City Loop (Melbourne) Information
Originally known as the Underground Rail Loop in Melbourne, the City Loop is a largely underground, partly elevated and partly above-ground metro and rail system located around the central business district of the city of Melbourne, Australia.
While plans for a metro system in Melbourne date back to 1929, when the suburban railway network was electrified, it was not until 1981-1985 that services on the City Loop line were gradually pushed into operation. Caulfield, Burnley and Museum stations opened in January 1981, with Parliament Station opening a few years later. The months of January and May 1985 saw the opening of services from Flagstaff and Northern Tunnel stations respectively.
Melbourne’s City Loop tunnels extend over twelve kilometres and include both box and circular tunnels. Estimated to cost around £40 million in 1965, unchecked inflation caused the cost to soar to over £200 million. Eventually the project was completed for five hundred million pounds, reversing a thirty-year trend of declining patronage for suburban railways.
City Loop (Melbourne) Map
Map of Melbourne City Loop showing next stations. Click on the map to enlarge it or download the Melbourne City Loop map in PDF format.
City Loop (Melbourne) Stations
The Loop has two of the city’s biggest stations: Southern Cross and Flinders Street, both of which are above ground. The other three stations on the line: Parliament, Melbourne Central and Flagstaff are underground. The sixteen radial suburban lines serving the city of Melbourne feed into the City Loop along the south-east and north-west edges of this network.