Melbourne tram route 75

City (Spencer St) - Vermont South

Route Information
Route Number	75
Number of stops	75
Timetables	Link
Route Map	Link
Zone Location
Zone 1
Spencer St (La Trobe St) - Riversdale Rd (Burke Rd)
Zone 1 & 2
Riversdale Rd (Burke Rd) - Burwood Hwy (Vermont South Terminus)

Tram route 75 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from the corner of Spencer Street and La Trobe Street in the city centre to Vermont South in the eastern suburbs.

Unlike most tram routes in Melbourne, it falls within Metcard/myki ticketing Zone 1 and Zone 1/2.

During the 1999 election campaign the Australian Labor Party committed to extend route 75 to Knox City Shopping Centre, this was later changed to the current arraignment, with it terminating at Vermont South, and connecting bus, operated by Ventura Bus Lines - the Knox Transit Link (run as part of Route 732) - running to Knox City Shopping Centre, the bus meets every tram and runs only within Zone 2. The Public Transport Users Association is campaigning for the line to be extended to its originally proposed terminus of Knox City Shopping Centre.^[1]

From Warrigal Road to the terminus in Vermont South, the trams have their own dedicated tracks, reducing interference by vehicular traffic. Despite this, motorists are still required to turn across the tracks to enter businesses or do U-turns, leading to several incidents and accidents.

History

The origins of route 75 lie in separate tram lines, Australia's first cable tram from Bourke Street to Hawthorn Bridge and a horse tram from Hawthorn Bridge to Auburn Road, which was converted to an electric line and extended over many years to its current terminus at Vermont South.

The first cable tram line opened by the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company was from Bourke Street to Hawthorn Bridge along Spencer Street, Flinders Street, Wellington Parade and Bridge Road opened on 11 November 1885.^[2][3] On 27 January 1889 a horse tram from Hawthorn Bridge to Auburn Road, travelling Burwood Road, Power Street and Riversdale Road was opened.

The Hawthorn Tramways Trust closed the horse tramway for conversion to electric traction on 31 January 1916,^[4] with the electric line opening in two stages; Power Street to Auburn Road along Riversdale Road opening on 7 May 1916,^[4] and from Hawthorn Bridge to Riversdale Road along Burwood Road and Power Street on 21 June 1916.^[4] The Riversdale Road line was extended by the Hawthorn Tramways Trust to Bowen Street, Camberwell along Riversdale Road and Camberwell Road, passing through Camberwell Junction, opening on 31 May 1916, it was extended again to Boundary Road (now Warrigal Road) along Camberwell Road and Norwood Road (now Toorak Road) on 10 June 1916.^[4]

The Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board converted the Bourke Street to Hawthorn Bridge cable line to electric traction in three stages, closing the line on 29 June 1927.^[5] Reopening with electric trams running from Lonsdale Street - a short electric extension to the previous cable terminus of Bourke Street - to Swanston Street on 14 July 1927,^[5] from Swanston Street to Simpson Street on 17 September 1927,^[5] and Simpson Street to Hawthorn Bridge on 4 December 1927.^[5]

The lines City terminus was extended slightly north to its current terminus at La Trobe Street, when the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board opened the La Trobe Street line on 15 January 1951.^[6]

On 19 July 1978, the route was extended from Warrigal Road to Middleborough Road, Burwood East, Victoria,^[7] on 8 July 1993 to Blackburn Road,^[8] and on 25 July 2005 to its current terminus at Vermont South Shopping Centre, Vermont South.^[9]

Route

Route 75
City Routes 24, 30, City Circle Stop 119 Bourke St Routes 86,		Southern Cross Station Southern Cross Station Routes 11, 42, 48, 109, 112	122
		Spencer St Routes 70,

King St 2 Market St Route 55 3 Elizabeth St Flinders St Station Routes 19, 57, 59 4 Swanston St Flinders St Station Routes 1, 3/3a, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67, 72 5 Exhibition St Route 70 7 Spring St Routes City Circle, 48 8 Clarendon St Jolimont Station 11 Punt Rd 14 Richmond Church St Routes 78, 79 18 Hawthorn Hawthorn Bridge Route 48 23 Hawthorn Station Hawthorn Station 11 Glenferrie Rd Route 16 32 Camberwell Junction Routes 70, 72 40 Toorak Rd 51 Burwood Warrigal Rd 58 Deakin University 63 Middleborough Rd 66 Blackburn Rd 70 Springvale Rd 73 Vermont South 75

Not all stops are shown, refer to timetable for full list of stops.

