Route 30
E class tram onLa Trobe Street, January 2022
Overview
System	Melbourne tramway network
Operator	Yarra Trams
Depot	Southbank
Vehicle	A class E class
Began service	25 September 1972
Route
Start	St Vincent's Plaza
Via	Victoria Street La Trobe Street
End	Central Pier
Length	2.9 kilometres
Timetable	Route 30 timetable
Map	Route 30 map
Route map {{{map}}} ← Route 19  {{{system_nav}}}  Route 35 →

Melbourne tram route 30 is atram route on theMelbourne tramway network serving the city ofMelbourne inVictoria,Australia. Operated byYarra Trams, the route is colouredviolet and extends fromSt Vincent's Plaza toCentral Pier over 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi) of double track viaVictoria Street andLa Trobe Street. It is serviced out ofSouthbank depot utilisingA andE class trams.

The line alongLa Trobe Street betweenSpencer Street (Stop 1) andBrunswick Street (nowSt Vincent's Plaza) (Stop 12) was opened by theMelbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board on 15 January 1951.^[1] Until 1972, trams running the La Trobe Street shuttle usually ran without numbers.^[2] Route 30 was first allocated to the line betweenCitySpencer Street to viaLa Trobe Street on 25 September 1972. On 19 June 1973, a siding was installed just east of St Vincent's Plaza in order to allowroute 12 and route 30 trams to shunt out of the way of through-running trams.^[2]

Most of the trams routes that ran via Brunswick Street or Victoria Parade also had peak-hour variants that would terminate at the La Trobe Street (for example route 23 and 24). For most of its operation, route 30 had never had a weekend or an evening service (services ending at 18:00).

In 1995, route 34 commenced operation between City (La Trobe Street) andEast Melbourne, and operated during off-peak hours (10:00 to 15:30).^[3] Route 30 became peak-only following this point. Route 34 was discontinued from regular service on 19 September 2003, and replaced by new off-peak services of route 30 which began on 21 September 2003.^[4][5]

As part of theDocklands redevelopment project, tram tracks along La Trobe Street were extended west over theSpencer Street railyards in 2000. On 30 November 2003, the off-peak services of route 30 were extended via the La Trobe Street extension,Harbour Esplanade andFlinders Street before terminating at theMarket Street intersection.^[6][7]

On 4 January 2005, off-peak services of route 30 were altered to terminate atWaterfront City along Harbour Esplanade and Docklands Drive, with the opening of the Docklands Drive tram extension.^[8][9][10] Peak hour services continued to terminate at Spencer Street.^[11]

Between May and November 2005, all route 30 peak hour services were temporarily extended and terminated at Waterfront City, to replace a truncated section ofroute 48 between Central Pier and Waterfront City. During this time, the latter temporarily terminated atMarket Street due to the closure and removal of theFlinders Street Overpass overKing Street.^[12] The temporary arrangement ceased with the completion of works in November 2005.^[13]

On 28 July 2008, route 30 swapped termini withroute 86, with all peak and off-peak services terminating in Harbour Esplanade atCentral Pier, while route 86 was extended to Waterfront City.^{[14][5][15][16]}

On 1 January 2019, the operation of route 30 was extended to evenings and weekends for the first time.^{[clarification needed]}

During special events such as theAustralian Open or theAustralian Grand Prix, route 30 does not operate. Instead,route 12 temporarily diverts via La Trobe Street and replaces route 30.^[17] The temporary cessation of route 30 and diversion of route 12 was also in place between 13 July and 7 November 2020, as part of aCOVID-19 response plan to increase overall capacity in the city which introduced shuttle services ofroute 11.^[18][19][20] When route 30 recommenced operations on 8 November 2020,E class trams commenced operation on the route.^[20][21]

Interactive map of Melbourne tram route 30.

Route 30 runs from theSt Vincent's Plaza,East Melbourne west on Victoria Parade then viaLa Trobe Street toCentral Pier.

Route 30 is operated out ofSouthbank depot withE class trams.^[22][23][24] In September 2003 operation of the route was transferred fromKew depot to Southbank.^[25] It was operated byW class trams until 23 December 2014. Until January 2019, Route 30 was the only tram route on the network that neither operated at night nor on weekends. TheA class tram very occasionally runs on the route 30.

v t e Route 30
St Vincent's Plaza -Central Pier viaEast Melbourne,La Trobe Street &City Free tram zone covers stops 10 to D2,fare zone 1 applies to stop 12
Legend
Suburb Street Stop No. St Vincent's Plaza Connections continues as Tram12,109 toVictoria Gardens &Box Hill St Vincent's Plaza Siding Brunswick Street Tram11    West Preston East Melbourne Victoria Parade 12 St Vincent's Plaza 11,12 109 ; Victoria Parade buses Gisborne Street Tram11,12,109 Collins Street   10 Nicholson Street 86,96 Nicholson Street Tram86,96 Bourke Street  Melbourne Museum Melbourne CBD Victoria Parade 9 La Trobe Street 402   La Trobe Street 8 Exhibition Street 250, 251 7 Russell Street 200, 207 6 Melbourne Central station 1,3,5,6,16,64,67,72 Swanston Street Tram1,3,5,6,16,64,67,72 St Kilda Road  Melbourne University Melbourne Central station●●●●●●●●●●●●●● 5 Melbourne Central station 19,57,59 Elizabeth Street Tram19,57,59 Flinders Street station  North Melbourne 4 Queen Street Queens Street buses 3 Flagstaff station 58 William Street Tram58 Toorak  West Coburg Flagstaff station●●●●●●●●●●●●●● 2 King Street 1 Spencer Street 86; 216, 219, 684 Spencer Street Tram86 Bundoora RMIT  Spencer St Siding 119 Spencer Street 86 Docklands La Trobe Street D1 Docklands Stadium Harbour Esplanade Tram70,75 Camberwell Junction     Harbour Esplanade D2 Central Pier 70,75,86 Docklands Drive Tram70,86 Waterfront City   Footscray Road Siding Suburb Street Stop No. Central Pier Connections
Note: Green denotes free tram zone

Media related toMelbourne tram route 30 at Wikimedia Commons

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