Southern Cross railway station

This article is about the railway station in Melbourne formerly called Spencer Street. For the railway station in Western Australia, see Southern Cross, Western Australia.

The main concourse of Southern Cross Station

Interior of Southern Cross Station at the trailing end of rush hour

Melbourne Southern Cross (formerly Spencer Street) is a major railway station and transport hub in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located on Spencer Street between Collins and La Trobe Streets at the western edge of the central business district. The Etihad Stadium sporting arena is 500 metres south-west of the station.

The station is the terminus of the state's regional railway network operated by V/Line, The Overland rail service to Adelaide, and the Countrylink XPT service to Sydney. It is one of five stations on the City Loop, a mostly underground railway that encircles the CBD.

Southern Cross Station also has a coach terminal under the Direct Factory Outlet from which operates the Skybus Super Shuttle service to Melbourne Airport and Sunbus Shuttle service to Avalon Airport; Greyhound Australia, Firefly Express Coaches, Premier Motor Service interstate coach services; and V/Line coach service to Yarram, Mansfield and other non rail served towns.

History

Opened as Spencer Street in 1859, five years after Flinders Street; the station was a dead end terminus, running parallel to Spencer Street (not on an angle like today) with a single main platform and a dock platform at the north end. It was not until 1874 that an extra platform was provided.

The two stations were not linked until 1879, when a single-track ground-level line was opened. It operated only at night, and only for goods trains. In the 1880s, it was proposed that Spencer Street station be removed in order to facilitate the westward expansion of the city, however the plan was subsequently rejected.

From 1888 to 1894 the layout of the station was altered, with new country platforms being built on the angle they are today. The current coach terminal location was the site of a number of new platforms built for suburban services.

In 1888 work started on the double-track Flinders Street Viaduct linking the station to Flinders Street, the line opening to goods traffic in 1891 and in 1894 to passenger trains. It was at this time that the first through platform was provided at the station, for suburban trains from Essendon and Williamstown. The viaduct to Flinders Street was expanded to four tracks in 1915, and in conjunction with the electrification works on the suburban network today's platforms 11 though 14 were opened between 1918 and 1924, along with the pedestrian subway providing access to them.

In October 1960 work on the 'modern' Spencer Street Station commenced, sparked by the construction of the interstate standard gauge railway link to Sydney. A new station building was constructed, a new 413 metres (1,355 ft) main platform was built, and the subway from the 1918 works was extended to country platforms. In connection with the construction of the underground loop, platforms 9 and 10 were rebuilt as part of the suburban section, and a new double-track viaduct was constructed next to the original one, bringing to six the number of tracks connecting the two stations. At the same time, the older four tracks were resignalled for bi-directional operation.

At one stage, a short underground narrow-gauge line transferred mail between the station and the old mail sorting office across Spencer Street. This line has since been closed and the tunnel filled in.

The mechanically interlocked signal box at the station was opened in 1887, and was decommissioned in June 2008 as part of an upgrade to signalling.

Redevelopment

Work on the station in 2004

Work on the new roof in January 2005

Construction work inside the station in late 2005

Southern Cross was redeveloped by the Civic Nexus consortium, following an innovative design by Grimshaw Architects which features an undulating roof. Construction began in October 2002 and was completed in late 2006, with the majority of the transport facilities finished in time for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The central features of the design include a wave-shaped roof, a new entrance and concourse on Collins Street, a new bus interchange, a new food court, a bar/restaurant, separate retail outlets inside the station and a separate shopping complex between Bourke and La Trobe Streets.

This new shopping complex comprises a Direct Factory Outlets centre, a Virgin Megastore, along with food courts. This opened on 30 November 2006, although not all tenancies were occupied, and stage 2 was opened in March 2007.

In addition to the station's physical modifications, its name was changed from Spencer Street on 13 December 2005.

By July 2004 the project had fallen behind schedule and over budget by $200 million. This was covered extensively in the media. As a result of over-runs and design issues, some elements of the original design, including an additional proposed footbridge connecting Lonsdale Street with Docklands Stadium, were scrapped.

Complaints about access to platforms, empty trains occupying space during the day and lack of government support were raised by Leighton Holdings, the construction firm overseeing the project. This led to concerns that the station might not be ready in time for the Commonwealth Games, and the government arranged with the railway operators to provide more access to the work site.

The station's redevelopment is part of the wider Melbourne Docklands development. The architect responsible for the design is Nicholas Grimshaw. The structural engineering design was performed by Winward Structures, a consulting structural engineering design firm. The station has been awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Lubetkin Prize for most outstanding building outside the European Union. The other buildings nominated were the Des Moines Public Library and the Hearst Tower, New York City.

Platforms and services

Overlooking platforms 6,7,8 (from the right)

Overlooking platforms 9,10 (from the left)

The northern ("B") platforms as seen from the Bourke Street footbridge. Platform 3B is in the foreground and Etihad Stadium is visible in the background.