B2 tram on route 75 at Vermont South Terminus

Route 75 runs from La Trobe Street in the CBD, it heads south on Spencer Street, it turns east at Flinders Street and continues past Flinders Street railway station, St Paul's Cathedral, and Federation Square, entering East Melbourne east along Wellington Parade and into Richmond continuing east on Bridge Road.

At Hawthorn Bridge it crosses the Yarra River into Hawthorn and continues east on Burwood Road, it briefly travels south on Power Street before turning east into Riversdale Road, traversing Hawthorn and Hawthorn East. At Camberwell Junction it crosses Burke Road and travels south east along Camberwell, Camberwell. It enters Toorak Road and heads east, at Warrigal Road Toorak Road becomes Burwood Highway, Burwood, it continues east, past Deakin University and through Burwood East, to its terminus in Vermont South at Vermont South Shopping Centre, where a connecting bus, the Knox Transit Link (run as part of Route 732^[10]) can be caught to Knox City Shopping Centre.

Operation

Route 75 is run from Camberwell depot^[11] and is predominantly run with B2 class trams.

Controversy over accessibility

A new accessible stop at Stanley Road

During the extension of the route from Burwood to Vermont South, all new stops were constructed as wheelchair accessible, low-floor platforms, with many other stops along the route converted to accessible platforms.

However, there has been controversy ever since in the local newspaper, as even though the platforms are wheelchair accessible, the route is operated with high floor trams with steps. Therefore, the upgrade was considered a waste of money, because if the platforms were accessible, but the trams weren't, the accessible stops wouldn't be of much use.

The government and local MPs are being pressured by the local newspaper and disabled tram users to use low floor trams on the route.

Maps and timetables

• Official timetable
• Knox Transit Link timetable
• Official route map
• Official tram network map
• Melbourne tram and train network map from railmaps.com.au

See also

• Trams in Melbourne
• Transportation in Australia

References

1. ^ "Submission to Infrastructure Australia on Victoria’s transport infrastructure priorities" (PDF), Public Transport Users Association: p. 8, http://www.ptua.org.au/files/2008/PTUA_Infrastructure_audit_submission_2008-10-15.pdf, retrieved 2011-11-03 
2. ^ "History of Trams in Melbourne", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-61/39_read-104/, retrieved 2011-10-10 
3. ^ "Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company Limited", TMSV Running Journal Vol 9 No 3, page 16, http://www.tramway.org.au/runningjournal/rj_vol9_no3.pdf, retrieved 2011-10-16 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Milestones, 1911 - 1920", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-883/, retrieved 2011-10-10 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Milestones, 1921 - 1930", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-882/, retrieved 2011-10-10 
6. ^ "Milestones, 1951 - 1960", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-879, retrieved 2011-09-28 
7. ^ "Milestones, 1971 - 1980", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-877/, retrieved 2011-09-28 
8. ^ "Milestones, 1991 - 2000", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-875/, retrieved 2011-09-28 
9. ^ "Milestones, 2001 - 2011", Yarra Trams, http://www.yarratrams.com.au/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-155/173_read-874/, retrieved 2011-09-28 
10. ^ "732 - Box Hill - Upper Ferntree Gully via Vermont South, Knox City, Mountain Gate", Metlink, http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/route/view/948, retrieved 2011-10-16 
11. ^ "Camberwell Depot", VICSIG, http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&depot=camberwell, retrieved 2011-10-10