City Circle Tram

City Circle (Route 35)
W6 class tram turning from Nicholson Street into Victoria Parade in April 2013
Overview
System	Melbourne tramway network
Operator	Yarra Trams
Depot	Southbank
Vehicle	W class
Route
Locale	Melbourne, Australia
Zone(s)	Free Tram Zone
Timetable	City Circle timetable
Map	City Circle map
Route map ← Route 30  {{{system_nav}}}  Route 48 →

The City Circle is a zero-fare tram running around the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Aimed mainly at tourists, the route passes many Melbourne attractions while running along the CBD's outermost thoroughfares, as well as the developing Docklands waterfront precinct. It operates in both clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.

History

City Circle trams on La Trobe Street in August 2007

The tram route was introduced on 29 April 1994,^[1] requiring a small track extension along Spring Street, between Collins and Flinders Streets, to enable a complete CBD loop to be formed.^[2] The Federal Government's Building Better Cities program funded the $6.4 million capital cost of the track expansion, while the State Government funded the running costs.^[3]

Until January 2003 the western leg of the original route of the tram was down Spencer Street, but the route was then extended west to run through Docklands. The travel time around the circle before this change was 40 minutes.^[4]

During early 2006, new Passenger Information Displays were installed along with Digital Voice Announcements.

In April 2008, the service adopted the daylight saving timetable on a permanent basis, operating from 10:00 to 21:00 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The end of service at other times is 18:00.^[5]

On 30 May 2009, the route was altered for a second time, being extended from Harbour Esplanade to the NewQuay and Waterfront City precincts via Docklands Drive. This made the route an elongated 'q'.^[6]

Route

Interior of a W class tram in City Circle service

W class tram on Flinders Street in August 2008

The route of the City Circle trams roughly follows the outer edges of the Hoddle Grid, with three diversions. It takes in all of La Trobe Street, Harbour Esplanade and Flinders Street. It follows Spring Street between Flinders and Bourke Streets, but travels along Nicholson Street and Victoria Street before turning into La Trobe Street. At the junction of Harbour Esplanade and Latrobe Street trams turn off the loop to run to and from a terminus towards the end of Docklands Drive, Waterfront City.

Operation

The City Circle route is operated by heritage W class trams liveried in burgundy with gold trim, however rolling stock shortages often see Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board liveried traditional green liveried W Class trams on the service. Trams display the route number 35.^[7] The City Circle operates at a headway of 12 minutes in both directions, with the service taking approximately 60 minutes to complete a loop.^[8] Ten trams are allocated to the service at any one time (five in each direction). An average of three million passengers uses the service every year, with each tram circling the city 9 times a day, or 12 times when the tram operates to 21:00.^[5]

Route map

Route 35
Free Tram Zone covers all stops.
Legend
Stop Waterfront City Stop Harbour Town Shopping Centre D11 NewQuay D10 ( Docklands Drive – Harbour Esplanade ) Harbour Esp: 35, 70, 75; La Trobe St: 30, 35, 86 Central Pier La Trobe Street D2 ( Harbour Esplanade ) ( La Trobe Street) D3 Bourke Street Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium D1 Routes 11 & 48 via Collins Street  D4 Collins Street Docklands Park ( Harbour Esplanade) D5 The Goods Shed ( Flinders Street) D6 Flinders Street West  Towards North Melbourne Routes 12, 96 & 109 via Clarendon Street  1 Spencer Street  86 Spencer Street 216, 219 1(A)/119(C) 2 King Street Melbourne Aquarium King Street 2 Route 55 via Queens Bridge Street   Route 55 via William Street 3 216, 219, 220, 234, 236 Market Street Flagstaff station William Street 3 Queen Street 220, 232, 234, 235, 236, 237 4 4 605 Elizabeth Street Flinders Street station Melbourne Central station Elizabeth Street 5  Routes 19, 57 & 59 via Elizabeth Street 5 Swanston Street Flinders Street station Melbourne Central station Swanston Street 6 1, 3/3a, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67 & 72 via St Kilda Road   1, 3/3a, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67 & 72 via Swanston Street 6 Russell Street Russell Street 200, 207 7 Route 70 via Batman Avenue  Exhibition Street 250, 251 8 Towards Richmond and Jolimont  ( La Trobe Street) La Trobe/Victoria Streets 402 9 8 Spring Street ( Victoria Street) (Flinders Street ) Routes 48 & 75 via Wellington Parade  (Spring Street ) Routes 11, 12 & 109 via Gisborne Street  9 Bourke Street 86, 96  ( Victoria Street) ( Spring Street – Nicholson Street )  Routes 86 & 96 via Nicholson Street 10 Albert Street Parliament station Victoria Parade/Nicholson Street Victoria Parade buses 11(A)/10(C)  Route 30 via Victoria Parade Stop Stop
#(C) – clockwise stop number; #(A) – anticlockwise stop number. Victoria Parade bus routes: 302, 303, 304, 305, 309, 318, 350, 402, 684, 905, 906, 907, 908 All stops shown. Route map is not to scale.

References

External links

• Media related to City Circle Tram at Wikimedia Commons
• Route 35 map
• Route 35 timetable