Flinders
Street Station (frequently just called
Flinders Street; the context indicates
whether the station or the street is being
specified) is the central railway station
of the suburban rail network of Melbourne,
Australia. It is located on the corner
of Flinders and Swanston Streets next
to the Yarra River in the heart of the
city. The building stretches from Swanston
Street to Queen Street, covering two city
blocks. Each weekday, approximately 105,000
commuters and 1,500 trains pass through
the station. The station is serviced by
Connex's suburban and city loop services,
and V/Line's regional services. The Melburnian
idiom "I'll meet you under the clocks"
refers to the row of clocks above the
station's main entrance which indicate
the departure time of the next train on
each line (though some of the clocks refer
to discontinued lines). This is a popular
meeting place, at the corner of two of
the city's busiest thoroughfares.
The
original analogue clocks were replaced
for a short time with digital ones, but
due to a public outcry they were quickly
returned. Similarly, plans in the 1970s
to demolish the station and replace it
with an office building were soon dismissed.
Flinders Street Station and the intersection
of Flinders and Swanston Streets, 1927.The
first railway station to occupy the Flinders
Street site was simply called Melbourne
or City Terminus, and was a collection
of weatherboard train sheds. It was completed
by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway
Company in 1854 and was officially opened
on September 12 by the Lieutenant-Governor,
Sir Charles Hotham. The terminus was the
first city railway station in Australia,
and the opening day saw the first steam
train trip in the country. It travelled
to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne), over
the Sandridge Bridge, which has now been
redeveloped in 2006 as a public footbridge
for pedestrian and cycle access across
the Yarra River.
|
|
