You’ve ducked and weaved around the construction, and at last, the waiting is over. Tomorrow morning, on Thursday October 29, the Fed Square entrance to Town Hall Station will open to the public. This is the last of three main entrances that passengers can use to enter or exit the station.
Fed Square entrance at Town Hall Station
The Metro Tunnel opened in November last year, and in that time, Town Hall Station has become one of the busiest stations on the network, recording 7.7 million journeys. This new station entrance connects passengers to Fed Square, ACMI and the Melbourne Arts Precinct, and offers another way to get to events at Rod Laver Arena and the MCG.
Walk beneath the light-filled canopy of the new entrance, and see a 45-metre art installation from First Nations artist Maree Clarke. The piece, named Barerarerungar, features 30 large glass panels, celebrating the five Kulin Nations through photographic landscapes, significant scar trees and line drawings inspired by possum skin cloak designs. It also acknowledges the traditional Tanderrum ceremonies once held on the site. Maree Clarke will have installations on display in all five Metro Tunnel stations.
The station itself was recently named as one of the World’s Most Beautiful Stations in the Prix Versailles international architecture awards. Inside, the concourse features eight columns that stretch out into ‘tree branches’, holding up with canopy above. There’s also 10-metre-high ceiling arches, featuring chandelier lights made in Melbourne. The platforms are over 25 metres below street level and are 18 metres wide, making them one of the widest underground metro platforms in the world.
The other two entrances are on Swanston Street, near the Young & Jackson pub, and on City Square. Passengers can also enter Town Hall from Flinders Street Station via connecting subway tunnels.
