Flagstaff railway station

Flagstaff
Station statistics
Coordinates	37°48′43″S 144°57′22″E / 37.81194°S 144.95611°E / -37.81194; 144.95611Coordinates: 37°48′43″S 144°57′22″E / 37.81194°S 144.95611°E / -37.81194; 144.95611
Line(s)	All lines
Platforms	4
Tracks	4
Other information
Station code	FGS
Owned by	VicTrack
myki zone	1
Station status	Premium Station
Melway map	Link
Website	Link, includes timetables
Location
Link

Flagstaff is an underground station in the metro network of Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations (and one of three underground) on the City Loop, which encircles the central business district (CBD). The station services Melbourne's legal district, and is under La Trobe Street at William Street, near the north western corner of the CBD, and takes its name from the nearby Flagstaff Hill, a significant site in Melbourne's early history.

It is the 5th busiest station in Melbourne's metropolitan network, with some 5 million passenger movements recorded in 2011-12.^[1] Flagstaff station is the only station in Melbourne to be closed on weekends and public holidays; as it is located close to business related buildings such as the Commonwealth Law Complex, banks and major office buildings.

Platforms and services

Platform 1 - Clifton Group

• South Morang line – all stations and limited stops services to South Morang
• Hurstbridge line – all stations and limited stops services to Hurstbrighe
• City Loop – all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street

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
• Stony Point line - all stations and limited stops services to Stony Point
• Sandringham line - all stations and limited stops services to Sandringham
• City Loop – all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street

Platform 3 - Northern Group

• Craigieburn line – all stations and limited stops services to Craigieburn
• Upfield line – all stations and limited stops services to Upfield
• Sunbury line – all stations and limited stops services to Sunbury
• Werribee line – all stations and limited stops services to Werribee
• Flemington Racecourse line - all stations and limited stops services to Flemington Racecourse
• City Loop – all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street

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 – all stations and limited stops services to Alamein
• City Loop – all stations and limited stops services to Flinders Street

History

The station was constructed by mining methods, and has four levels to a maximum depth of 32 metres. The site was a geological 'sandwich' of basalt in the arch area, Silurian mudstone bedrock in the lower half, and silt in the middle, which precluded the construction of the lower and upper platforms as separately driven tunnels.^[2]

Instead the station platforms are made up 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. These were then linked together by 228 vertically raise bored shafts, 1 metre in diameter and 3 metres 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 underground across the top of the two side walls, the material below the arch excavated down to the bottom of the side walls, and temporary cross struts added between the raise bored columns until the permanent elements were added. This innovative method resulted in $1 million in 1975 money to be saved in construction costs.^[3]

Flagstaff was the last station on the loop to open. Although trains had run through the station site since 24 January 1981 when the City Loop began operating, Flagstaff only opened to passengers on 27 May 1985.^[4] Initially, the City Loop did not operate at all on Sundays. That was changed with 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.^[5]

Facilities

The station is located under the intersection of William and La Trobe Streets and has two entrances - via lift or escalator south of La Trobe Street, and by stairs on the north. Flagstaff has three underground levels. The concourse level has a ticket office, ticket operated gates, toilets, a news stand and a hot snack shop. Flagstaff's four platforms are on the two levels below, with each level having an island platform. The levels are linked by elevators, 14 escalators and stairs.^[3] The four platforms serve a separate group of rail lines that leave the loop and radiate out into the city's suburbs.

Weekend opening campaign

In October 2012 it was revealed that traders and residents in the north-west area of the Melbourne CBD had begun a campaign to have Flagstaff station opened on weekends, arguing that its closure had a deadening effect on the life of the area. A petition calling for the station's weekend opening had only collected about 150 signatures in a week, but the move had received the support of many city dwellers, the Greens' Melbourne mayoral candidate, Dr Alison Parkes, and the Public Transport Users Association.^[5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flagstaff railway station, Melbourne.