Station after the adjacent National Museum of Victoria and Science Museum of Victoria in the State Library of Victoria complex on the opposite side of Swanston Street. It was the first station on the loop to open,[8] initially services only operated for the Burnley and Caulfield Groups on platforms 2 and 4, with trains from the Clifton Hill Group starting to use platform 1 on 31 October 1982, and trains from the Northern Group starting to use platform 3 on 1 May 1984. The Elizabeth Street entrance to the station opened on 5 April 1982.

The adjoining Melbourne Central Shopping Centre opened in 1991,[9] being built around the existing escalators to street level, with only minor integration between the station concourse and shopping centre. The station was renamed after the shopping centre on 16 February 1997,[10][11] and a few months later on July 13, the Museum of Victoria closed on the State Library site[12] in preparation for being relocated to Carlton, where it reopened as the Melbourne Museum in Carlton in 2000.

The station concourse was extensively redeveloped in 2002/03 as part of the renovation of the shopping centre, integrating it into the complex. The direct escalators from the concourse to Swanston Street closed in November 2003, and were replaced by escalators rising into the atrium under the cone in the centre of the shopping centre, making the path through more convoluted.[13] The concourse under LaTrobe Street was integrated into the shopping centre with the installation of numerous shops.

In 2025, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury railway lines will cease to stop at Melbourne Central Station as the Metro Tunnel Project opens.

Melbourne Central, has an underground concourse and two levels of platforms below it (2 island platforms and four tracks). Each platform serves a separate group of rail lines that leave the Loop and radiate out into the city's suburbs. At peak times with a train arriving every 2.5 minutes, the station has a passenger flow of 30,000 per hour. Three elevators were initially provided, as well as 21 escalators.[5] Melbourne Central is a premium station, meaning that it is staffed from first to last train and provides extra customer services.

The concourse has two sections separated by the shopping centre food court:

• The Elizabeth Street concourse has stairs and three escalators providing access to the street, a walkway to the Swanston Street concourse, a booking office, ticket barriers, toilets, and stairs and five escalators leading down to the platforms.
• The Swanston Street concourse was altered in the early 2000s when redevelopment works were carried out at the adjacent Melbourne Central Shopping Centre. Inside the ticket barriers there are toilets, and two lifts and five escalators going to the platforms. Outside is a food court, an exit to La Trobe Street and Level LG of the shopping centre (which passes under Little Lonsdale Street). There is also a lift and four escalators to the shopping centre level above. On the next level up (Level G) there is access to Little Lonsdale and LaTrobe Streets via the shopping centre. Access to Swanston Street is via three escalators rising another floor (or the lift to level 1 and a 70m walk), and a walk through the shopping centre past the shot tower.

Platform 1 - Clifton Group

• Mernda line: all stations and limited stops services to Mernda
• Hurstbridge line: all stations and limited stops services to Hurstbridge

Platform 2 - Caulfield Group

• Pakenham line: all stations and limited stops services to Pakenham
• Cranbourne line: all stations and limited stops services to Cranbourne
• Frankston line: all stations and limited stops services to Frankston
• Sandringham line: weekend all stations services to Sandringham

During 2025 Sunbury, Pakenham and Cranbourne lines services will travel through the Metro Tunnel and no longer service Melbourne Central directly.

Platform 3 - Northern Group

• Craigieburn line: all stations services to Craigieburn
• Upfield line: – all stations services to Upfield
• Sunbury line: all stations and limited stops services to Sunbury
• Werribee line: weekend all stations services to Werribee

Platform 4 - Burnley Group

• Lilydale line: all stations and limited stops services to Lilydale
• Belgrave line: all stations and limited stops services to Belgrave
• Glen Waverley line: all stations and limited stops services to Glen Waverley
• Alamein line: weekday all stations and limited stops services to Alamein

Yarra Trams operate thirteen services to or via Melbourne Central station, on Swanston, Elizabeth, and La Trobe Streets.

Swanston Street

• 1: East Coburg – South Melbourne Beach[14]
• 3/3a: Melbourne University – East Malvern[15]
• 5: Melbourne University – Malvern[16]
• 6: Moreland – Glen Iris[17]
• 16: Melbourne University – Kew[18]
• 64: Melbourne University – East Brighton[19]
• 67: Melbourne University – Carnegie[20]
• 72: Melbourne University – Camberwell[21]

Elizabeth Street

• 19: North Coburg – Flinders Street station[22]
• 57: West Maribyrnong – Flinders Street station[23]
• 59: Airport West – Flinders Street station[24]

La Trobe Street

• 30: Etihad Stadium – St Vincent's Plaza[25]
• 35: City Circle[26]

Transdev Melbourne operate five routes from Lonsdale Street (Melbourne Central side):

• 200: to Bulleen[27]
• 201: to Westfield Doncaster[28]
• 207: to Donvale[29]
• 250 to La Trobe University[30]
• 251: to Northland Shopping Centre[31]

Transdev Melbourne operate eleven routes from Lonsdale Street (Myer side):

• 250 to Garden City[30]
• 251: to Garden City[31]
• 302: to Queen Street City[32]
• 303: to Queen Street City[33]
• 305: to Spencer Street City[34]
• 309: to Queen Street City[35]
• 318: to Spencer Street City[36]
•  SmartBus  905: to Spencer Street City[37]
•  SmartBus  906: to Spencer Street City[38]
•  SmartBus  907: to Spencer Street City[39]
•  SmartBus  908: to Spencer Street City[40]

Transdev Melbourne operate nine routes from Swanston/Lonsdale Streets (QV):

• 302: to Box Hill Central Shopping Centre[32]
• 303: to Ringwood North[33]
• 305: to The Pines Shopping Centre[34]
• 309: to Donvale[35]
• 318: to Deep Creek[36]
•  SmartBus  905: to The Pines Shopping Centre[37]
•  SmartBus  906: to Warrandyte Bridge[38]
•  SmartBus  907: to Mitcham station[39]
•  SmartBus  908: to The Pines Shopping Centre[40]

• Media related to Melbourne Central railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway map at street-directory.com.au