Flinders Street Station is Melbourne's main railway station, located in the centre of the city and is its unique business card. 1,500 trains pass through this station every weekday, carrying over 110,000 passengers.
But the railway station is also a popular meeting place for the townspeople. Melbourne residents are said to use the phrase "meet under the clock", which means meeting at the main entrance to the station building, with a clock hanging above it. And the phrase "meet me on the stairs" means to rendezvous on the steps of the main entrance to the station building. It is also the building that is most often depicted on Melbourne's parade postcards.
In 1854, this was the site of the city's first railway station, which was called Melbourne Station. That wooden terminal was Australia's first railway station, and on opening day the first steam locomotive in the country's history departed from it.
Already in 1882 it was decided to build a new railway station - they announced a competition for the best project, in which 17 architects took part. But construction work began only in 1900 and was completed in 1910. It is interesting that later the project of Flinders Street Station was taken as a basis for the Luz Station in the Brazilian city of San Paolo.
The first electric train left the station in 1919, and just 7 years later Flinders Street was already the busiest railway station in the world! In the second half of the 20th century, the famous clock on the main facade of the building, purchased in England in the 1860s, was replaced by a digital clock, but the public demanded that the historic landmark be returned to its place - and the clock took its place again.
In the 1970s, the state government was about to demolish the station building, as it had fallen into disrepair by then. Office buildings were planned to be built in its place. Again the public intervened - numerous campaigns in defence of the landmark led to the government abandoning its plans and even allocating money for repairs. Restoration work began in 1984 and cost the state 7 million Australian dollars. This money was used to repair and improve the platforms, a new restaurant was opened, and the main entrance staircase was fitted with electric heating to keep it dry in all weathers.
