Melbourne tram route 57

Tram route in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Route 57

Z class tram at the West Maribyrnong terminus, September 2023

Overview
System| Melbourne tramway network
Operator| Yarra Trams
Depot| Essendon
Vehicle| Z class
Began service| 22 December 1940
Route
Start| West Maribyrnong
Via| Moonee Ponds
Ascot Vale
Flemington
Kensington
North Melbourne
Elizabeth Street
End| Flinders Street station
Length| 11.6 kilometres
Timetable| Route 57 timetable
Map| Route 57 map
| Route map

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← Route 48 |  {{{system_nav}}} | Route 58 →

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Z class tram on Victoria Street, May 2011

Melbourne tram route 57 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from West Maribyrnong to Flinders Street station. The 11.6 kilometre route is operated out of Essendon depot with Z class trams.

## History

[edit]

Route 57 was first allocated to the line between West Maribyrnong and the City via North Melbourne on 22 December 1940 when the Maribyrnong line was extended from the Maribyrnong River to West Maribyrnong. Prior to that, the number was officially listed for the Ballarat Road line on the Footscray system, but was never used in practice since the single-truck trams used on that line didn't have route number boxes.[1] Before the West Maribyrnong extension, services on the Maribyrnong line were provided by Route 54, which ran from the Maribyrnong River terminus to the City via North Melbourne.[1] Trams would terminate in William Street prior to the conversion of the Elizabeth Street line in 1935. On 12 November 1961 trams on Sunday were replaced on route 57 by buses. Sunday trams were reinstated on 8 August 1993.[2][3]

The origins of Route 57 lie in separate lines. The section between Flinders Street (Stop 1) and Victoria Street (Stop 7) is the oldest section of track, dating back to the Brunswick cable tram line, which opened on 1 October 1887.[1] This section was converted to electric traction on 17 November 1935. The section between Flemington Bridge station (near Stop 22) and Victoria Street dates back to the North Melbourne cable tram line, which opened on 3 March 1890, and was fully electrified on 24 September 1935.[1] The section between the Maribyrnong River (near Stop 41) and Flemington Bridge was constructed by the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company as part of its original electric tramway system on 11 October 1906. The section from the Maribyrnong River to West Maribyrnong was opened by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 22 December 1940.[1] In 2000, the West Maribyrnong terminus was concreted with the former munitions siding removed.[4]

G-class trams will roll out on the route in 2025.[5]

### Proposed extensions

[edit]

There have been proposals, supported by the Public Transport Users Association and local politicians, to extend route 57 north-west along Milleara Road to Avondale Heights and Keilor East.[6] Variations of this proposal including building a park & ride facility near the terminus, or establishing a high frequency bus service between the terminus and Keilor East down Milleara Road.

The State Government in 2009 also proposed the tram be extended into the new suburb planned for the former Maribyrnong Defence Site.[7] The tram would head north from its current terminus into the heart of the new suburb.

Melbourne tram route 57 evolution  Dates  | Route  | Notes

|
|

c. 1934 \- 21 December 1940  | Ballarat Road to Williamstown Road  | Never used as single-truck trams on the line had no number plates
22 December 1940 - present  | West Maribyrnong to City (Elizabeth Street)  | via North Melbourne

## Route

[edit]

The route runs from the corner of Cordite and Central Park Avenues adjacent to the Defence Explosive Factory, West Maribyrnong via Moonee Ponds, Ascot Vale, Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne before proceeding along Elizabeth Street to terminate outside Flinders Street station.

Route 57 shares track with route 82 between the intersection of Raleigh and Wests Roads, Maribyrnong and Maribyrnong and Union Roads, Ascot Vale. A loop siding exists at the south end of Union Road in Ascot Vale and is used during special events at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds and Flemington Racecourse to handle the additional trams used to move the crowds of passengers.

## Operation

[edit]

E class tram on shuttle route 57a at the Flinders Street terminus, September 2023

Routes 57 is operated out of Essendon depot with Z class trams.[8][9][10]

During special events at the Melbourne Showgrounds such as the Melbourne Royal Show, E-class trams operate on the route 57a shuttle between the Flinders Street terminus and the Showgrounds.[11]

### Map

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

Route 57

West Maribyrnong \- Flinders Street station
via Flemington, North Melbourne & City
Free tram zone covers stops 1 to 8, fare zone 1 applies from stop 9 to 49

Legend

| Suburb

Street

| Stop

No.

|  | West Maribyrnong |

Connections

| Maribyrnong

Cordite Avenue

|  | Central Park Avenue  |

406, 407

Raleigh Road

|  | Wests Road  |

|  |

|  |  | Wests Road Light Rail

Tram 82

Footscray station

|  | Rosamond Road  |

406, 407, 468

|  | Randall Street

|  | Barb Street

|  | Van Ness Avenue

|  | Clyde Street

| Moonee Ponds

Maribyrnong Road

|  | Maribyrnong Park  |

468

|  | Epsom Road

|  | Bowen Street

|  | Hotham Road

|  | Union Road  |

|  |

|  |  | Maribyrnong Road

Tram 82

| Moonee Ponds Junction

| Ascot Vale

Union Road

|  | St Leonards Road

|  | Bloomfield Road  |

472

|  | Burrowes Street

|  | Melbourne Showgrounds (No longer in use)

