Flagstaff railway station

Flagstaff
PTV commuter rail station
Platform 2
General information
Location	La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 City of Melbourne Australia
Coordinates	37°48′43″S 144°57′22″E / 37.81194°S 144.95611°E / -37.81194; 144.95611
Owned by	VicTrack
Operated by	Metro Trains
Line(s)	Hurstbridge Mernda Frankston Lilydale Belgrave Alamein[1] Glen Waverley Craigieburn Upfield
Platforms	4 (2 island)
Tracks	4
Connections	Tram
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Depth	32 m[2]
Platform levels	2
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	FGS
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	27 May 1985 (1985-05-27)
Electrified	January 1981 (1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
Passengers (2019-2020)	3.883 million[3]  20.01%
Passengers (2020-2021)	1.378 million[3]  64.52%
Passengers (2021–2022)	1.682 million[3]  22.04%
Passengers (2022–2023)	2.758 million[3]  64.02%
Passengers (2023–2024)	3.435 million[3]  24.54%
Passengers (2024–2025)	3.445 million[4]  0.29%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Southern Cross One-way operation Mernda line Melbourne Central towards Mernda or Hurstbridge Hurstbridge line Southern Cross towards Frankston via Flinders Street Frankston line Melbourne Central One-way operation Direction of travel on metropolitan lines below between stations on the City Loop changes to either Southern Cross or Melbourne Central depending on the line and time of day. Southern Cross towards Flinders Street Lilydale line Melbourne Central towards Lilydale, Belgrave, Alamein or Glen Waverley Belgrave line Alamein line Glen Waverley line North Melbourne towards Upfield or Craigieburn Upfield line Melbourne Central towards Flinders Street Craigieburn line
Former services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Pre-2026 Southern Cross towards Flinders Street Cranbourne line Melbourne Central towards Cranbourne or East Pakenham Pakenham line North Melbourne towards Watergardens or Sunbury Sunbury line Melbourne Central towards Flinders Street Pre-2021 Southern Cross towards Flinders Street Sandringham line Melbourne Central towards Sandringham North Melbourne towards Werribee Werribee line Melbourne Central towards Flinders Street
Track layout to Southern Cross to North Melbourne 1 3 L1 (upper) 2 4 L2 (lower) to Melbourne Central

Flagstaff station is an underground train station controlled by Metro Trains Melbourne in the city of Melbourne. It is under La Trobe Street and William Street, and the station is named after the Flagstaff Hill, which is where the Flagstaff Gardens are at.

Flagstaff serves Mernda, Hurstbridge, Frankston, Craigieburn, Upfield, Lilydale, Belgrave, Alamein and Glen Waverley lines, which are all part of the Melbourne rail network. It is in Melbourne in Victoria, Australia as one of the three City Loop stations.

There are two entrances to the station. There are three underground floors, with a concourse and the four platforms below, each level having an island platform each, all connected by elevators, escalators and stairs.

On 24 January 1981, The City Loop was complete, but Flagstaff station was opened later on 27 May 1985.^[5][6]

The station was largely constructed by digging into the ground. Flagstaff was the last station to open on the City Loop.

The City Loop once did not run on Sundays. But residents of Melbourne started to sell and buy on Sundays, so the other city loop stations, Museum (now called Melbourne Central) and Parliament stations started to be open on Sunday.

Unlike the two stations mentioned, Flagstaff station instead closed on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. ^[7]

After a few apartment buildings were built near the station, the station was finally going to open on weekends from June 2015, with the Australian Labor and Liberal parties both promising that in the 2014 state election.^[8] However, the station actually started doing that on 1 January 2016.^[9][10]

In 2023, Flagstaff was seen as the seventh busiest station on Melbourne's train network, with 3.435 million people using the station.^[11][12]

On 1 February 2026, the "Big Switch" happened where the Pakenham line, the Cranbourne line and the Sunbury line were moved out of the City Loop and into the Metro Tunnel. Trains on the Frankston line returned to the City Loop, using the same platforms for the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.^[13]

Flagstaff and all City Loop train stations have four platforms separated by two levels, and four tracks. Each level has two platforms and is for the trains leaving. The different levels are for trains going to the north and west suburbs or to the south and east suburbs.

Platform 1 is served by the Mernda line and the Hurstbridge line which goes clockwise.

Platform 2 is served by the Frankston line which goes counterclockwise.

Platform 3 is served by the Cragieburn line and the Upfield line which normally goes clockwise, but sometimes counterclockwise during busy hours.

Platform 4 is served by the Lilydale line, the Belgrave line, the Glen Waverley line, and sometimes even the Alamein line. They normally go anti-clockwise, but sometimes clockwise during busy hours.

Trams using Route 30 from St Vincent's Plaza to Docklands Stadium and the Route 35 City Circle stop at the La Trobe Street Tram stop.

The Route 58 from West Coburg to Toorak stops at William Street instead.

• Melway map at street-directory.com.au