Parliament railway station is a commuter railway station adjacent to the border of both the suburb of East Melbourne and the Melbourne CBD in Victoria, Australia. The station has two island platforms in a two-floor configuration connected to street level via two underground concourses.

Parliament station opened in 1983, and it was named after the Parliament House which is located just east of the station. During the station's construction, the platforms of the station were built through tunneling. When the station had originally opened it had the longest escalator in the Southern Hemisphere; however, in 2022, this was overtaken by the escalators at Airport Central station in Perth.

Parliament station is one of the three underground stations in the City Loop which is served by eleven lines organised into four groups. The station is also served by two tram routes on Bourke Street, four tram routes on Macarthur Street and one tram route on Spring Street.

Description 

Parliament railway station is located on the border of both the suburb of East Melbourne and the Melbourne CBD. East of the main entrance is Macarthur Street as well as Spring Street and Collins Street is to the south. The station is located nearby the Parliament House, hence the station's name. Parliament station is owned by VicTrack, a state government agency, and is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne. The station is approximately , or around a 7-minute train journey, from Flinders Street.

Parliament station consists of two island platforms in a two-level configuration. The platforms are approximately  long, enough for a Metro Trains 7-car HCMT. In addition to the two platform levels, there are also two underground concourses. The northern concourse is connected to street level via an exit on Lonsdale Street whereas the southern concourse is connected to street level via an exit on Macarthur Street and two exits on Spring Street.

The station has no available parking facilities. The station is compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 as there are lifts linking the concourse with both the platforms and street level.

History

Parliament station was one of three underground stations included in the construction plan of the new City Loop, overseen by the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority (MURLA) formed in 1971.

The station platforms were constructed using tunnelling methods. A pilot tunnel was made, enabling the walls to be constructed ahead of the main excavation. Each platform is an individual tunnel and is linked to the other platforms at the same level by several cross tunnels. That choice of design left the remaining pillar of rock between the tunnels too weak to support the required loads, so it was replaced with concrete.

The booking hall to the south was constructed "upside down", with the support columns being dug with augers from ground level, then filled with concrete. The roof was then constructed over the piles from ground level, during a series of staged road closures. Once complete, the excavation of the booking hall was carried out underneath, while road traffic continued overhead. During construction, the Parliament House fence had to be removed, stored then re-erected. 

The station opened on 22 January 1983. At the time of opening, the station had the longest escalators in the Southern Hemisphere, but it has since been surpassed by Airport Central railway station in Perth in October 2022.

On 31 January 2021, a major timetable rewrite was done to allow for the operation of the High Capacity Metro Train as well as more frequent services on both the Northern and Caulfield Groups. This included the removal of Frankston, Sandringham and Werribee lines from the City Loop., However, the Victorian State Government plans for Frankston line to recommence operations in the City Loop in 2025, once the Metro Tunnel is opened.

In 2022 and early 2023 works had begun to upgrade safety features at the three city loop stations. In 2022, work had been completed for the first stage which was the installment of a new intruder alarm system. On 6 February 2023, early works commenced for stage 2 at Parliament station and is expected to be complete by late 2023 by the Victorian State Government.These upgrades include:

 Upgrading ventilation shafts
 Replacing existing ceiling panels
 Upgrading fire sprinkler systems
 Installment of new fire detection systems

Platforms and services

Parliament station is served by 11 lines which are separated into four groups and are operated by Metro Trains Melbourne.

Platform 1 is served by the Clifton Hill group which consists of the Hurstbridge and Mernda lines. Services run clockwise through the City Loop, first stopping at Jolimont and then travelling together until Clifton Hill where the line splits into two.

Platform 2 is served by the Caulfield group which consists of the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. Services operate counterclockwise through the City Loop, first travelling towards Flinders Street before travelling together towards Dandenong where the line splits into two. Services on both lines run express between South Yarra and Caulfield (Malvern during off-peak). From 2025 onwards, the Victoria State Government plans to remove the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to be removed from the City Loop and will reroute them through the Metro Tunnel. As a result, services on the Frankston line will serve the loop instead.

Platform 3 is served by the Northern Group which consists of the Craigieburn, Sunbury and Upfield lines. Service patterns alternate during the day between clockwise and counterclockwise operations. Services run through the loop together before splitting off at North Melbourne. From 2025 onwards, the Victoria State Government plans to remove the Sunbury line from the City Loop and will rerouted it through the Metro Tunnel.

Platform 4 is served by the Burnley Group which consists of Alamein, Belgrave, Glen Waverley and Lilydale lines. Service patterns alternate during the day between clockwise and counterclockwise operations. Services on the Burnley group split off three times, first at Burnley where the Glen Waverley line breaks off, then at Camberwell where the Alamein line breaks off. and Ringwood where the Belgrave and Lilydale lines split into two.

Station layout

Transport links
Parliament station is served by seven tram routes departing from three different tram stops. Route 35 serves the tram stop on Spring Street, routes 86 and 96 serve the tram stop on Bourke Street and routes 11, 12, 48 and 109 serve the tram stop on Macarthur Street.

Spring Street

: City Circle

Bourke Street

: Waterfront City (Docklands) – Bundoora RMIT
: St Kilda Beach – East Brunswick

Macarthur Street:
: Victoria Harbour (Docklands) – West Preston
:  St Kilda – Victoria Gardens
:  Victoria Harbour (Docklands) – North Balwyn
: Port Melbourne – Box Hill

Notes

References

External links
 
 Melway map at street-directory.com.au

Premium Melbourne railway stations
Railway stations in Australia opened in 1983
Railway stations in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
Railway stations located underground in Melbourne