Town Hall railway station, Melbourne

Town Hall railway station (originally known by the working title of CBD South) is a rapid transit station currently under construction as part of the Metro Tunnel project in Melbourne, Victoria. The station will serve the southern end of the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and will connect to Flinders Street station via an underground pedestrian walkway.^[1]

Town Hall
Future PTV rapid transit station
An acoustic box over the Collins Street entry to Town Hall railway station in December 2020
General information
Location	Swanston Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000 City of Melbourne Australia
Coordinates	37°48′57″S 144°58′02″E / 37.8159259°S 144.9671336°E / -37.8159259; 144.9671336
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Sunshine–Dandenong
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Connections	Flinders Street Tram
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Depth	28 metres (92 feet)
Accessible	Yes—step free access
Other information
Status	Under construction
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Town Hall station
History
Electrified	Yes
Previous names	CBD South
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station State Library towards Sunbury Sunshine–Dandenong corridor (under construction) Anzac towards East Pakenham or Cranbourne
Track layout Legend to State Library 1 2 Yarra River to Anzac

It is being built below Swanston Street between Flinders and Collins Streets and will serve local destinations including St Paul's Cathedral, Federation Square, Southbank and the Degraves Street dining precinct. It is named for the nearby Melbourne Town Hall. Construction commenced in 2018 with the station expected to open in 2025.

History

The Metro Tunnel project began in 2015, with early works commencing on the two central business district (CBD) station sites in 2017.^[2][3] In April 2017, City Square on Swanston Street was fenced off for the commencement of construction and staging works.^[4] Major station works at Town Hall began in 2018.^[5]

Cross Yarra Partnership, led by Lendlease, was named as the preferred bidder for the construction contract in July 2017 and designs for the project's five stations were presented by the consortium were released publicly, as well as details of connections to existing stations and streetscapes.^[6] In November 2017, after a naming competition, it was announced the CBD South station would be named Town Hall, after the nearby Melbourne Town Hall.^[7] Updated designs were revealed by the government in 2018 that showed Town Hall and State Library stations would feature large platform caverns with archways, and that there would be multiple entrances.^[8][9]

City Square, Port Philip Arcade on Flinders Street and several small shops along Swanston Street were demolished to allow construction of the station.^[10][11][12]

 

Acoustic box over the Federation Square entrance to Town Hall station, with Flinders Street station in the background.

In May 2020, major traffic changes were put in place near Flinders Street station in order to improve safety around large trucks entering acoustic sheds as a part of the project. Left turns from St Kilda Road to Flinders Street were removed, and the pedestrian crossing between St Paul's Cathedral and Federation Square was temporarily closed.^[13]

Two tunnel boring machines arrived at Town Hall station in April 2021 and were dismantled and extracted, signalling an end to tunnelling on the project.^[14] Road-headers broke through at the platform tunnels of Town Hall station in August 2021 as the major excavation phase on the two CBD stations neared completion.^[15] Town Hall was excavated to a depth of 33 m (108 ft) below street level, with the station platforms to sit 27 m (89 ft) below street level.^[15] This followed the completion of road-header excavation of the platform caverns at State Library in 2020.^[16]

In late 2022, acoustic sheds began to be dismantled at the Town Hall and Anzac station locations in order to allow construction of above-ground station structures.^[17][18]

Design

The station will feature four entrances, the main entrance being located in City Square opposite Melbourne Town Hall, the second being located off Flinders Street, connected to Cocker Alley and Scott Alley.^[19] The third entrance is located within Federation Square, with the Square's information centre demolished in 2018 to construct the new entrance.^[20]

The final entrance is an underground connection to nearby Flinders Street station through the already existing Campbell Arcade connection.^[19] A number of changes were made to the design of the Campbell Arcade walkway to preserve the site's heritage character.^[21]

Initially it was planned to build the station using the cut-and-cover method, however this was changed so that the tunnels would run deeper underneath the ground in order to not disturb services, utilities and businesses on Swanston Street.^[22][23]

Like State Library station, Town Hall used a unique "trinocular" construction method involved the mining of three large, overlapping tunnels with vaulted ceilings.^[24] Large arches will define the 230 metre long platforms.^[25] Underneath City Square, the station's main entrance features a 14-metre high concourse space.^[26] Eight columns hold up a vaulted ceiling nicknamed "the crypt", an architectural reference to the nearby St Paul's Cathedral.^[26]

The station was designed by architects RSHP, Hassell and Weston Williamson.^[27]

Over-site development

 

Excavation for Town Hall station at the site of City Square, 2019.

In December 2022 the developer Lendlease secured planning approval for the over-site development above the Flinders Street entrance to Town Hall.^[28] The nine-story office and retail development will feature station entrances opening to Swanston Street, Flinders Street and rebuilt arcades connecting to Cocker Alley and Scott Alley.^[29] The site is owned by the Victorian government and sits around the famous Young and Jackson Hotel and adjoins the Nicholas Building.^[30]

Art and sculpture

Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer was commissioned to create a permanent artwork for Town Hall as part of the Metro Tunnel's legacy artwork program.^[31] A number of artworks and sculptures will be returned to the Town Hall sites once construction has finished, including the King Neptune sculpture by Melbourne artist Charles Bush.^[19] The King Neptune sculpture sat above the entrance to Port Phillip Arcade on Flinders Street, which was demolished for the station.^[32][19] The famous statue of ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills was removed from City Square in 2017 and is planned to return to the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets after the completion of the station.^[33] The John Mockridge Fountain water wall will also be returned and relocated to the northern edge of City Square along Collins Street.^[34]

