Melbourne's development by tram: the 48 & 75
Continuing on our journey of taking a look at Melbourne's development along each tram line, we're kicking off 2017 with the 48 - the first of the "south of the river" routes, and the 75 - both of these routes leave/enter the city on the same corridor: Wellington Parade / Bridge Road.
As a reminder, I'm not including projects from the City of Melbourne or City of Port Phillip in any of these individual route analyses, for the simple reason that as the network "bunches" its routes the closer to the city, the more irrelevant an individual line becomes.
Nevertheless, such is the nature of the tram network in the east, that routes interact with each other on a grander scale compared to Melbourne's north (use the navigation section below to view routes in the north already covered) where the network is just like our heavy rail: mainly radial. The 48 & 75 could be described quite easily as radial as well however the routes link up with others in the inner suburbs, particularly in Richmond, Kew, Hawthorn and Camberwell.
The 48 uses the relatively new Collins Street to Spring Street southbound junction and then continues along Wellington Parade and is one of the two main routes on Bridge Road. Crossing the river the 48 turns north to Kew and then continues in a north-easterly direction to its terminus at North Balwyn.
The 75 begins outside Edithad Stadium and runs down to Flinders Street and shares the same track as the 48 along Wellington Parade and Bridge Route.
Where the 48 turns northward once crossing the river, the 75 heads through Hawthorn, turns south on Power Street then heads east along Riversdale Road - sharing the tracks with route 70 in the process - then at Camberwell junction heads south east to Toorak Road and then all the way out to Vermont South on the Burwood Highway.
The numbers
| Aspect | Number of projects | Number of dwellings |
|---|---|---|
| Residential projects: Planning Assessment | 21 | 1174 |
| Residential projects: Approved | 13 | 1071 |
| Residential projects: Registration and Sales | 20 | 983 |
| Residential projects: Under Construction | 19 | 1013 |
| TOTAL | 75 | 4241 |
| Tram routes 48 & 75 | Further information |
|---|---|
| Timetabled weekday peak frequency | 48: 5-6 minutes (11-12 trams per hour) 75: 9-10 minutes (6-7 trams per hour) |
| Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency | 48: 10 minutes (6 trams per hour); 75: 10 minutes (6 trams per hour) |
| Timetabled weekend daytime frequency | Both routes: 12-15 minutes (4-5 trams per hour) |
| Timetabled night-time frequency | 48: 20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 75: 30 minutes (2 trams per hour) - 30 minutes (24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights) |
| Raised-platform stops? | Not uniform limited to inner city Melbourne, Richmond, some scattered at the outer edges of route 75. |
| Where do the trams go to sleep? | 48: Kew Depot, 75: Camberwell Depot |
| Primary tram class that operates on the route. | B2 (high-floor, articulated). |
Richmond
It should come as no surprise that within Richmond, the section of Bridge Road between Punt Road and Church street has a very high concentration of projects - 12 in total. Further down the hill toward the river, 5 projects are located either side of the tram corridor.
Hawthorn
Both 48 and 75 routes diverge as Bridge Road crosses the Yarra River and both routes within the suburb of Hawthorn (and Hawthorn East) have a smattering of projects, although not on the same scale as Richmond
Kew & Balwyn (route 48)
Kew junction features 5 projects with a further 3 located not far from the tram corridor. As route 48 climbs up the hill, the project density becomes sparse however there is one notable project located - depicted below - not far from the terminus.
Camberwell, Burwood & Vermont South (route 75)
The 75 is one of the longest routes in the city and transitions through a wide variety of streetscapes. In particular, as the route leaves Burwood-proper, the wider Burwood Highway sees the tram route run in its own right of way. Interestingly, in this section, near Middleborough Road, a cluster of pipeline projects exists. Ditto near Deakin University and Burwood East - clusters of 2 and 3 projects exist.
Navigation
Anti-clockwise: the 86 - Bundoora RMIT to Waterfront City Docklands
