Celebrating four 125th birthdays
Celebrating four 125th birthdays
With almost 1000 kilometres of track, we have a lot of history to celebrate here at Metro. This October we are celebrating the 125th birthdays of four of our stations on the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines.
Jolimont, West Richmond, North Richmond and Collingwood Stations all opened on 21 October 1901, connecting the Heidelberg (now Hurstbridge) line directly to Flinders Street.
Before then, trains took a very different route into the city. From Victoria Park, then known as Collingwood, they travelled along the former Inner Circle line through North Carlton and North Fitzroy. The line connected with the Upfield line at Royal Park before continuing towards the city.
It wasn’t a simple journey for trains making their way through this area and out through Clifton Hill. Locomotives would have to change ends, and the trains then returned to Clifton Hill station, where they diverged east on to the line to Heidelberg.
The opening of these four stations provided a much more direct connection. Here’s a little more about their history.
Jolimont
Like the area itself, the station was named after the French words ‘joli mont’, which translates to ‘pretty mount’ in English. The name was believed to have been given by the French-Swiss wife of Charles Joseph La Trobe, Victoria’s first Governor.
Today, Jolimont is one of two stations that serves the MCG, alongside Richmond, and can help support the movement of close to 10,000 passengers for capacity events at the MCG.
West Richmond
Between West Richmond Station and Jolimont Station, trains travel though three tunnels measuring 23 metres, 112 metres and 146 metres. The tunnels run underneath Freeman Street which is next to the station, Hoddle Street and Wellington Parade.
The buildings here are the originals built in 1921, tying in well with the community around the station.
West Richmond is one of the three stations located in the suburb of Richmond but is one of four with Richmond in its name: Richmond, East Richmond, West Richmond and North Richmond.
North Richmond
While the station itself was modernised in 1981 with new buildings, the overpass remains a prominent urban landmark. It frames the entry into Richmond’s famous “Little Saigon” precinct, anchoring a streetscape that has evolved from 19th-century manufacturing to a vibrant multicultural hub.
When the Victoria Street overpass was built, cable trams were already running along Victoria Street below it. The Victoria Street cable tram line was opened in 1886, meaning for nearly three decades after the bridge was built, residents would watch the iconic city-bound cable trams pass directly underneath the steel rail structure.
The cable cars ran until 13 July 1929 when the line was close to convert it to the tram line we know and love today.
Collingwood
When the station was opened in 1901 it was originally called Collingwood Town Hall.
That changed on 1 May 1909. The station became Collingwood, while the station previously known as Collingwood was renamed Victoria Park.
And despite the name, Collingwood Station is actually located in Abbotsford.
