Flagstaff railway station

Flagstaff
Location	La Trobe Street, Melbourne
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
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro
Line(s)	All Melbourne lines
Platforms	4 (2 island)
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Platform levels	2
Other information
Status	Premium station
Station code	FGS
Fare zone	Myki zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	27 May 1985
Electrified	Yes

Flagstaff railway station is an underground station on the metro network in Melbourne, Australia. It is one of five stations (and one of three underground) on the City Loop, which encircles the Melbourne CBD. The station services Melbourne's legal district, and is under La Trobe and William Streets, 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.

In 2011/12 it was the fifth busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 5 million passenger movements.^[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. It will open on weekends from April 2015.

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 La Trobe Street and William 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, only collected about 150 signatures in the first week.^[5]

With a number of residential developments having been built, the station is scheduled to open on weekends from April 2015, with both political parties having committed to this in the 2014 State Government Election.^[6]

Platforms & 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 Hurstbridge
• 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
• 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
• Williamstown line: all stations and limited stops services to Williamstown
• Flemington Racecourse line: 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

References

External links

• Media related to Flagstaff railway station at Wikimedia Commons
• Melway