Melbourne tram route 70 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 Waterfront City to Wattle Park. The 16.5 kilometre route is operated out of Camberwell depot with A and B class trams.

History

Most of the line currently used by route 70 was initially built and run by the

Hawthorn Tramways Trust The Hawthorn Tramways Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. Its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 2 February 1920. History The Hawthorn Tramways Trust (HTT) was formed pursuan ...

(HTT) in 1916–17. It ran between the

Batman Avenue CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Australia, linking the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other works. In 1996, Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two ex ...

terminus (opposite

Flinders Street station Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders Street, Melbourne, Flinders and Swanston Street, Swanston streets in the Melbourne city centre, central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria (Austral ...

) to the intersection of

Warrigal Road Warrigal Road is a major inner urban road in southeastern Melbourne, Australia. On weekdays, it is heavily trafficked as it runs through many major suburbs along its route, traversing some of Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs. These ...

(then Boundary Road) and Riversdale Road. At the time, the HTT's Batman Avenue line was Melbourne's only electric tram line that reached the CBD. 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 ...

took over the line in 1920, and in 1928, extended the line a further two kilometres to Wattle Park at the Riversdale Road and Elgar Road intersection.Melbourne's Two Batman Avenue Tramways 1916 and 1999 ''

Trolley Wire The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History Construction of th ...

'' issue 278 August 1999 pages 3–15 In 1934, the line was given the route 70 designation, which it still holds today. On 6 June 1999 it was diverted to operate via the

Exhibition Street Exhibition Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district, central business district of Melbourne, Australia. The street is named after the International Exhibition held at the Royal Exhibition Building in 1880, and was pre ...

extension with a four-lane divided road built over the

Jolimont Yard Jolimont Yard was an array of railway lines and carriage sidings on the edge of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Located between Flinders Street station, Richmond Junction, the Yarra River and Flinders Street they were of ...

, enabling Batman Avenue west of

Melbourne Park Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Since 1988 Australian Bicentenary, Australia's bicentenary, Melbourne Park has been home of the Austra ...

to be closed with route 70 extended to terminate at the intersection 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 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. ...

s. This new route was better able to serve all of the Melbourne Park venues such as the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

and

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. History Replacing the ...

. Extra sidings were also built along the route in order to accommodate special events. On 4 May 2003, it was extended to the corner of Spencer and La Trobe Streets., on 5 January 2005, to

Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

and on 20 September 2009 to Waterfront City.

Route

From Waterfront City, the route runs along Docklands Drive,

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 Flinders Street in the city, behind

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, ...

and then along Swan Street and Riversdale Road through

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

and

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

to the eastern end of Wattle Park, terminating at Elgar Road.

Operation

Route 70 is operated out of Camberwell depot with A class trams, although B class trams are occasionally used. During the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

it is operated by B class trams for extra capacity. Additional services run between

and the city. These services are signed as Route 70a and run a mix of B and E class trams.Australian Open 2020
Yarra Trams

Route map

References

External links

{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed 070 070 1917 establishments in Australia Transport in the City of Whitehorse Transport in the City of Boroondara Transport in the City of Yarra