Extension of Melbourne tram routes to meaningful termini

[TP]

One of the great frustrations of the Melbourne system. Why do so many lines finish just short of train stations or shopping malls and why don't they extend them? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiAtpCloo1Y

I can hear from the narrative to this video that there's a lot of defeatist thinking and still a hang-up about inhibiting car traffic.

Spot the Adelaide tram.

Tony P

[Robert Smith]

Tony P,

The historical reason is "BUSINESS" don't hand your competition passengers.

Rob

[Geoffrey Hansen]

It sounds like the Sydney Metro and Parramatta Light Rail with their missing connections. 

Regards Geoffrey 

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[TP]

What competition Rob? Feeding a railway station or replacing a bus feeder is complementary, not competition. Or are you referring to times of yore, with competing operators?

Geoffrey, the Sydney projects are planned and staged and will happen. The picture with the Melbourne tram system is that these lines, when built, terminated in outer suburbs with rural areas beyond. Since they were built, the city has expanded well beyond these original termini. If there is a rail station or major shopping mall just beyond a tram terminus, it makes sense to extend the line to connect with those.

Tony P

[Robert Smith]

Tony,

Speaking historically, when the lines were built.

Rob

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From: 'TP' via TramsDownUnder <tramsdo...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Friday, 5 June 2026 at 13:07
To: TramsDownUnder <tramsdo...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Extension of Melbourne tram routes to meaningful termini

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[TP]

Tanks Rob. I assumed that's what you meant.

Tony P

[Jeremy Wainwright]

There was certainly competition in the old days, when the VR undercut MMTB fares at some points where the two of them had 'competing' routes to the city (e.g. Flemington Bridge and North Richmond) but it is difficult to understand why the MMTB and its predecessors did not go out to meet the VR at points where an interchange would have been beneficial to the public and to the tramways. Glen Iris is a classic example. And now, when all modes are under the same umbrella, it's a crying shame. 

Another link that I would like to see (tram to tram) and where the physical connection already exists, would be an extension of the 78 from the present Balaclava (once, misleadingly, Prahran) terminus in Chapel St to the mini shopping strip in Brighton Rd. A pocket track, like that at Victoria Gardens, for terminating 78s is the only major work that would be needed (combined with the eventual installation of a 'super stop'?). In addition to providing tram passengers with a more convenient change, the extension would eliminate a traffic bottle-neck in Chapel St. Perhaps there is insufficient passenger demand (at present, at least), perhaps there would be more if it were to come to pass - which is an observation that probably also applies in the case of Glen Iris.

JWW

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Sent: Friday, 5 June 2026 13:07

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Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Extension of Melbourne tram routes to meaningful termini

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[Mal Rowe]

Hi Tony,

Some good points here - and the various 'missing links' have been pushed for many years by the PTUA and the Greens.

So why have they not been built.  I don't know but have some ideas.

• As the author of the video says, local shopping centre people are likely to object - especially if they don't realise that PT brings customers to their door.
• It is not clear that there is a big demand for transfers between PT modes at most of these locations.
• Other priorities (like the SRL) are soaking up resources from the PT budget.

The city congestion problem is well recognised - in both Swanston St and Elizabeth St.  One likely change to help with Elizabeth St is to through route 57 with one of the southern destinations.  That would make Elizabeth St better without adding an extra route to Swanston St.

One Swanston St solution that has been proposed and even promised with a construction date was to link the Park St track serving route 58 with Clarendon St which would enable a southern route to be moved from Swanston St to Spencer St ... with the side benefit of providing a service along the full length of Spencer St as far as LaTrobe St.  That did not happen and again I don't know why, but my guess is that the Govt found that few of the southern route passengers wanted to be taken to the western end of the CBD rather than the centre.

Mal Rowe - surmising

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[TP]

When the video mentioned increased tram congestion in the CBD, I did wonder if those extensions would actually result in that many more trams on the routes. I don't think extra trams on the route would be so much the result of the extra route length as the result of increasing the frequency of service along the route in response to (or to boost) patronage. But yes, there is a need to through-route in the CBD. 

Tony P

[Robert Smith]

JWW,

Regarding route five extending to Glen Iris Station given the gradient of the road and the short distance which is about 200 m it is definitely not economically advisable and possibly not physically possible.

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From: tramsdo...@googlegroups.com <tramsdo...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Jeremy Wainwright <jew...@hotmail.com>
Date: Friday, 5 June 2026 at 14:16
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