Town Hall station precinct

As part of the construction of Town Hall Station, the City Square precinct is set to be rebuilt as a public gathering and events space.^[26] There will be 70 new bike parking spaces built to cope with increasing demand, as well as improved tram interchanges on Flinders, Collins, and Swanston streets.^[19] A new tram connection is planned to be built as part of the Metro Tunnel, allowing trams to turn onto Flinders Street from the current tram terminus on Elizabeth Street.^[35]

Station layout

G	Street level	Entrances/Exits
B1M	City Square Concourse	Walkway
B1	City Square Concourse	Retail, walkway
	Federation Square Concourse	Walkway
	Flinders and Swanston Streets Concourse	Retail, toilets, walkway
B2	City Square Concourse	Retail, toilets, walkway
	Federation Square Concourse	Walkway
	Flinders and Swanston Streets Concourse	Concourse, passageway to Flinders Street station, Campbell Arcade
B3	City Square Concourse	Concourse, customer service
	Federation Square Concourse	Walkway to platform
	Flinders and Swanston Streets Concourse
B4 Platforms	Platform 1	→  Sunshine Dandenong Line  towards Sunbury (State Library) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 2	←  Sunshine Dandenong Line  towards Pakenham or Cranbourne (Anzac)

^[36][37]

References

1. "CBD stations construction plans". Metro Tunnel. Melbourne Metro Rail Authority. from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
2. "Work Begins On The Melbourne Metro Rail Project | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
3. Dow, Aisha; Lucas, Clay (16 January 2017). "CBD roads to be closed for years as Melbourne Metro Tunnel construction begins". The Age. from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
4. Preiss, Benjamin (3 April 2017). "City Square shuts down as work begins on Metro Tunnel". The Age. from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
5. "Station Construction Underway On The Metro Tunnel | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
6. Lillebuen, Steve (16 July 2017). "Metro Tunnel: Melbourne's changing face revealed as consortium named for $11 billion project". The Age. from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
7. Steve, Lillebuen; Jacks, Timna (29 November 2017). "Metro Tunnel: New train station names revealed". The Age. from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
8. "Sweeping archways, open spaces for Melbourne's new 'landmark' stations". ABC News. 30 May 2018. from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
9. Turbet, Hanna Mills (30 May 2018). "Melbourne Metro Tunnel station designs revealed". The Age. from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
10. "Demolition on Port Phillip Arcade signals start of major works on the new Town Hall station". Urban.com.au. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
11. "Authorities move in on Port Phillip Arcade". www.cbdnews.com.au. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
12. Lucas, Clay (1 March 2017). "Artworks go, huge shed to follow, as City Square gets ready to shut in April". The Age. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
13. "TRAFFIC CHANGES IN THE CBD". from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
14. Build, Victoria’s Big (14 April 2021). "Tunnel boring machines Joan and Millie complete their work on the Metro Tunnel". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
15. Build, Victoria’s Big (3 November 2021). "Town Hall Station milestone heralds final stages of excavation". Victoria’s Big Build. from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
16. "State Library Station taking shape below Swanston St". www.cbdnews.com.au. from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
17. Build, Victoria’s Big (14 January 2022). "First acoustic shed to come down as Metro Tunnel goes next level". Victoria’s Big Build. from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
18. Build, Victoria’s Big (13 July 2022). "New look for Swanston Street as tower cranes go up". Victoria’s Big Build. from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
19. Build, Victoria’s Big (1 June 2023). "Town Hall Station design and location". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
20. Build, Victoria’s Big (21 July 2022). "Federation Square". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
21. Heritage (15 May 2023). "Change is afoot at Campbell Arcade". Heritage. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
22. Willingham, Richard; Carey, Adam (21 October 2015). "Melbourne Metro rail: Tunnels to go deeper underground to keep trams running". The Age. from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
23. Carey, Adam (5 November 2015). "Melbourne Metro to close busy city streets for up to three years, including Domain Road". The Age. from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
24. Build, Victoria’s Big (3 March 2022). "Exploring State Library Station's trinocular design". Victoria’s Big Build. from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
25. "Town Hall Station shaping as a new city landmark". www.cbdnews.com.au. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
26. Build, Victoria’s Big (11 May 2023). "Work on Town Hall Station powers ahead under City Square". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
27. "Updated Melbourne Metro Tunnel station design unveiled". Architecture Australia. 10 August 2021.
28. Nicholson, Marisa Wikramanayake,Ralph (7 December 2022). "Lendlease Wins Approval for Melbourne Metro Tower". The Urban Developer. Retrieved 14 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
29. Nicholson, Marisa Wikramanayake,Ralph (7 December 2022). "Lendlease Wins Approval for Melbourne Metro Tower". The Urban Developer. Retrieved 14 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
30. "Council endorses tower above a future Metro station at famous intersection". www.cbdnews.com.au. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
31. Build, Victoria’s Big (31 May 2023). "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer – Town Hall Station". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
32. "24-hour construction starting in CBD". www.cbdnews.com.au. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
33. "Melbourne's oldest public statue removed from display". ABC News. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
34. "CBD South Precinct Development Plan" (PDF). Metro Tunnel Authority: Cross Yarra Partnership. 3 August 2022.
35. "Metro Tunnel To Transform Melbourne's Tram Network | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
36. "Network Development Plan" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2021.
37. "CBD South Precinct Development Plan Appendix B: Architectural Plans" (PDF). Big Build Victoria. Rail Projects Victoria. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

External links

  Media related to Town Hall railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons