Railways in Melbourne

The Melbourne rail network is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise from the Government of Victoria. The network is based on a commuter rail model centred on the Melbourne Central Business District (CBD) and Flinders Street Station, rather than a rapid transit model, with a focus on services at peak periods. A rapid transit system for Melbourne is currently in planning stages.

Melbourne's suburban railway network consists of 16 electrified lines, the central City Loop subway, and 207 stations, with a total length of 372 km of electrified lines. The suburban network operates between approximately 5:00 a.m. and midnight. The network is primarily at ground level, with more than 170 level crossings, and some tracks shared with freight trains and V/Line regional services.

In the 2013–14 financial year, the Melbourne rail network recorded 232 million passenger trips, a 2.7 percent increase on the previous year.

Melbourne was established in 1836. In 1839, the Government Surveyor Robert Hoddle, who laid out Melbourne's road grid, provided for a railway linking Melbourne and Hobsons Bay.

On 7 September 1851 a public meeting called for a railway linking Melbourne to Sandridge (now called Port Melbourne) which led to the establishment on 20 January 1853 of the privately-owned Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company. On 8 February 1853 the Government also approved the establishment of the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company and the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company. Work began in March 1853 on the Sandridge railway line, stretching 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the Melbourne (or City) terminus (on the site of modern-day Flinders Street Station) to Sandridge. The line was owned and operated by Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company. The line opened in 1854.

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