Flagstaff railway station
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox station
Flagstaff railway station is an underground commuter railway station on the City Loop in Melbourne CBD in Victoria, Australia. It is served by the Burnley, Caulfield, Clifton Hill and Northern group rail lines. The station was opened on 27 May 1985.
It is located near the north-western corner of the CBD, under La Trobe and William streets, and takes its name from the nearby Flagstaff Hill, a significant site in Melbourne's early colonial history. The station serves Melbourne's legal district in particular.
History
Template:Update section The station, which has four levels to a maximum depth of Template:Convert, was largely constructed by excavation. Because the site was a geological "sandwich" of basalt, silt and Silurian mudstone bedrock, the construction of the lower and upper platforms as separately driven tunnels was impossible.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Instead, the station platforms consist of two chambers linked by cross tunnels, each having two platforms on top of each other. The side of each chamber was made up of two drift tunnels, one at the top and one at the bottom. They were then linked by 228 vertically raise bored shafts, Template:Convert in diameter and Template:Convert apart. The shafts and drifts were then filled with concrete, and formed the side skeleton of the station chambers. The arch of each chamber was then constructed across the top of the two side walls, the material below the arch being excavated down to the bottom of the side walls, with temporary cross struts added between the raise bored columns, until the permanent elements were added. That innovative method resulted in a $1 million saving in construction costs.<ref name=MURL>History of Melbourne's Underground Rail System Metropolitan Transit Authority</ref>
Flagstaff was the last station to open on the City Loop. Although trains had run through the station site since 24 January 1981, when the Loop began operating, Flagstaff did not open to passengers until 27 May 1985.<ref>Stations opened, stations closed Electric Traction August 1985 page 123</ref><ref name=doi>Template:Cite web</ref>
Initially, the City Loop did not operate on Sundays. That was changed following the introduction of Sunday trading but, at the same time that the other two underground loop stations opened on Sundays, Flagstaff station had its Saturday services cancelled.<ref name=Age23Oct12>Template:Cite news</ref> That was due to its proximity to business-related buildings such as the Commonwealth Law Complex, banks and major office buildings, which were usually closed on weekends and public holidays.
After a number of residential developments had been built in the area, the station was scheduled to open on weekends from June 2015, with both the Labor and Liberal parties having committed to that at the 2014 Victorian state election.<ref>"Flagstaff station to open on weekends" Railway Digest November 2014 page 24</ref> However, that was deferred until 1 January 2016.<ref name="theageweekends">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ptvweekends">Template:Cite web</ref>
In May 2017, CDC Melbourne operated bus route 605 to Gardenvale from Flagstaff Station.
As of 2023-24, Flagstaff is the seventh-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 3.435 million passengers.<ref name="patronage2013-2018">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="patronage2008-2014">Template:Cite web (access from [1] Template:Webarchive)</ref>
As of 1 February 2026, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines will no longer stop at Flagstaff Station as it route through Metro Tunnel.
Facilities
Flagstaff is sited under the intersection of La Trobe and William streets. There are two entrances: via a lift or escalator south of La Trobe Street, and by stairs on the north. There are three underground levels. The concourse level has a ticket office, ticket-operated gates, toilets, a news stand and a hot snack shop, with the four platforms on the two levels below, each level having an island platform. The levels are linked by lifts, escalators and stairs.<ref name=MURL/> The four platforms serve a separate group of rail lines that leave the loop and radiate out into the suburbs.
Station layout
| G | Street level | Entrances/Exits |
| C | Concourse | Customer service, toilets |
| P | Plant Room | Staff only |
| L1 Platforms |
Platform 1 | Template:Plainlist |
| Island platform, doors will open on the left | ||
| Platform 2 | Template:Plainlist | |
| L2 Platforms |
Platform 3 | Template:Plainlist |
| Island platform, doors will open on the left or right | ||
| Platform 4 | Template:Plainlist | |
Usage
Flagstaff is the seventh-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan rail network.<ref name="patronage2019-2023" />
Transport links
Notes
References
External links
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- Melway map at street-directory.com.au