Melbourne tram route 78

A section of Chapel Street was first served by a cable tram line opened in 1888, which ran from Brighton Road to Toorak Road, then turned towards St Kilda Road and into the CBD.[1] Between 1924 and 1926 the cable tram line was converted to electric traction by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, and was extended along Church Street, forming the route as it operates today.[2] It ran with two variations: route 79, turning from Chapel Street along Carlisle Street to St Kilda Beach, and route 77, which turned from the southern part of the route at Swan Street and continued into the city. The latter route was discontinued in November 1986.[3]

On 14 February 1965 operation of route 78 was transferred from Hawthorn depot to Kew depot. From 30 April 1972 it was jointly operated by Glenhuntly and Kew depots.[4] From 2 April 1995, it was solely operated by Glenhuntly.[5][6] In the late 20th century, the line ran predominantly as route 79. Like nearly all tram lines in Melbourne, it was served by W class trams. In the 1990s with the gradual withdrawal of the W-class, the route was operated by Z and A class trams. W class trams were re-introduced in July 2004, after they received brake upgrades.[7] It was one of only three routes running the old trams, the others being route 30 and the City Circle tram. In 2014 the Ws were withdrawn and replaced by Z and A class trams. On 27 July 2014, the route 79 variation was discontinued.[8][9]

The route was transferred back to Kew Depot on 30 April 2017. This was so there was more room for the larger B-class trams that were to be transferred to Glenhuntly.[4]

The route starts at the Victoria Street terminus then runs along Church Street, Richmond, crossing Bridge Road and Swan Street. It continues over the Yarra River into the suburb of South Yarra along Chapel Street, crossing Toorak Road. Continuing down Chapel Street, it terminates at Brighton Road, Balaclava. It is one of only two tram routes which does not travel through the Melbourne CBD, the other being route 82.

Map

Route 78
North Richmond - Balaclava via South Yarra, Prahran & Windsor Fare zone 1 applies throughout
Suburb Street Stop No. North Richmond Connections Victoria Street Tram 12, 109 Box Hill   Collins Street Richmond Church Street 65 Victoria Street 12, 109 64 Baker Street 63 Kent Street 62 Highett Street 61 Bridge Road 48, 75 Bridge Road Tram 48, 75 Hawthorn Bridge   Docklands 60 Abinger Street 59 St Ignatius Church 58 Gipps Street 57 Swan Street 70 Swan Street Tram 70 Wattle Park   Waterfront City Docklands 56 East Richmond station East Richmond ●●●● 55 Gibbons Street 54 Cotter Street 53 Howard Street South Yarra Chapel Street 51 Malcolm Street South Yarra ●●● 50 Toorak Road 58 Toorak Road Tram 58 Toorak   West Coburg 49 Palermo Street 48 Wilson Street 47 Commercial Road 72; 216, 219, 220 Commercial Road - Malvern Road Tram 72 Camberwell   Melbourne University Prahran Chapel Street 46 Chatham Street Prahran ● 45 High Street 6 High Street Tram 6 Glen Iris   Moreland Windsor Chapel Street 44 Duke Street 43 Windsor station Windsor ● 42 Dandenong Road 5, 64 Dandenong Road Tram 5, 64 Malvern/Brighton East   Melbourne University St Kilda East St Kilda East 41 St Michael's Grammar School 40 Alma Road 39 Argyle Street 38 Inkerman Street St Kilda St Kilda East 37 Carlisle Street 3/3a, 16 Carlisle Street Tram 3/3a, 16 Malvern East   Melbourne University Balaclava ● 36 Brighton Road 67; 623 Brighton Road Tram 67 Carnegie   Melbourne University Suburb Street Stop No. Balaclava Connections

Media related to Melbourne tram route 78 at Wikimedia Commons