Epsom Road

|  | Sandown Road

| Flemington

Epsom Road

|  | Racing Victoria

|  | Flemington Racecourse

Racecourse Road

|  | Ascot Vale Road

|  | Smithfield Road

|  | Newmarket station
|  |

|  |  Newmarket ●

|  | Wellington Street

|  | Victoria Street

|  | Stubbs Street
|  |

|  |  Flemington Bridge station ●

| North Melbourne

Racecourse Road

|  | Boundary Road
|  |

|  |  | Flemington Road

Tram 59

| Airport West

Flemington Road

|  | Melrose Square  |

|  |

|  |  | Royal Park Light Rail

Tram 58

| West Coburg

|  |

|  |  | Flemington Road

Tram 58, 59

| Toorak/Flinders Street station

Abbotsford Road

|  | Abbotsford Street Interchange  |

58, 59

|  | Molesworth Street

|  | Haines Street  |

402

|  | Arden Street

|  | Queensberry Street

|  | North Melbourne Town Hall

Victoria Street

|  | Errol Street

| Melbourne CBD

Victoria Street

|  | Chetwynd Street

|  | Howard Street
|  |

|  |  | Peel Street

Tram 58

| Coburg

Toorak

|  | Peel Street  |

58;  546

|  |

|  |  | Elizabeth Street

Tram 19, 59

| North Coburg

|  |

|  |  | Victoria Street

No Service

| Swanston Street

Elizabeth Street

|  | Queen Victoria Market |

19, 59;  546

|  |

|  |  | La Trobe Street

Tram 30, City Circle

| Exhibition Street

Docklands Stadium

|  |

|  |  Melbourne Central station ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

|  | Melbourne Central station |

30, City Circle

|  | Bourke Street Mall  |

86, 96;  | Lonsdale Street

buses

|  |

|  |  | Bourke Street

Tram 86, 96

| Melbourne Museum

Southern Cross station

|  | Collins Street |

11, 12, 48, 109

|  |

|  |  | Collins Street

Tram 11, 12, 48, 109

| St Vincent's Plaza

Casino/Victoria Harbour

|  | Flinders Street station |

| 70, 75

City Circle
;  605

|  |

|  |  | Flinders Street

Tram 70, 75, City Circle

| Russell Street

Docklands

|  |

|  |  Flinders Street station ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

| Suburb

Street

| Stop

No.

|  | Flinders Street station |

Connections

|  |  |  |  |  |
Note: Green denotes free tram zone

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "Gunzel". www.classicaustraliantv.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
2. ^ Trams replace buses Australian Bus Panorama issue 9/3 October 1993 page 30
3. ^ Melbourne - Other Services Trolley Wire issue 255 November 1993 page 11
4. ^ Infrastructure Transit Australia January 2001 page 20
5. ^ "Designs for Maidstone's new tram facility released - Community update – April 2023". Department of Transport and Planning. April 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
6. ^ Policies: Extending Melbourne’s network Public Transport Users Association
7. ^ New Melbourne suburb to be built in Maribyrnong Herald Sun 9 April 2009
8. ^ Essendon Depot Vicsig
9. ^ Facts & figures Yarra Trams
10. ^ Route 57 Yarra Trams
11. ^ "Royal Melbourne Show 2023". Yarra Trams. September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Melbourne tram route 57 at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Trams in Melbourne

Current routes|

* 1
* 3
* 5
* 6
* 11
* 12
* 16
* 19
* 30
* 35
* 48
* 57
* 58
* 59
* 64
* 67
* 70
* 72
* 75
* 78
* 82
* 86
* 96
* 109

Former routes|

* 3a
* 8
* 24
* 31
* 55
* 68
* 79
* 95
* 112

Current trams|

* W
* Z
* A
* B
* C
* D
* C2
* E

Future trams|

* G

Former trams|

* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* X
* X1
* X2
* Y
* Y1

Current operator|

* Yarra Trams (Keolis Downer)

Former operators|

| Tramway trusts|

* Fitzroy, Northcote & Preston
* Footscray
* Hawthorn
* Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg
* Prahran & Malvern

|

Private operators|

* North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company

Government owned|

* Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board
* Metropolitan Transit Authority
* Public Transport Corporation
* Victorian Railways

Franchises|

* Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company
* M>Tram
* TransdevTSL

Tourist services|

* City Circle tram
* Colonial Tramcar Restaurant

Current depots|

* Brunswick
* Camberwell
* Essendon
* Glenhuntly
* Kew
* Malvern
* Preston
* Southbank

Former depots|

* East Preston
* Hawthorn
* North Fitzroy
* South Melbourne

Future depots|

* Maidstone

Stops|

* Albert Park
* Anzac Station
* Beacon Cove
* Clarendon Street Junction
* Graham Street
* Melbourne University
* Middle Park
* Montague Street
* Moonee Ponds Junction
* North Port
* South Melbourne
* St Kilda Station
* St Vincent's Plaza

Miscellaneous|

* Classification system
* Balaclava Junction
* Domain Interchange
* Haymarket roundabout
* Hook turn
* Karachi Tram
* Melbourne Art Trams
* Melbourne Cable Trams
* Proposed extensions
* St Kilda Junction
* Timeline
* Think Tram project
* VicTrack

Museums|

* Friends of Hawthorn Tram Depot
* Melbourne Tramcar Preservation Association
* Tramway Museum Society of Victoria

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