Lea Carre | September 18, 2024
In September, Australia's oldest railway station celebrates being a major rail hub for Melbourne residents for almost two centuries.
Flinders Street Station celebrated its 170th anniversary on 12 September. A milestone for Melbourne, it remains the busiest station on the metropolitan area network, with more than 19 million passengers using it in the past year.
“Flinders Street Station is the heart of Melbourne's rail network and an icon of our city,” said Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Danny Pearson.
Flinders Street Station, formerly known as 'Melbourne Terminal', began operations in 1854 through a weather shed on one platform on the banks of the Yarra River.
Some of the original station design remains to this day, with part of the roof moved to Hawthorn Station in 1901.
By 1910, a new station building, originally called “Green Light,” was opened. There remains a famous anecdote known among visitors. It was the job of one person to manually change departure clocks up to 900 times over an eight-hour shift.
Today, locals and tourists alike continue to meet 'under the clock', with more than 2,200 train services operating on the metropolitan network on weekdays, with most services connected to this iconic Departs and arrives at stations.
“Everyone in Melbourne has special memories of this station – of meeting up with friends and family under the clock, or strolling through the station on the way to the G's football field,” the Minister for Public Transport said. Gabriel Williams said.
Flinders Street Station serves all parts of the metropolitan network in addition to many regional services and is home to many of Metro's 7,100 employees.
Metro Trains CEO Raymond O'Flaherty said: “We are honored to be the stewards of this historic site, Australia's first and busiest urban rail station.”
Photo: Dominic Kurniawan Suryaputra.
