Trams of Australia
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For information about the tram system, go to the travel information section. If you are visiting Melbourne, there are a couple of special trams which might interest you.
Most routes are laid on streets, although many are within segregated median strips. Two routes (96 and 109) run in part on the former Port Melbourne and St. Kilda heavy rail lines, which were converted from 1600 mm gauge to 1435 mm gauge light rail operation in 1987.
One of the stations on this Loop, Museum station, has been renamed (most misleadingly) as "Melbourne Central station". It is nothing of the sort, but was named after an adjacent shopping centre. One wonders how the State Government came to agree to this one, especially as the name is not in common usage. (Most Melburnians call it "Daimaru" after its major tenant.)
The operation of the City Loop is rather confusing to visitors. It consists of four independent, single-track loops. Trains pass through the City Loop before arriving at Flinders St station during weekday mornings. This means that three of the loops (connected to eastern lines) run anti-clockwise, and one (connected to northern and western lines) runs clockwise. At midday, all tracks reverse direction. Saturday and Sunday use the "afternoon" direction, all day. Not all trains enter the City Loop, indeed trains from some lines never do.