Melbourne Central
Eastbound view from Platform 3, February 2026
General information
Location	La Trobe Street, Melbourne,Victoria 3000 City of Melbourne Australia
Coordinates	37°48′36″S144°57′46″E / 37.81000°S 144.96278°E /-37.81000; 144.96278
System	PTVcommuter rail station
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Lines	HurstbridgeMernda Frankston LilydaleBelgraveAlamein[a] Glen Waverley CraigieburnUpfield
Platforms	4 (2island)
Tracks	4
Connections	State Library:       Sunbury Tram Bus
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Depth	29 metres (95 ft)[1]
Platform levels	2
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Operational,premium station
Station code	MCE
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	24 January 1981; 45 years ago (1981-01-24)
Electrified	January 1981 (1500VDCoverhead)
Previous names	Museum (1981–1997)
Passengers
2019-2020	10.866 million[2]  28.75%
2020-2021	4.207 million[2]  61.28%
2021–2022	5.491 million[2]  30.54%
2022–2023	8.626 million[2]  57.09%
2023–2024	11.177 million[2]  29.57%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Flagstaff One-way operation Mernda line Parliament towardsMernda,Eltham orHurstbridge Hurstbridge line Flagstaff towardsFrankston via Flinders Street Frankston line Parliament One-way operation Direction of travel on metropolitan lines below between stations on theCity Loop changes to eitherFlagstaff orParliament depending on the line and time of day. Flagstaff towardsFlinders Street Lilydale line Parliament towardsLilydale,Belgrave,Alamein orGlen Waverley Belgrave line Alamein line Weekday peak hours only Glen Waverley line Weekday afternoon and weekends only Flagstaff towardsUpfield orCraigieburn Upfield line Parliament towardsFlinders Street Craigieburn line
Former services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Pre 2026 Flagstaff towardsFlinders Street Cranbourne line Parliament towardsEast Pakenham orCranbourne Pakenham line Flagstaff towardsWatergardens orSunbury Sunbury line Parliament towardsFlinders Street Pre 2021 Flagstaff towardsFlinders Street Sandringham line Parliament towardsSandringham Flagstaff towardsWerribee orWilliamstown Werribee line Parliament towardsFlinders Street Williamstown line
Track layout Legend toFlagstaff 1 3 L1 (upper) 2 4 L2 (lower) toParliament
Location

Melbourne Central station is arailway station operated byMetro Trains Melbourne on theBurnley,Caulfield,Clifton Hill andNorthern group lines, which are part of theMelbourne rail network. It serves theMelbourne city centre inVictoria,Australia. Melbourne Central is an undergroundpremium station on theCity Loop, featuring four platforms, twoisland platforms on two floors connected to street level by ashopping and commercial precinct. It opened on 24 January 1981, with station refurbishments underway as of June 2024.^[3]

Initially opened asMuseum, the station was given its current name of Melbourne Central on 16 February 1997, after theMelbourne Central Shopping Centre, which it is beneath.

The station is located underLa Trobe Street, betweenSwanston andElizabeth Streets, on the northern edge of thecentral business district (CBD). It feeds into Melbourne's main metro network station,Flinders Street, and alsoSouthern Cross, Melbourne's main regional terminus. In 2023-24, it was the third-busiest station on the Melbourne metropolitan rail network, with 11.177 million passengers.^[2][4][5]

The station was built usingcut and cover construction. In December 1973, to permit excavation of the station, La Trobe Street and its tram tracks were temporarily relocated to the south, onto the site of what is now the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, and moved back on completion of the work in 1978.^[6] The pit was 168 metres (551 ft 2 in) long and 22.5 metres (73 ft 10 in) wide, 29 metres (95 ft 2 in) deep at the Swanston Street end and 22 metres (72 ft 2 in) deep at the Elizabeth Street end. Seven layers of struts were used to support the excavation, with 2,600 tonnes of steel temporary supports required.^[7]

The station was designed by architectural firmPerrott Lyon Mathieson, with initial layout by associate David Simpson, followed by detailed design by Graeme Butler.^[8] The design included the two pairs of platforms, a spacious concourse directly under La Trobe Street, with entries facing the Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street corners. The Swanston Street corner included a set of raised circular platforms above the entry; during aRoyal Visit,Queen Elizabeth was shown around the not yet operational station on 28 May 1980, and unveiled a plaque naming it the Queen Elizabeth Plaza.^[9]

The station was finally opened on 24 January 1981, and opened asMuseum, after the adjacentNational Museum of Victoria andScience Museum of Victoria, in theState Library of Victoria complex on the opposite side of Swanston Street. It was the first station to open on the City Loop.^[10] Initially, the station was only used by trains on theBurnley andCaulfield groups, using platforms 2 and 4, with services from theClifton Hill group beginning to use platform 1 on 31 October 1982, and trains from theNorthern group beginning to use platform 3 on 1 May 1984. The Elizabeth Street entrance to the station opened on 5 April 1982.

The adjoining Melbourne Central Shopping Centre opened in 1991,^[11] being built around the existing escalators to street level, with only minor integration between the station concourse and shopping centre. The station was renamed after the shopping centre on 16 February 1997,^[12][13] and a few months later on 13 July, the National Museum of Victoria closed at the State Library site,^[14] in preparation for its relocation toCarlton, where it reopened as the Melbourne Museum in 2000.

