Route 3 to Chadstone In 2005, the
Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) proposed for an extension of
route 3 from
East Malvern. It would run from its current terminus to
East Malvern railway station, before continuing until it reaches
Chadstone Shopping Centre. It would provide Chadstone with some form of rail link, also connecting it directly to a railway station.
Route 3 to Kensington In 2025, Infrastructure Victoria proposed an extension of route 3 from
Hughesdale to
Kensington railway station via
Arden railway station.
Route 5 to Darling station The extension from
Malvern of
route 5 has been proposed by the PTUA and the Rail Futures Institute. It would run from its current terminus to
Darling railway station and Darling Village.
Route 5 to Flemington Bridge In 2025 Infrastructure Victoria proposed an extension of route 5 to
Flemington Bridge railway station. It would involve the route to turn left after
Anzac railway station down Park Street with a short extension of track, connect with Clarendon St, and follow
Spencer Street, with a stop at
Southern Cross railway station. The tram would then continue via
Arden railway station and terminate at Flemington Bridge railway station. It would require an extra 2.2 km of track extending over the
Monash Freeway, continuing along High Street until reaching the level crossing.
Route 11 to Reservoir The
City of Darebin has argued for the extension of
route 11 to the
Reservoir activity centre. The most likely route would be to continue north along Gilbert Road reaching
Edwardes Lake, before turning right into Edwardes Street and continuing east to a new terminus near
Reservoir railway station in the commercial area. The extension would cover a distance of just over 3 km. An alternative, which appeared in Darebin's 2010 proposal, has the tram heading north on Gilbert Rd, east on Henty St, north on Spratling St, then east on Edwardes St to the terminus. This announcement was criticised by some for failing short of funding the full route to Reservoir station.
Route 11 to Fishermans Bend In 2025, Infrastructure Victoria proposed an extension of route 11 from
Victoria Harbour Docklands to a southern area of
Fishermans Bend. In 2018, the Rail Futures Institute called for a similar extension to Merlynston station.
City of Boroondara,
City of Manningham and
City of Yarra have advocated for an extension of
route 48 to Doncaster as a cheaper and more efficient alternative to the proposed
Doncaster railway line. The 4-kilometre extension would be a continuation of the route along
Doncaster Road past Greythorn Village, Doncaster Park and Ride with a terminus at
Westfield Doncaster or possibly the mc2 community facility in
Doncaster Hill. The extension was first proposed in the mid-1940s, soon after the tram route was extended to its present-day terminus at Balwyn Road. The then-
City of Camberwell made the proposal formally to the Tramways Board in 1945, but the project was not pursued. In 2006, the Liberal opposition under
Ted Baillieu promised the extension by 1 July 2010 if he was to win office in the next election, pricing it at $35 million. It was stated that there would have been about two accessible stops every kilometre, similar to the recent Box Hill tram extension. The Labor Government held onto power, and the extension was not built, even when the Liberals later won office in 2010. A study commissioned by Manningham Council in 2010 argued that the steep gradient on Doncaster Road would preclude current rolling stock from operating safely on Doncaster Road. The report also suggested that extra trams would need to be purchased to address the issue. The report was never released, but the PTUA and other groups criticised its public findings, contending that steeper gradients are present across the existing network, such as Burke Road in
Camberwell and along the
Burwood Highway. The Labor state government in 2016 said it would not fund the extension. During the
2022 election campaign, the Liberal opposition under
Matthew Guy committed to the extension, estimating the cost to be $102 million.
Route 57 to East Keilor In the lead up to the
2014 state election, the
Greens proposed extending
route 57 for 5.5 km from its current terminus in
Maribyrnong along Canning Street and Milleara Road before reaching a new terminus at the
Keilor East shopping precinct. In 2018, the Rail Futures Institute called for a similar extension of the route to Lower
Avondale Heights. During the
2022 state election, the Liberal opposition party promised $134 million to extend the route 5.1 km to Westfield Knox, although the party said the line could be delivered as a rapid bus line instead of a tram. The party promised a study to investigate higher-capacity public transport to
Upper Ferntree Gully, and along Mountain Highway to
Bayswater. The council proposed an extension of the route from its current terminus at University Hill near Bundoora's
RMIT Campus to the Plenty Valley Town Centre in South Morang. This proposal included a stop at
South Morang station. Other local plans have included going to
Hawkstowe station and even as far as
Doreen via
Mernda.
New North Richmond to North Melbourne route Leading up to the
2013 Australian federal election, a 5 km east–west tram route on
Victoria Street/Victoria Parade dubbed the
East–West Light Rail was proposed by the
Australian Greens. This proposed link would run along the entire northern perimeter of the
Melbourne CBD and connect
North Richmond and
North Melbourne train stations. Only two major sections of track would need to be built as 84% of the track between North Richmond station and Errol Street, North Melbourne already exists. These two sections would be an section to connect the tram tracks already existing on Victoria Street from its intersection with Spring Street to its intersection with Swanston Street, and a extension from Errol Street to North Melbourne station. In fact, except for the aforementioned 800 m gap, two existing tram routes run along the entire distance from North Richmond station to Errol Street already:
route 109 (which runs along Victoria Parade between North Richmond Station and
St Vincent's Plaza) and
route 57 (which runs along Victoria Street between Elizabeth Street and Errol Street). In 2018, the Rail Futures Institute proposed many new tram routes, including some that would also require the connection of the currently unconnected tram tracks on Victoria Street in the CBD. subsequently promoted by the City of Port Phillip in 2005 and backed by Tourism Victoria. A 2007 feasibility study into the route found that the high density population could sustain around 200,000 annual commuter trips and that a "shuttle tram" between the two bayside suburbs would be financially viable if patrons were charged $6 per one-way trip.
New Route 68, Kew to East Brighton route With the completion of the
Melbourne Metro Tunnel relieving the capacity limits of
CBD tram lines running parallel along
Swanston Street, there are proposals to reconfigure the network. One of these proposals is to replace the
Route 16 tram line with a new Route 68 line. This new route would run from the current Route 16 terminus in
Kew, to the current
Route 64 terminus in
East Brighton. Within the 2021
Level Crossing Removal Project business case for the removal of the at-grade level crossing on
Glenferrie Road in
Kooyong, the project was flagged as having positive outcomes for the future Route 68 line. Currently that level crossing is where the Route 16 tram line crossed the train tracks of the
Glen Waverley line.
Four new Sunshine routes Four new tram lines centred on the suburban hub of
Sunshine in the middle of Melbourne's Western suburbs were put forward in 2019 by former Victorian Premier,
Steve Bracks as part of the
Sunshine, Daring to be Great strategy for economic and urban development. One of these tram lines would go down Ballarat Road from Sunshine to
Highpoint before continuing on to Footscray, presumably using the same lines as
route 82. The other three were a tram line to St Albans, Deer Park and Cairnlea down Furlong Road; one to Brooklyn, Altona and Newport; and one to Moonee Ponds, presumably also using the same lines as route 82 after Highpoint. Some of these proposed tram lines have been considered to be built as
trackless trams. ==See also==