When you think of things that Melbourne, Australia is famous for, you think of the 1956 Summer Olympics, tall buildings, massive stadiums, cafes, and Victorian architecture. Trains, on the other hand, wouldn’t exactly be the first thing to come to mind. Think again! Situated next to the Yarra River is Flinders Street Station, it is the busiest train station in Melbourne.
At the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne, the complex covers two whole city blocks and extends from Swanston Street to Queen Street. Over 100,000 commuters and 1,500 trains pass through the station on a daily basis. Since 1854, Flinders Street Station has been servicing the good people of Melbourne. The station is serviced by Metro’s suburban services, and V-Line regional services to Gippsland. It was the first railway station in an Australian city, the terminus for the first use of steam rail in Australia and the world’s busiest passenger station in the late 1920’s.
There’s an old saying among Melbournians: “I’ll meet you under the clocks”, refers to the row of clocks that hover above the main entrance to the station, which indicate the time-tabled time of departure for trains on each line.
From architectural standpoint, it is quite an elegant piece of eye-candy. It looks like something out of Victorian-era London, right down to the many clocks, hand-carved walls, arched entrance, and domed roof.
As I was walking past the main entrance of this station on my way to the Yarra River, I couldn’t help but be swept up in the hectic hustle-and-bustle of the many Melbournian commuters going in and out of the station’s entrance. It was exciting, but at the same time, it made me rather homesick for New York; it reminded me of being caught in the melee of passengers at Penn Station. Except it wasn’t underground, and you could see the sky and water! I guess what I’m saying is, it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, a busy train station is a busy train station!