The station concourse was extensively redeveloped in 2002/2003, as part of a redevelopment of the shopping centre, integrating it into the complex. The direct escalators from the concourse to Swanston Street closed in November 2003, and were replaced by escalators rising into the atrium under the cone in the centre of the shopping centre, making the path for rail passengers more convoluted.^[15] The concourse under La Trobe Street was integrated into the shopping centre with the installation of numerous shops.

On 1 February 2026, thePakenham,Cranbourne andSunbury were moved out of the City Loop and into theMetro Tunnel. Metro Tunnel services can be accessed from Melbourne Central by changing toState Library station, whose concourse is connected to Melbourne Central. Services on theFrankston returned to the City Loop, accessed from the same platforms formerly used for the Cranboure and Pakenham lines.^[16]

Melbourne Central has an underground concourse and two levels of platforms below it (2island platforms with four faces and tracks). Each platform serves a separate group of rail lines that leave the Loop and radiate out into thecity's suburbs. At peak times, with a train arriving every 2.5 minutes, the station has a passenger flow of 30,000 per hour. Threeelevators were initially provided, as well as 21 escalators.^[7] Melbourne Central is apremium station, meaning that it is staffed from first to last train and provides extra customer services.

The concourse has two sections separated by the shopping centre food court:

• The Elizabeth Street concourse has stairs and three escalators providing access to the street, a walkway to the Swanston Street concourse, a booking office, ticket barriers, toilets, and stairs and five escalators leading down to the platforms.
• The Swanston Street concourse was altered in the early 2000s, when redevelopment works were carried out at the adjacent Melbourne Central Shopping Centre. Inside the ticket barriers there are toilets, two lifts and five escalators going to the platforms, and the passage toState Library within the same paid area. Outside is a food court, an exit to La Trobe Street and Level LG of the shopping centre (which passes under Little Lonsdale Street). There is also a lift and four escalators to the shopping centre level above. On the next level up (Level G), there is access to Little Lonsdale and La Trobe Streets via the shopping centre. Access to Swanston Street is via three escalators and a set of stairs rising another floor (or the lift to Level 1 and a 70 m (230 ft) walk), and a walk through the shopping centre past theshot tower.

Melbourne Central is the third-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan rail network.^[2]

Yarra Trams operates thirteen services via Melbourne Central station, on Swanston, Elizabeth, and La Trobe Streets.

Swanston Street

• :East Coburg –South Melbourne Beach^[17]
• :Melbourne University –East Malvern^[18]
• : Melbourne University –Malvern^[19]
• :Moreland –Glen Iris^[20]
• : Melbourne University –Kew^[21]
• : Melbourne University –East Brighton^[22]
• : Melbourne University –Carnegie^[23]
• : Melbourne University –Camberwell^[24]

Elizabeth Street

• :North Coburg –Flinders Street Station^[25]
• :West Maribyrnong –Flinders Street Station^[26]
• :Airport West –Flinders Street Station^[27]

La Trobe Street

• :St Vincent's Plaza –Central Pier Docklands^[28]
• :City Circle^[29]

Kinetic Melbourne operates four bus routes fromLonsdale Street (Melbourne Central side), under contract toPublic Transport Victoria:

•  200 : toBulleen^[30]
•  207 : toWestfield Doncaster^[31]
•  250 : toLa Trobe University Bundoora campus^[32]
•  251 : toNorthland Shopping Centre^[33]

Kinetic Melbourne operates thirteen bus routes from Lonsdale Street (Myer side), under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  250 : toQueen Street^[32]
•  251 : to Queen Street^[33]
•  302 : to Queen Street^[34]
•  303 : to Queen Street^[35]
•  304 : toKing Street^[36]
•  305 : toSpencer Street (Peak Hour only)^[37]
•  309 : to Queen Street^[38]
•  318 : to Spencer Street^[39]
•  350 : to Queen Street^[40]
• SmartBus 905 : to Spencer Street^[41]
• SmartBus 906 : to Spencer Street^[42]
• SmartBus 907 : to Spencer Street^[43]
• SmartBus 908 : to Spencer Street (Peak Hour only)^[44]

Kinetic Melbourne operates eleven bus routes fromSwanston/Lonsdale Streets (QV), under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

•  302 : toBox Hill station^[34]
•  303 : toRingwood North^[35]
•  304 : to Westfield Doncaster^[36]
•  305 : toThe Pines Shopping Centre (Peak Hour only)^[37]
•  309 : toDonvale^[38]
•  318 : to Deep Creek Reserve (Doncaster East)^[39]
•  350 : to La Trobe University Bundoora campus^[40]
• SmartBus 905 : to The Pines Shopping Centre^[41]
• SmartBus 906 : toWarrandyte^[42]
• SmartBus 907 : toMitcham station^[43]
• SmartBus 908 : to The Pines Shopping Centre (Peak Hour only)^[44]

Media related toMelbourne Central railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au

• Buildings and structures in the Melbourne central business district
• Premium Melbourne railway stations
• Railway stations in Australia opened in 1981
• Railway stations in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
• Railway stations located underground in Melbourne

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