Melbourne tram route 109

Route 109
Box Hill – Port Melbourne
Overview
System	Melbourne tramway network
Operator	Yarra Trams, for Public Transport Victoria
Depot	Kew
Vehicle	A class, C class
Route
Locale	Melbourne, Australia
Start	Box Hill
Via	Collins Street
End	Port Melbourne
Zone(s)	Zone1 Station Pier–Whitehorse Rd (Balwyn Rd) Zones1&2 Whitehorse Rd (Balwyn Rd–Market St)
Timetable	Route 109 timetable
Map	Route 109 map
Route map 200px ← Route 96  →

Tram route 109 is a tram service in Melbourne, Australia. It runs between a terminus in Box Hill and a terminus near Station Pier in Port Melbourne. The route runs along a light rail track between Port Melbourne and Southbank, using the right-of-way of the former Port Melbourne railway line, the first railway in Australia, which was converted to light rail in 1987. It is the most used route in Melbourne, with over 15.6 million trips per year.

Unlike most tram routes in Melbourne, it falls within Myki ticketing Zone 1 and Zone 1/2.

At Box Hill, it links with train services at Box Hill railway station, as well as many bus routes that run to Centro Box Hill shopping centre.

History

The origins of route 109 lie in separate tram lines, a cable tram from Spencer Street to the Yarra River, a horse tram from the Yarra River to Kew Cemetery, an electric line from Kew Junction to Box Hill (extended over the years), and the Port Melbourne railway line.

A cable line was opened by the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company from Spencer Street to Brunswick Street along Collins Street, MacArthur Street, Gisborne Street and Victoria Parade on 2 October 1886, and extended to the west side of the Yarra River along Victoria Parade and Victoria Street on 22 November 1886. A connecting horse tram was built from the east side of the Yarra River to Kew Cemetery, along Barkers Road, High Street South and High Street, opening on 28 December 1887.

The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust opened a line from High Street to Burke Road along Cotham Road on 30 May 1913. On 1 November 1914 the Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust received permission to convert the horse tram line to electric traction, and the new electric line was opened on 24 February 1915. The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust extended the Cotham Road line to Union Road, Mont Albert along Whitehorse Road, on 30 September 1916.

In 1929 the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board started converting the Collins Street cable lines to electric traction, with the last cable tram running down Collins Street on 14 September 1929, and the first electric tram on 8 December 1929. At the same time the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board built a new electric line down the centre of Victoria Parade to replace the cable line, which opened on 15 September 1929. For the next six decades the Melbourne to Mont Albert tram was the famous Route 42, celebrated by a 1982 theatrical production, Storming Mont Albert by Tram, which was performed on a specially-chartered Route 42 tram from the Mont Albert terminus to the city and return.

The line was extended south west to Port Melbourne along Spencer St and the former Port Melbourne Railway on 21 December 1987 following the conversion of the Railway (along with the St Kilda Line) to light rail. The broad gauge 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) track was re-gauged to standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) and the overhead voltage was reduced from 1500V DC to 600V DC with light rail platforms built adjacent to or near the former stations platforms.

The other end of the line was extended from its original terminus at Mont Albert to Box Hill along Whitehorse Road, about 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi), at the cost of $28 million, on 2 June 2003.

Route

Description

The Port Melbourne terminus, with the Port Melbourne railway station building in the foreground.

Route 109 runs from Box Hill, travelling west on Whitehorse Road traversing the suburbs of Mont Albert, Surrey Hills, Balwyn and Deepdene. Entering Kew at Burke Road, Whitehorse Road becomes Cotham Road. It continues west, through Kew Junction and then south west along High Street, High Street South and turns west into Barkers Road.

It crosses the Yarra River into Victoria Street Richmond and continues west, at Hoddle Street Victoria Street becomes Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, it passes through St Vincent's Plaza, passing St Vincent's Hospital, Eye and Ear Hospital and turns south onto Gisborne Street, continues south west along MacArthur Street and turns west into Collins Street, entering the CBD, passing Melbourne Town Hall and City Square.

It turns south into Spencer Street, passing Southern Cross Station, it crosses the Yarra River and enters Southbank on Clarendon Street before traversing the suburbs of South Melbourne and Port Melbourne on a right-of-way – the former Port Melbourne railway line – and terminates at Port Melbourne railway station, near Station Pier.

Schematic map

Route 109
Box Hill Box Hill Station Stop 58 Nelson Rd 57 Elgar Rd 56 Union Rd 53 Balwyn 47 Burke Rd Route 72 42 Glenferrie Rd Route 16 36 Kew Junction Routes 24, 48 32 Kew Barkers Rd Route 48 29 Burnley St 24 Church St Routes 78 21 North Richmond Station North Richmond Station 19 Hoddle St 18 East Melbourne Smith St 15 St Vincent's Plaza Routes 11, 12, 24, 30 12 Parliament Parliament Station Routes 48, City Circle 8 City Swanston St Routes 1, 3/3a, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67, 72 6 Elizabeth St Routes 19, 57, 59 5 William St Route 55 3 Spencer St Southern Cross Station Routes 11, 48, 75, 96 1 Batman Park Routes 70, 75, City Circle 124 Casino Route 12 124a Port Junction Route 96 125 South Melbourne North Port 127 Port Melbourne 129
Not all stops are shown, refer to timetable for full list of stops.

Operation

Route 109 is run from Kew depot and is predominantly run with C class trams. However, A class trams are sometimes used in the event of tram shortages or special events.

See also

• Transport in Australia

External links

• Public Transport Victoria
• Yarra Trams
• Official network maps
• Route 109 timetable
• Route 109 map