Parliament railway station

Parliament
PTV commuter rail station
Northbound view from Platform 2, February 2026
General information
Location	Spring Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 City of Melbourne Australia
Coordinates	37°48′41″S 144°58′23″E / 37.81139°S 144.97306°E / -37.81139; 144.97306
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	40 m
Platform levels	2
Other information
Status	Operational, premium station
Station code	PAR
Fare zone	Myki Zone 1
Website	Public Transport Victoria
History
Opened	22 January 1983 (1983-01-22)
Electrified	1500 V DC overhead (January 1981)
Passengers
Passengers (2019-2020)	7.646 million[2]  24.48%
Passengers (2020-2021)	2.214 million[2]  71.05%
Passengers (2021–2022)	2.911 million[2]  31.51%
Passengers (2022–2023)	4.724 million[2]  62.27%
Passengers (2023–2024)	5.863 million[2]  24.11%
Services
Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Melbourne Central One-way operation Mernda line Jolimont towards Mernda or Hurstbridge Hurstbridge line Melbourne Central towards Frankston via Flinders Street Frankston line Richmond One-way operation Direction of travel on metropolitan lines below between stations on the City Loop changes to either Melbourne Central or Flinders Street depending on the line and time of day. Melbourne Central towards Upfield or Craigieburn Upfield line Flinders Street Terminus Craigieburn line Melbourne Central towards Flinders Street Lilydale line Richmond towards Lilydale, Belgrave, Alamein or Glen Waverley Belgrave line Alamein line Glen Waverley line
Former services Preceding station Metro Trains Following station Pre 2026 Melbourne Central towards Flinders Street Cranbourne line Richmond towards East Pakenham or Cranbourne Pakenham line Melbourne Central towards Watergardens or Sunbury Sunbury line Flinders Street Terminus Pre 2021 Melbourne Central towards Flinders Street Sandringham line Richmond towards Sandringham Melbourne Central towards Werribee Werribee line Flinders Street Terminus
Track layout to Melbourne Central 1 3 L1 (upper) 2 4 L2 (lower)   to Flinders Street to Jolimont to Richmond

Parliament station is an underground railway station in Melbourne, Australia. It is at the intersection of Bourke Street and Spring Street. Parliament station is named after the Parliament House of Victoria and the it is also underneath it. As a result, many people who work for the government use the station.

Parliament serves the Mernda, Hurstbridge, Frankston, Craigieburn, Upfield, Lilydale, Belgrave, Alamein and Glen Waverley lines, which are all part of the Melbourne suburban rail network. Parliament is one of the three City Loop stations that goes around the central business district.

Parliament Station has two underground concourses, a northern one and a southern one. But most importantly, the station is well known for its long and steep escalators. In addition to super long escalators Parliament has lifts (elevators) and staircases as well.

The station opened on January 22 1983. It was the second station to open in The City Loop, after Melbourne Central station. The station was built using tunnels, like Melbourne Central.

When the station opened, its escalators were the longest in the Southern Hemisphere.^[3] They are no longer the longest, as the Airport Central railway station in Perth beat the record when it opened in 2022.^[4]

In 2022 and 2023, the station's ventilation and fire systems were upgraded.^[5]

In 2023, the station was the fourth busiest station on the train network. Almost 6 million people used the station.^[6]

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.^[7]

Parliament has 4 platforms on two levels, like the other two underground stations on the City Loop. Each level 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.

Also, the lower platforms at Parliament are 38 meters low, the lowest in the City Loop.

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.

Some tram routes stop near the station.

Route 86 from Waterfront City and Docklands and route 96 from St Kilda Beach to East Brunswick stop on Bourke Street.

Four tram routes, Route 11 from Victoria Harbour to West Preston, route 12 from St Kilda to Victoria Gardens, route 48 from Victoria Harbour to North Balwyn, and route 109 from Port Melbourne to Box Hill, stop on Collins Street.

The free Route 35 City Circle tram stops at Spring Street.

1. ↑ Weekday and quiet hours only
2. 1 2 3 4 5 Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
3. ↑ "History of Melbourne's Underground Rail System" (PDF). Metropolitan Transit Authority. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2005.
4. ↑ Kruijff, Peter de (16 August 2022). "Long-delayed $1.9b Forrestfield-Airport rail link to open in October". WAtoday. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
5. ↑ "City Loop upgrades" (PDF). Public Transport Victoria.
6. ↑ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
7. ↑ "Victoria is flipping 'the big switch' on its Metro Tunnel. Here's what is changing". ABC News. 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-02-01.