Melbourne tram route 16 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. ...

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

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. The 20.2 kilometre route is operated out of Malvern depot with Z and D1 class trams.

History

Route 16 was first allocated to the line between the City (

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

) and St Kilda Beach on 26 April 1936 following the electrification of the Brunswick cable tram line. Prior to that, trams on the northern section of Sydney Road would run via Swanston Street to the southern suburbs. Route 16 ran the service between

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

and St Kilda Beach. After 1936, trams traditionally terminated at the Victoria Street terminus, but following an accident in 1991, trams instead terminated at the Queensberry Street crossover. Due to congestion during peak hours at the crossover, some trams continued north to Melbourne University. Finally on 17 January 1996, a permanent shunt was built at

. From then on, route 16 trams were altered run full-time to Melbourne University. Traditionally, Route 16 ran between St Kilda Beach to a City terminus along Swanston Street, but most services would in fact continue north to

Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

as route 15. However, following the elimination of shared depot routes on 2 April 1995, route 15 was discontinued, and routes 16 and 22 were amended to run full-time. On 16 October 2004, route 16 was amalgamated with route 69 to run between Melbourne University and

(Cotham Road) via St Kilda Beach. The origins of route 16 lie in separate tram lines. The section of track between Queensberry Street (Stop 4) and

St Kilda Junction St Kilda Junction is a major intersection in Melbourne, Australia. It is in the suburb of St Kilda, bordering Windsor and St Kilda East, and is the meeting point of the major roads Punt Road, St Kilda Road, Dandenong Road/Queens Way/Princes ...

(Stop 30) is the oldest section of this route, dating back to the Brighton Road cable tram which opened on 11 October 1888 by the

Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company The Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company (MTOC) was the company which established and operated Melbourne's cable tram system from 1885 to 1916. History The MTOC was started by Francis Boardman Clapp, who had come to Australia from the United ...

. This cable tram line was electrified in stages by 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 ...

. The section between

Domain Interchange The Anzac Station tram stop, formerly but still colloquially known as Domain Interchange, is a major interchange on the Trams in Melbourne, Melbourne tram network. It is located on St Kilda Road south of Domain Road, adjacent to Kings Domain, a ...

(Stop 20) and St Kilda Junction (Stop 30) was electrified on 27 December 1925. The section between Queensberry Street and City Road (near Stop 14) was electrified on the same day. The line between City Road and Domain Interchange was electrified on 24 January 1926. Meanwhile, the section between Luna Park (stop 138) and St Kilda Junction was originally the

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

to St Kilda Beach cable tramway which opened on 27 October 1891. This line was electrified on 27 December 1925. The line between Luna Park and the terminus at Cotham Road (Stop 80) was all constructed 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 i ...

. The track between Wattletree Road (Stop 54) and High Street (Stop 57) was part of the original system which opened on 30 May 1910. The section of track between Hawthorn Road (Stop 48) and Wattletree Road opened on 16 December 1911 as part of the line to Windsor station. The section between Hawthorn Road and Luna Park opened on 12 April 1913, and the line from High Street to the Cotham Road terminus opened on 30 May 1913. Meanwhile, the

Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust was a tram operator in Melbourne, Australia History The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramway Trust (MBCTT) was established in 1914 by the municipalities of Melbourne, Brunswick and Coburg. It was ...

(MBCTT) constructed the section of Route 16 north of Queensberry Street towards Melbourne University. This section opened on 31 October 1916. In 2007 a

Siemens Avenio The Siemens Avenio is a low floor tram family produced by Siemens Mobility, a subsidiary of the German conglomerate Siemens. It is the successor to the Combino family. The first generation was sold as the Combino Supra , Combino MkII, or Combino ...

was trialled for three months on route 16.

Operation

Route 16 is operated out of Malvern depot with Z and D1 class trams.Route 16
Yarra Trams

Route map

References

External links

{{MelbourneTramNavbox, state=collapsed 016 016 Transport in the City of Glen Eira Transport in the City of Port Phillip Transport in the City of Stonnington Transport in the City of Boroondara 1936 establishments in Australia