Flinders Street station

Flinders Street
Commuter and regional rail station
Main entrance to the station on the corner of Flinders & Swanston Streets in February 2010
Location	Flinders Street, Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Coordinates	37°49′05″S 144°58′01″E / 37.818078°S 144.96681°E / -37.818078; 144.96681Coordinates: 37°49′05″S 144°58′01″E / 37.818078°S 144.96681°E / -37.818078; 144.96681
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Alamein (weekday peaks only) Belgrave Craigieburn Cranbourne Flemington Racecourse (special events only) Frankston Glen Waverley Hurstbridge Lilydale Pakenham Sandringham South Morang Sunbury Upfield Werribee Williamstown (weekdays only) Gippsland
Distance	1.23 kilometres from Southern Cross
Platforms	13 (plus one removed)
Tracks	15
Connections	15 tram routes Bus route 605
Construction
Structure type	At grade
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Premium station
Station code	FSS
Fare zone	1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	12 September 1854
Electrified	Yes
Traffic
Passengers (2008-2009)	24.641 million
Passengers (2009-2010)	24.670 million  0.12%
Passengers (2010-2011)	25.187 million  2.09%
Passengers (2011-2012)	26.187 million  3.97%
Passengers (2012-2013)	Not measured
Passengers (2013-2014)	27.960 million  6.77%
Services Direction of travel on metropolitan lines between stations on the City Loop changes to either Southern Cross or Parliament depending on the line and time of day. Preceding station   Metro Trains   Following station Terminus South Morang line Southern Cross or Jolimont toward South Morang Hurstbridge line Southern Cross or Jolimont toward Hurstbridge Lilydale line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Lilydale Belgrave line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Belgrave Alamein line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Alamein Glen Waverley line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Glen Waverley Pakenham line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Pakenham Cranbourne line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Cranbourne Frankston line Southern Cross or Richmond toward Frankston Sandringham line Southern Cross One-way operation Richmond toward Sandringham Upfield line Southern Cross or Parliament toward Upfield Craigieburn line Southern Cross or Parliament toward Craigieburn Flemington Racecourse line Southern Cross toward Flemington Racecourse Sunbury line Southern Cross or Parliament toward Sunbury Werribee line Southern Cross toward Werribee Parliament One-way operation Williamstown line Southern Cross toward Williamstown Preceding station   V/Line   Following station Southern Cross Terminus Gippsland line Richmond toward Traralgon or Bairnsdale

Flinders Street railway station is a railway station on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets in Melbourne, Australia. It serves the entire metropolitan rail network. Backing onto the city reach of the Yarra River in the heart of the city, the complex covers two whole city blocks and extends from Swanston Street to Queen Street.

Flinders Street is served by Metro's suburban services, and V/Line regional services to Gippsland. It is the busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network and the busiest railway station in Australia, with over 92,600 daily entries per weekday recorded in the 2011/12 fiscal year. It was the first railway station in an Australian city and the world's busiest passenger station in the late 1920s.

The main station building, completed in 1909, is a cultural icon of Melbourne, with its prominent dome, arched entrance, tower and clocks one of the city's most recognisable landmarks. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The Melburnian saying "I'll meet you under the clocks" refers to the row of clocks above the main entrance, which indicate the time-tabled time of departure for trains on each line; another saying, "I'll meet you on the steps", refers to the wide staircase underneath these clocks. Flinders Street Station is responsible for two of Melbourne's busiest pedestrian crossings, both across Flinders Street, including one of Melbourne's few pedestrian scrambles.

The first railway station to occupy the Flinders Street site was called Melbourne Terminus, and was a collection of weatherboard train sheds. It was opened on 12 September 1854 by the Lieutenant-Governor, 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 now redeveloped Sandridge Bridge, travelling along the now light rail Port Melbourne line.