Services and Direction of Travel
All suburban trains serve Flinders Street, some having travelled through the Loop first, some travelling directly to Flinders Street then through the Loop, and a small number reversing at Flinders Street (as many trains did before the Loop was built). At midday most services reverse direction through the loop. The reversal of the loop gives some passengers the best possible route into and out of the city, but at the same time gives other passengers the worst route twice a day. This reversal is likely unique to Melbourne and is criticised for catering primarily to CBD work commuters, whilst causing confusion for irregular or off-peak passengers.
Until 1993, a 'City Circle' service operated continuously around the Loop to provide cross-CBD travel, and was replaced by the much slower City Circle Tram in 1994. As a result depending on the time of day, direction, and stations chosen; when travelling between adjacent stations by train a change at the third station may be required. In 1997, regular Sunday services though the loop were introduced, as before this time they only stopped at Melbourne Central until 6.45pm. In 2000, Sunday services were expanded to the last train. The direction of travel changes in each tunnel according to the time of day and day of week, as shown in the table below. Each suburban line belongs to one of four groups, each group running through one tunnel. The direction change occurs between approximately 12.30 and 1.00 pm, during which time no trains run through the Loop.
In November 2008, the Clifton Hill group was altered to run clockwise all day during weekdays, to avoid the flat junction at Jolimont and permit increased service frequency. The Werribee line service was also removed from the Northern Loop tunnel during peak hour, instead running direct to Flinders Street. In June 2010, many services from Frankston to the city were also altered, and now do not travel through the city loop.
On 22 April 2012, a new Metro timetable began operation, with a reversed Northern Loop on weekends. This means that all Northern group lines now run through the city loop first before Flinders Street, and then run back out of the city via Southern Cross
| Burnley group | Caulfield group | Clifton Hill group / City Circle |
Northern group | |
| Weekday mornings | All loop trains except Clifton Hill group run via the Loop to Flinders Street | |||
| Anti-clockwise | Anti-clockwise | Clockwise | Clockwise | |
| Weekday afternoons | All loop trains run via the Loop after departing Flinders Street | |||
| Clockwise | Clockwise | Clockwise | Anti-clockwise | |
| Weekends | All loop trains except Burnley group trains run via the Loop to Flinders Street. | |||
| Clockwise | Anti-clockwise | Anti-Clockwise | Clockwise | |
Read more about this topic: City Loop
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