Southern Cross Railway Station
Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000.
 
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Southern Cross station
Southern Cross station
Southern Cross station
Southern Cross station
Summary:
  • Built between 2002-6 to replace an older station building.
  • Designed by Grimshaw Architects.
  • Formally called Spencer Street railway station.
  • Used as final stop for regional rail services.
  • Awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Lubetkin Prize for most outstanding building outside the European Union.
Building Description:

The original railway station - known as Spencer Street - opened in 1859 as a dead-end, single platform station. A second platform was opened in 1874 and more were added in subsequent years so that by 1924, a total of 14 platforms had been opened.

The original station building was demolished in October 1960 and a new complex opened the next year. In turn this building was demolished in 2002 to make way for the current building. The State Government intended to have the station completed in time for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, but the construction was subject to significant controversy when the project ran $200 million over budget. As a consequence, some of the station's original design features were never built, and the wavy roof does not extend to the two platforms at the farthest end of the railway station.

The new building features a wave-shaped roof, a new entrance and concourse on Collins Street, a new bus interchange, shops within the railway station and a separate shopping complex between Bourke and La Trobe Streets. Ongoing concerns about inadequate ventilation and diesel fumes being trapped within the building have remained an issue.
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