City Loop

City Loop
Platform at Melbourne Central station in the City Loop, June 2024
Overview
Owner	VicTrack
Stations	3
Service
Services	All suburban lines except Frankston, Sandringham, Werribee and Williamstown line trains
Operator(s)	Victorian Railways (1981–1983) Metropolitan Transit Authority (1983–1989) Public Transport Corporation (1989–1997) Bayside Trains (1997–2004) Hillside Trains (1997–2009) Metro Trains Melbourne (2009–present)
History
Commenced	1971
Opened	1981
Completed	1985
Technical
Number of tracks	2 single bidirectional tunnels Flinders Street – Parliament 4 single bidirectional tunnels Parliament – Flagstaff 3 single bidirectional tunnels Flagstaff – Southern Cross
Character	Underground
Electrification	1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Route map Legend Northern group State Library Flagstaff Melbourne Central Southern Cross Parliament Town Hall Flinders Street Clifton Hill group Metro Tunnel Burnley & Caulfield groups

The City Loop (originally called the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop or MURL) is a piece of underground commuter rail infrastructure in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The loop includes three underground stations: Flagstaff, Melbourne Central (formerly Museum) and Parliament. The loop connects to Melbourne's two busiest stations, Flinders Street and Southern Cross, and together with the Flinders Street Viaduct forms a ring of four individual tracks around the CBD.

Eleven metropolitan lines of the Melbourne rail network run through the City Loop, organised into four separate groups, the Burnley, Caulfield, Clifton Hill, and Northern groups. Each group has its own dedicated single-track tunnel, with trains running on balloon loops around the CBD. The Loop follows La Trobe and Spring Streets along the northern and eastern edges of the CBD's street grid.

Although concepts for an underground railway had been raised since the 1920s, planning was not seriously progressed until the 1960s. The 1970 Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Act finalised the design and established an authority to oversee construction of the project. Tunnelling works began in 1972 and the Loop commenced operation in 1981 with the opening of Museum station, now Melbourne Central. The loop was fully complete in 1985 with the opening of Flagstaff station.

A new CBD rail tunnel, the Metro Tunnel, is currently under construction to relieve pressure on the City Loop, and when it opens in 2025 will see the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury metropolitan lines removed from the loop.