Flinders Street Station, Melbourne

Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city blocks. We were coming in from St Kilda and got off just outside the station. The street market is very very interesting and you can pick up souveniers from here.

Each weekday, over 1,500 trains pass through the station. It is the most used metropolitan railway station in Melbourne, and some locals who were with us told us it is used by more than 100,000 people in a single day .

I certainly associate this station with Melbourne, hence even added it to the into page, it truly is an imposing building!

The Flinders Street Station is the transport hub of Melbourne. Located near Federation Square, this icon was built in the early 1900's. From here you can catch the various train lines that travel across the state. The most striking feature of this building is French Rennaissance architectural dome as well as it's clocks at the entrance. In fact Melburnians have made this a meeting place or as they say to "meet under the clocks" or "meet at the stairs.

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One of the landmarks of the Melbourne CBD, with the domed main entrance somewhat iconic. But the clock tower is an equally important part of the city's main station.

Its mostly suburban trains that leave from Flinders St - Connex and Metro. The regional and interstate trains leaving from the redeveloped Spencer St one stop further west.

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This beautiful station is like a beehive all day long. It is another popular meeting point just like Federation Square. Besides its elegant architecture, there are meeting rooms, library and a ballroom inside. As all visitors to Melbourne do, we also took some pictures with this famous landmark.

The architecture is marvellous..

Trains had been arriving at Flinders Street since 1854. The present building is the most spectacular of a number that have stood on the site. Stretching along Flinders Street for more than a city block, and boasting grand archways and an expansive ballroom, it is public architecture on a majestic scale — a symbol of the importance of railways to the growth of the city and its suburbs.

Flinders Street Station has become far more than a place of transit. Meeting 'under the clocks' is a Melbourne institution, and the building arguably remains the city's principal landmark. Recently refurbished and repainted, Flinders Street Station is as resplendent today as ever.

You can enjoy the 'Horse Chariot' ride on the Swanston Street, (Since there is no area here in VT Melbourne for Swanston St, I left my comments here in Flinders St, since the swanston st starts from Flinders Station). I didnt enquire abt the cost, since I am from India and not much interested on riding a horse chariot.

Flinders Street Station is among Melbourne's most recognisable landmarks. It is the best-known railway station in Australia.

Located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets, Flinders Street Station is at the core of Melbourne's social and cultural identity.

"Do I put this tip under 'transportation?" I thought. Flinders Street Station seems to be so much more than a train station though - it is a major Melbourne landmark and boasts a long list of statistical oldest, busiest and longest (Australias oldest city station, Australias longest platfrom and the Southern Hemispheres busiest station). This striking building, built in the 1850s and sitting on the banks of the Yarra river, features in much of Melbournes tourism literature and is probably in most visitors photo albums - no surprise really as it is a beautiful building. It is also a handy point of reference when finding your way around the city by tram. Arranging to meet a friend in Melbourne? Apparently under the tower clocks is the place.

Flinders Street Railway Station at the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets is the oldest city station in Australia, built in 1854. This is a popular landmark on the tourist trail and I took a picture in front of the building

Almost the landmark of Melbourne (some will argue that it is), this train station was featured to death in almost every promotional brochure on the city.

You can't really miss it since almost every train service ends here and if you are wandering around in the city, you have to be absolutely blind or ignorant to miss it. The building stretches from Swanston Street to Queen Street, covering two city blocks. Each weekday, approximately 105,000 commuters and 1,500 trains pass through the station.

There is rich history behind the origin of the station. The first railway station to occupy the current site was simply called Melbourne or City Terminus, and was a collection of weatherboard train sheds. It was completed in 1854 and was officially opened on September 12. The terminus was the first city railway station in Australia, and the opening day saw the first steam train trip in the country.

The Melburnian idiom "I'll meet you under the clocks" refers to the row of clocks above the station's main entrance which indicate the departure time of the next train on each line (though some of the clocks refer to discontinued lines). This is a popular meeting place, at the corner of two of the city's busiest thoroughfares. The original analogue clocks were replaced for a short time with digital ones, but due to a public outcry they were quickly returned. Similarly, plans in the 1970s to demolish the station and replace it with an office building were soon dismissed....thankfully.

The architecture is stunning....and great for photography both day & night. It is rumoured that the original plans of Flinders Street Station were actually designed for the central station of Mumbai, India, but were mixed up in the London office and sent to Australia instead. This perhaps explains the unusual (for Australia) arches and alcoves that feature in the Banana Alley section of the station, which would have been intended for street market vendors.