Last week PTV and Yarra Trams finished building six new level access platform tram stops on La Trobe Street in Melbourne’s CBD, together with some complementary improvements. Details of the $68 million project were first announced in November 2023.

Unlike LXRP and other ‘Big Build‘ infrastructure projects, it seems these were opened to almost no fanfare or publicity.

One thing that seems to have slipped through the media and online coverage is the number of stops. All of the State Government’s publicity material refers to ’12 new tram stops’ but this is the number of platforms, not stops. To me – and I think most other people (including PTV) – a single tram stop is a single location, not the number of platforms. This is why I refer here to six new tram stops, not 12, which I believe is the correct number.

Project scope and background

The main component of this project was building the following six new tram stops on La Trobe Street between Harbour Esplanade and Victoria Street:

• Docklands Stadium (Stop D1)
• Spencer Street (Stop 1)
• William Street (Stop 3)
• Elizabeth Street (Stop 5)
• Swanston Street (Stop 6)
• Exhibition Street (Stop 8)

These replaced eight tram stops by removing or amalgamating stops at Queen Street and King Street.

This was done in two stages to minimise disruption and stage the available labour and materials. The first stage was west of Queen Street with the second east of Queen Street. The second stage finished on schedule on Friday 30 August, with all stops open the next day.

I’m unsure why the scope of the project did not extend a little further to the only two other stops on the Route 30 that are not accessible – both on Victoria Street at Nicholson Street and La Trobe Street. These are in a wide central median and would be technically easy to upgrade. Apparently removing the stop at Victoria Street on La Trobe Street was originally proposed but this did not proceed due to public complaints. If these were upgraded, then all of Route 30 would be accessible.

One particularly interesting thing to mention is that in the months prior to the permanent infrastructure being built, a temporary upgraded tram stop was built on La Trobe Street at Swanston Street.

This wasn’t built as a level access stop but instead marked out the space where the new stop would be. It was done during track renewal works in January 2024 at the intersection of Swanston Street and La Trobe Street. It’s good that we are seeing integration between different projects and hopefully a method that we will see more in the future.

This temporary stop also included new zebra crossings at the eastern end.

Level access platform tram stops

The six permanent upgraded stops are built now so let’s have a look.

I wandered down to see the ones at Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street on the day they opened.

The first thing to note is their design. They are facing platforms and in the centre of the road with a single general traffic lane and kerbside protected bike lane on either side.

La Trobe Street is a Strategic Cycling Corridor as well as a major tram route which is why the protected bike lanes have been installed. They have been significantly disrupted for many years – especially by the Metro Tunnel. So once that is finished hopefully these lanes will be continuous and usable once again.

The platforms are also very long. They seem to be able to accommodate two E class trams that are just over 33 metres long each.

All platforms have the standard modern tram shelters that we see elsewhere on the network. These include integrated seats, bum rests and space for people in wheelchairs to wait.

There are also live departure Tramtracker displays. Although I do like these a lot my main criticism is that they are too small. I think a newer version that is easier to read from a distance would be a big improvement.

It seems like they have tried to compensate for this by installing 2-3 per platform which is a good idea in the interim.

While we’re talking about passenger information, this has been done well. The signage is clear and at logical points.

My only minor critique is that they are missing standalone platform signs, like this one below.

I think these are important as they stand out more than signs underneath the awnings of tram shelters, especially if you are on a tram. I do understand the need to ‘declutter’ and minimise the number of objects on platforms but this is one thing that I think is useful to keep.

The other wayfinding and information is very good. The stop signs on the fence are clear and well-sited. I do like the new stop names too showing both Melbourne Central and State Library Stations.

The information boards are excellent and show a lot of useful information. This is particularly important for these stops as they are heavily used by tourists, mostly for the Route 35 City Circle tram.

The board also shows timetable information. Unfortunately this is where another one of my gripes with our printed public transport timetables re-emerges.

There has been a tendency in recent years to substitute specific times with “every X minutes”. This can be fine if the frequency is ‘turn up and go’ – i.e. every 10 minutes or better. But this is hardly ever the case here.

As you can see above, neither Route 30 or 35 crack the 10 minute mark – and when they do, only barely. Having a range of up to 20 minutes isn’t useful. The timetable should show specific times instead.

I also like the route guide and timetable format but this is yet another new design language and layout. There must be about ten different types out there on the network at the moment across trains, trams and buses. I would love to see some consistency.

Complementary works and improvements

This project wasn’t just about the tram stop infrastructure itself. Like all good projects, it has included upgrades to adjacent infrastructure too.

We’ve already mentioned the kerbside protected bike lanes. But there have also been further improvements at each intersection. This includes bicycle head start lanterns that give people riding bikes a green signal a few seconds before cars. This makes it safer as people on bikes can get ahead of cars at intersections to improve visibility and reduce the likelihood of a crash. Combined with the new kerbside protection all the way to the intersection – which is a big improvement – these two changes alone make it much safer for people using the bike lanes.

These new signals and intersection linemarking also include formalised hook turns for bikes, like on Collins Street at Swanston Street.

The final thing to mention for bikes is that green paint has been laid through some of the intersections. It makes the bike lane much more visible for people driving cars – especially those turning left. This treatment through an intersection has been rare in Victoria so it’s great to see it finally getting more widespread traction.

Some of the other complementary improvements are for people walking.

I think that one of the best things to happen as a result of the new stops is that they have allowed these awful old footpath shelters to be removed.

These used to block more than half the width of busy city footpaths and were usually nothing more than giant advertising opportunities and tripping hazards. I, for one, will not miss them one bit.

The design of these stops has also created more formal crossings on La Trobe Street. These include the zebra crossings from the temporary tram stop at Swanston Street that I mentioned earlier, but I was very confused when I went to visit the permanent stop. This was because traffic signals have been installed in the same place as brand new, permanent zebra crossings.

There is no way that this crossing can be both signalied and pedestrian priority so I’m not really sure what is happening here.

Both the artist’s impressions and the temporary stop included zebras – which I hope is what ends up being installed. It’s on a strong desire line between RMIT University and the State Library and will be well-used. The only reason I can think of that would merit signalising this crossing would be to manage cars queuing over Swanston Street and blocking trams, but I think that is going to happen anyway (and already does…).

The final big improvement here is at Elizabeth Street. This intersection with La Trobe Street is one of the most overcrowded in the CBD. So this much wider pedestrian crossing on its western leg will certainly help – although the other corners also need a significant decluttering and widening exercise at some point.

Countdown timers have also been installed to show people walking how much time is left before the light turns red.

Overall these tram corridor upgrades are a big improvement. The stops are well-designed and spacious and have included good ancillary improvements to the street. The speed at which they were designed and built is also impressive.

It’s a great example of what can be done to upgrade our tram infrastructure and bring it into the 21st century.