Route 96 Upgrades: Nicholson Street

Blyth Street Terminus

This is the latest stop to have been upgraded as part of the Route 96 Upgrade.  The new platform stop has now been constructed and is operating.

Nicholson Street South - Blyth Street to Brunswick Road

The northern section of Nicholson Street, from Brunswick Road to Blyth Street, narrows to two lanes in each direction, which reduces to one lane outside of peak clearways. Along this section of Nicholson Street, trams share the road with traffic.

Two alternative options for tram stop locations for Nicholson Street north were developed based on the location of the terminus.  PTV also developed two tram lane options, which try to balance the need to improve reliability and future-proof the route with the impacts that come with separating the tram from traffic.  The project team is still working through engineering assessments of these stops and partial tram lane options and will continue to take into consideration community feedback regarding these proposals.

Nicholson Street South - Brunswick Road to Victoria Parade

The south of Nicholson Street, between Brunswick Road and Victoria Parade, operates as a four-lane road with parking either side and a dedicated tram lane down the central median. From Alexandra Parade to Victoria Parade, Nicholson Street is a major arterial road for CBD access.

The project update below provides information on the status of each stop, community feedback and next steps in the project. Maps that show the location and traffic impacts at each stop are also available on this page.

Nicholson Street South Project Update

Stops 11-19 upgrades

Following in-principle approval from Yarra City Council, PTV and Yarra Trams have been progressing the design and development of stops 11-19.

The below designs and proposed stop map represent the location, scale and attributes of each stop.

Proposed stop map (PDF) 1.65MB

Proposed Stop Map - accessible version (RTF) 66kB

Stop 11 and Stop 12 design (PDF) 1.35MB

Stop 11 and Stop 12 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stop 13 and Stop 14 design (PDF) 1.35MB

Stop 13 and Stop 14 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stop 15 design (PDF) 1.33MB

Stop 15 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stop 16 design (PDF) 1.33MB

Stop 16 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stop 17 design (PDF) 1.33MB

Stop 17 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stop 18 and Stop 19 design (PDF) 1.34MB

Stop 18 and Stop 19 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stops 20 and 21

Following community feedback on earlier proposals to upgrade stops 20 Richardson/Reid Streets and 21 Scotchmer/Pigdon Streets, PTV developed an option for stops 20 and 21 to be combined into a single stop, situated on the northern side of the Richardson/Reid Street intersection.

This revised design aims to:

  • minimise the removal of on street parking and maintain property access;
  • place tram stops in locations where they better connect to local services;
  • improve tram journey time and reliability through better stop spacing;
  • retain the interchange with Bus Route 504; and
  • provide a tram stop that is accessible to all people.

The revised design for this stop is available below: 

Stop 20 and Stop 21 design (PDF) 1.35MB

Stop 20 and Stop 21 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB

Stop 22 Brunswick Road

Following earlier consultation, further design work was undertaken to understand opportunities to maximise the benefits of the design for Stop 22 Brunswick Road. Due to the narrowing of Nicholson Street to the north and the busy Brunswick Road intersection the design options are severley constrained and no substantive changes have been made to the design orginally released for feedback. Further development and design work for this stop is underway.

Stop 22 design (PDF) 1.35MB

Stop 22 design - accessible version (RTF) 57kB