Melbourne tram route 48 is operated by
Yarra Trams
Yarra Trams is the trading name of the operator of the tram network in Melbourne, Australia, which is owned by VicTrack and leased to Yarra Trams by the Victorian Department of Transport. The current franchise is operated by Keolis Downer. As ...
on the
Melbourne tram network
Trams are a major form of Transport in Melbourne, public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the States of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. As of May 2017, the Melbourne tramway network consists of of dou ...
from
Balwyn North
Balwyn North, also known as North Balwyn, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Boroondara and Whitehorse local government areas. Balwyn North recor ...
to
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...
. The 13.5 kilometre route is operated out of
Kew depot with
A and
C class trams.
History
The origins of route 48 lie in separate lines. The section between Flinders Street (near Stop 9) and
Hawthorn Bridge
The Hawthorn Bridge crosses the Yarra River, east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, connecting Bridge Road and Burwood Road. It is the oldest extant bridge over the Yarra River and is one of the oldest metal bridges in Australia. It was con ...
(Stop 23) dates back to Melbourne's first cable tram line to
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, which opened on 11 November 1885. It was electrified in stages, finally commencing electric operations on 4 December 1927. The section between
Southern Cross station
Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central busi ...
(Stop 1) and
Spring Street Spring Street may refer to:
* Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA
* Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA
* Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia
* Spring Street, Singapore
* Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website
Subway and trolle ...
(Stop 8) opened on 2 October 1886 as the North Fitzroy line. It was electrified on 21 November 1929. These two lines are connected by a line that was built along Spring Street on 10 November 1993 as part of the
City Circle tram line works. The section between Barkers Road (Stop 29) and
Cotham Road (Stop 33) was built by the
Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust
The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT) was a former tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. The trust was formed in 1907, with its first line operating in 1910. Its functions were taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in ...
on 24 February 1915. The track between Cotham Road and
Kew Cemetery (Stop 37) opened later that year on 8 May, and then extended to Harp Road (Stop 39) on 26 November. The
Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had bee ...
opened Church Street line between Barkers Road and Hawthorn Bridge on 7 July 1923. An extension from Harp Road to
Burke Road
Burke Road is a major north–south thoroughfare in Melbourne, Australia. It runs from Ivanhoe East to Caulfield East and through the major shopping district at Camberwell.
It is aligned with the western boundary of Elgar's Special Survey, an ...
(Stop 45) opened on 11 January 1925. The line between Burke Road and
Bulleen Road
Bulleen Road is a 4 kilometre long road in north-eastern Melbourne, Australia serving the suburbs of Bulleen and Balwyn North, which can be seen as an alternative thoroughfare between Heidelberg and Doncaster via the Eastern Freeway.
Since the ...
(Stop 47) opened on 13 June 1937, and the rest of the line to Balwyn North opened on 11 December 1938.
Route 48 was first allocated to the line between
Balwyn North
Balwyn North, also known as North Balwyn, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Boroondara and Whitehorse local government areas. Balwyn North recor ...
and the
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
on 11 December 1938 with the opening of the Balwyn North extension. Prior to that point, services on the East Kew line were largely provided by route 40, which ran from
Kew East
Kew East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 8 km east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of Victori ...
(
Bulleen Road
Bulleen Road is a 4 kilometre long road in north-eastern Melbourne, Australia serving the suburbs of Bulleen and Balwyn North, which can be seen as an alternative thoroughfare between Heidelberg and Doncaster via the Eastern Freeway.
Since the ...
) to the City.
Trams traditionally would usually terminate at the
Lonsdale Street
Lonsdale Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and was laid out in 1837 as one of Melbourne's original boundaries within the Hoddle Grid. The street extends from Sp ...
terminus on
Spencer Street
Spencer Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, central business district of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The street was gazetted in 1837 as the westernmost boundary of the Hoddle Grid. ...
, but peak hour congestion at the terminus often meant that trams would often run through to
La Trobe Street
La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of Melbourne's central business district. The street wa ...
, or would truncate at the corner of
Flinders
Flinders may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
Australia New South Wales
* Flinders County, New South Wales
* Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour
* Flinders, New South Wa ...
and Spencer Streets.
