Route 35 (City Circle)
W class tram W8.961 crosses theSpring Street,Collins Street and MacArthur Street intersection, September 2024
Overview
System	Melbourne tramway network
Operator	Yarra Trams
Depot	Southbank
Vehicle	W class
Began service	29 April 1994
Route
Start	Waterfront City
Via	Harbour Esplanade La Trobe Street Nicholson Street Spring Street Flinders Street Harbour Esplanade
End	Waterfront City
Zone	Free Tram Zone
Timetable	City Circle timetable
Map	City Circle map
Route map ← Route 30  {{{system_nav}}}  Route 48 →

TheCity Circle (Melbourne tram route 35) is azero-fare tram running around theMelbourne central business district in Australia. Running along the city centre's outermost thoroughfares the route passes many Melbourne attractions includingParliament House, theOld Treasury Building and the developingDocklands waterfront precinct. Since October 2023, it operates in a clockwise direction only.

The tram route was introduced on 29 April 1994,^[1][2] requiring a small track extension alongSpring Street, betweenCollins andFlinders Streets, to enable a complete CBD loop to be formed.^[3][4] TheFederal Government's Building Better Cities program funded the $6.4 million capital cost of the track expansion, while theState Government funded the running costs.^[5]

Until January 2003, the western leg of the original route of the tram was downSpencer Street, but the route was then extended west to run throughHarbour Esplanade,Docklands.^[6][7][8][9] The travel time around the circle before this change was 40 minutes.^[10]

Between May and November 2005, the route temporarily ran between Flinders Street / Spencer Street and Victoria Parade / Nicholson Street due to the closure and removal of theFlinders Street Overpass overKing Street.^[11][12]

During early 2006, newPassenger Information Displays were installed along with Digital Voice Announcements.

In April 2008, the service adopted thedaylight saving timetable on a permanent basis, operating from 10:00 to 21:00 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The end of service at other times is 18:00.^[13]

On 30 May 2009, the route was altered for a second time, being extended fromHarbour Esplanade to the NewQuay andWaterfront City precincts via Docklands Drive. This made the route an elongated 'q'.^[14][15]

Services after 18:00 between Thursday and Sunday were removed in November 2020.^[16]

Due to driver shortages, the route's operator,Yarra Trams, has found it hard to run all City Circle tram services. Due to this, since 30 October 2023, the route only runs in a clockwise direction between 9:30 and 17:30 daily.^[17][18]

Interactive map of Melbourne tram route 35.

The route of the City Circle trams roughly follows the outer edges of theHoddle Grid, with three diversions. It takes in all ofLa Trobe Street,Harbour Esplanade andFlinders Street. It followsSpring Street between Flinders andBourke Streets, but travels alongNicholson Street andVictoria Street before turning into La Trobe Street. At the junction of Harbour Esplanade and Latrobe Street trams turn off the loop to run to and from a terminus towards the end of Docklands Drive,Waterfront City.

The City Circle route is operated with heritageW class trams, restored to original condition as part of the W8 upgrade. As of 2020, these are the only W-class trams on the system, and there are no plans to retire them. The City Circle trams originally sported a unique maroon livery promoting the service, however as part of the W8 upgrade the trams were restored back to their original green and cream livery. Until 2014, the City Circle was one of several routes to run W-class trams (30,78 and79) but the remaining routes controversially had their W-class trams removed, mostly replaced byA class. Trams display the route number 35.^[19][20] The City Circle operates at a headway of 12 minutes in the clockwise direction, with the service taking approximately 60 minutes to complete a loop. An average of three million passengers use the service every year, with each tram circling the city 9 times a day, or 12 times when the tram operates to 21:00.^[13]

v t e City Circle Tram
City Circle viaDocklands,La Trobe Street &Flinders Street Free tram zone covers entire route
Legend
Suburb Street Stop No. Waterfront City Connections Docklands Docklands Drive D11 The District Docklands 70,86 D10 NewQuay Footscray Road Siding   Harbour Esplanade D2 Central Pier 30,75 Harbour Esplanade Tram70,75    Camberwell Junction   La Trobe Street D1 Docklands Stadium La Trobe Street Bridge Melbourne CBD La Trobe Street 119 Spencer Street 86 Spencer Street Tram86    Bourke Street 1 Spencer Street 86 William Street Tram58 West Coburg  Toorak Flagstaff station●●●●●●●●●●●●●● 3 Flagstaff station 58;Flagstaff station 5 Melbourne Central station 19,57,59 Elizabeth Street Tram19,57,59 North Melbourne  Flinders Street station Melbourne Central station●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Swanston Street Tram1,3,5,6,16,64,67,72 Melbourne University  St Kilda Road 6 Melbourne Central & State Library stations 1,3,5,6,16,64,67,72 8 Exhibition Street 9 Victoria Street 30 La Trobe Street Nicholson Street Tram30 Tram86,96   Nicholson Street 11 Victoria Parade Victoria Parade 10 Parliament station Parliament station●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Bourke Street Tram86,96    Bourke Street Mall   Spring Street 0 Bourke Street 86,96 Collins Street Tram11,12,48,109 St Vincent's Plaza  Southern Cross station Wellington Parade Tram48,75    Hawthorn Bridge   Flinders Street 8 Spring Street 75 Batman Avenue Tram70    Wattle Park 6 Russell Street 70 605 Swanston Street Tram1,3,5,6,16,64,67,72 St Kilda Road  Melbourne University 5 Flinders Street station 1,3,5,6,16,64,67,72 Flinders Street station●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Elizabeth Street Tram19,57,59    North Melbourne 4 Flinders Street station 19,57,59 3 Market Street 58;Queen Street buses Market Street Tram58 Toorak  West Coburg 2 King Street 1 Spencer Street 12,96,109 Spencer Street Tram12,96,109 Casino/MCEC  Collins/Bourke Street Flinders Street Viaduct Docklands Flinders Street D6 Flinders Street West 232, 235, 237   McCrae Street D5 The Goods Shed   Harbour Esplanade D4 Docklands Park Collins Street Tram11,48 St Vincent's Plaza  Victoria Harbour D3 Docklands Stadium La Trobe Street Tram30,86    La Trobe Street/Bourke Street D2 Central Pier 30,86 Footscray Road Siding   Docklands Drive D10 NewQuay D11 The District Docklands 70,86 Suburb Street Stop No. Waterfront City Connections

Media related toCity Circle Tram at Wikimedia Commons

• Tram routes in Melbourne
• Free public transport
• 1994 establishments in Australia
• Melbourne central business district
• Public transport routes in the City of Melbourne (LGA)

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