Southern Cross' platforms are numbered from east to west, with Platform 1 being the furthest east. Concourses are provided at Bourke and Collins Streets. Platform 1 is north of Bourke Street, while Platform 8 South is south of Collins Street. The remainder of platforms are located between Bourke and Collins Streets, with access from both concourses. Both concourses are further divided into an open access regional section for platforms 1 though 8, and a closed access suburban section for platforms 9 though 14.

Platforms 2 to 8 are numbered as two sections: section A from the Collins Street concourse to the Bourke Street Footbridge (formerly known as 2C to 8C) and section B after the Bourke Street Footbridge (formerly known as 2N to 8N).

Platforms 1 and 2 are fitted with dual gauge track, permitting both standard gauge interstate trains and V/Line broad gauge trains. The remainder of the platforms are solely broad gauge. A motorail dock is located at the northern end of the platform, with standard gauge access only.

Standard gauge

Platforms 1 and 2:

• CountryLink Southern - terminating Melbourne XPT; returning as country services to Sydney (2 per day)
• Great Southern Railway - The Overland services to Adelaide (3 per week)
• Albury/Wodonga line - future InterCity services to Albury (5 per day)

Broad gauge

Station	AM	PM	Weekends
Flinders Street	10 / 12 / 13	11 / 13	9 / 11 / 12
City Loop	9	9 / 10 / 12	10
Richmond	10 / 12	10 / 12	10
North Melbourne	11 / 14	14	11
Jolimont	9	9	9

Platforms 1 to 8:

• Seymour line - InterUrban services to Seymour
• Shepparton line - InterCity services to Shepparton (3 per day)
• Ballarat line - InterUrban services to Bacchus Marsh, Ballarat and Wendouree
• Ararat line - InterCity services to Ararat (3 per day)
• Bendigo line - InterUrban services to Sunbury, Kyneton, Bendigo and Eaglehawk
• Echuca line - InterCity services to Echuca (3 per day)
• Swan Hill line - InterCity services to Swan Hill (3 per day)
• Geelong line - InterUrban services to Geelong, South Geelong and Marshall
• Warrnambool line - InterCity services to Warrnambool (3 per day)

Platform 9:

• Epping line - all stations and limited stops services to Epping
• Hurstbridge line - all stations and limited stops services to Heidelberg, Macleod, Greensborough, Eltham and Hurstbridge
• City Circle - peak hour all stations services around the City Loop to Flinders Street

Platform 10:

• Lilydale/Belgrave line - all stations and limited stops services to Blackburn, Ringwood, Lilydale, Mooroolbark, Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave
• Glen Waverley line - all stations and limited stops services to Glen Waverley
• Alamein line - peak hour all stations and limited stops services to Riversdale, and Alamein

Platform 11:

• Craigieburn line - all stations and limited stops services to Broadmeadows and Craigieburn
• Upfield line - all stations services to Upfield
• Sydenham line - all stations and limited stops services to St Albans, and Watergardens
• Werribee line - off peak all stations and limited stops services to Werribee

Platform 12:

• Dandenong line - all stations and limited stops services to Oakleigh, Dandenong, Pakenham and Cranbourne
• Frankston line - all stations and limited stops services to Moorabbin, and Frankston
• Sandringham line - weekend all stations services to Sandringham

Platform 13:

• Werribee line / Williamstown line - all stations services to Flinders Street
• Gippsland line - interUrban all stations and limited stops services to Traralgon, interCity all stations services to Sale (1 per week) and limited stops services to Bairnsdale (3 per day)

Platform 14:

• Williamstown line - all stations services to Williamstown
• Werribee line - all stations and limited stops services to Werribee
• Geelong line - interUrban services to Geelong, South Geelong and Marshall
• Seymour line - InterUrban services to Seymour

Platforms 15 & 16:

• Partially constructed but with no tracks, was for future expansion as part of the redevelopment works. In late 2009 work will start to commission them for use by V/Line services, as part of the Regional Rail Link project.

Services

Station Navigation
Metropolitan service
"City Loop"
Anti - Clockwise	Flinders Street	|	Flagstaff	Clockwise
Craigieburn, Flemington Racecourse, Sydenham, Upfield, Werribee & Williamstown lines
Previous Station	Flinders Street	|	North Melbourne	Next Station
Pakenham, Cranbourne, Frankston, Sandringham, Lilydale,Belgrave, Glen Waverley & Alamein lines
Previous Station	Flinders Street	|	Flagstaff	Next Station
Regional service
Ararat, Albury, Bendigo, Echuca, Shepparton, Swan Hill, Warrnambool lines
Previous Station	Terminus	|	North Melbourne	Next Station
Bairnsdale line
Previous Station	Flinders Street	|	Terminus	Next Station
Interstate service
Preceding station		CountryLink		Following station
Terminus		Template:CountryLink lines Melbourne XPT		Template:CountryLink stations toward Template:CountryLink stations
Preceding station		Great Southern Rail		Following station
Terminus		Template:GSR lines		Template:GSR stations toward Template:GSR stations
Entire metropolitan network
Entire regional network
Entire CountryLink network

External links

• Southern Cross Station
• Southern Cross Station project
• Diagram of the track layout at Southern Cross Station
• Construction images: 2003 - 2004 and 2005 - 2008