After the construction of a siding north of La Trobe Street, route 48 trams were extended to terminate there. However, it proved to be difficult for the siding to handle peak hour congestion along with
route 75, so route 48 was amended to terminate at Flinders Street West from 17 February 2002.
[History of Melbourne Trams Routes from 1950 to 2009]
Yarra Trams
Yarra Trams is the trading name of the operator of the tram network in Melbourne, Australia, which is owned by VicTrack and leased to Yarra Trams by the Victorian Department of Transport. The current franchise is operated by Keolis Downer. As ...
On 4 May 2003, The line was extended to
Harbour Esplanade
Harbour Esplanade is a waterfront street and thoroughfare in Docklands, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south from Navigation Drive in the south to Docklands Drive in the north. The road also forms the ...
,
Docklands. On 4 January 2005, route 48 was extended along
Harbour Esplanade
Harbour Esplanade is a waterfront street and thoroughfare in Docklands, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south from Navigation Drive in the south to Docklands Drive in the north. The road also forms the ...
and Docklands Drive to
Waterfront City. On 20 September 2009, route 48 was altered to run via
Collins Street in lieu of Flinders Street, terminating at
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...
.
[
]
Operation
Route 48 is operated out of Kew depot with A and C class trams.
Proposed extension
The Public Transport Users Association
The Public Transport Users Association is a community-based public transport lobby group in Victoria, Australia, based in Melbourne. It is run entirely by volunteers and has no full-time staff.
History and aims
The organisation was founded i ...
(PTUA) and Cities of Boroondara
The City of Boroondara () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn.
It has an area of ...
and Manningham have been lobbying for an extension of route 48 to Westfield Doncaster
Westfield Doncaster (formerly Doncaster Shoppingtown) is a shopping centre 50% owned by Scentre Group and 25% owned by ISPT and 25% owned by Asia Property Fund (as of May 2015) located in Doncaster, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...
. It would require approximately 4.5 km of extra track, serving Greythorn Village and the Doncaster Park and Ride facility before terminating near Westfield Doncaster
Westfield Doncaster (formerly Doncaster Shoppingtown) is a shopping centre 50% owned by Scentre Group and 25% owned by ISPT and 25% owned by Asia Property Fund (as of May 2015) located in Doncaster, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...
. The PTUA has also pointed out the future potential for the line to be extended further along Doncaster Road
State (Bell/Springvale) Highway, also known as Bell Street/Springvale Road State Highway (after its longest constituent parts), is the longest self-contained urban highway in Melbourne, Australia, linking Tullamarine Freeway and Nepean Highway ...
to Doncaster East
Doncaster East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Doncaster East recorded a population of 30,926 at the 2021 ...
and Donvale
Donvale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area.
It is a leafy and peaceful suburb, with the side west of Springvale Road is desc ...
.
Proponents have argued that it could serve as a cheaper, quicker and more efficient alternative to the long-proposed Doncaster railway line
The Doncaster railway line was a long-proposed suburban railway in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that was anticipated to be built before December 2027, as a branch, along with the Hurstbridge line, of the planned future ...
. However, supporters of the railway state that the tram already takes 50 minutes from one terminus to the other in the off-peak, and that the tram would take well over an hour to reach the city from Doncaster. It is therefore considered as a separate project to the heavy railway, that would serve a local access purpose.
In the lead up to the 2006 state election, the Ted Baillieu
Edward Norman Baillieu (born 31 July 1953) is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2010 to 2013. He was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, representing the electorate of ...
opposition promised the extension by July 2010, pricing it at $35 million. It was stated that there would have been about two accessible stops every kilometre, similar to the recent Box Hill tram extension. However the government was returned and the Baileu government did not commit to it in the 2010 election.
The City of Manningham commissioned a $60,000 study in 2007 to investigate the potential for the new line, arguing it was a needed alternative to overcrowded buses.
Route map
References
External links
{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed
048
048
Transport in the City of Boroondara
Transport in the City of Yarra
Collins Street, Melbourne
1938 establishments in Australia