City Loop, Melbourne facts for kids
The City Loop (which used to be called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a special train system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It goes around the city's main area, called the central business district.
Most of the City Loop runs underground like a subway. Some parts are above ground or raised up. It connects Melbourne's two biggest train stations, Flinders Street and Southern Cross (which was once called Spencer Street). It also has three underground stations: Flagstaff, Melbourne Central (once called Museum), and Parliament.
Melbourne has 15 train lines that spread out to different suburbs. These lines all connect to the City Loop. The underground part of the Loop follows La Trobe and Spring Streets, going along the northern and eastern sides of the city center.
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When the City Loop Opened
The City Loop opened bit by bit between 1981 and 1985. In 1981, Queen Elizabeth II visited Museum station (now Melbourne Central) during her trip to Australia.
To tell people about the new train system, two short films were made. They were called Loop and Action Loop. These films helped Melburnians and people from other places learn about the new railway.
Amazing Facts About the Loop
The tunnels in the City Loop are about 12 km (7.5 mi) long in total. About 10 km (6.2 mi) of these are round tunnels, and 2 km (1.2 mi) are square-shaped tunnels.
There are four main tunnels, each about 3.74 km (2.32 mi) long. Another kilometer of track connects these tunnels to the train lines above ground.
To build the stations and line the tunnels, a huge amount of earth was dug out – about 900,000 m3 (1,200,000 cu yd)! They also poured about 300,000 m3 (390,000 cu yd) of concrete. About 30,000 tonnes (33,000 short tons) of steel was used to make the structure strong. Another 10,000 tonnes (11,000 short tons) of steel was used temporarily during the building process.
The whole project cost about $500 million. After it opened, more people started using the suburban trains, which was a big success!
How the City Loop Works
The City Loop is set up like four big circles, called balloon loops. Trains travel one way around the loop in the morning, and then they switch to go the other way in the afternoon. This helps manage the flow of trains during busy times.
Images for kids
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A Comeng train leaving the tunnel near Southern Cross Station.
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A platform at Melbourne Central Station.
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An Xtrapolis train at Flagstaff Station.
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A display showing the next train at Melbourne Central. This type of display was changed in 2011.
