Melbourne Central: The Station, the Shot Tower Shopping Centre and What Changed in 2026

Melbourne Notes

By MELB_NOTE

The short answer

Melbourne Central is two things in one place. It is an underground Metro Trains station on the City Loop, and it is a large shopping centre, office and transport hub at La Trobe and Swanston Streets, built around the heritage-listed Coop’s Shot Tower. The station opened in 1981 as Museum and was renamed Melbourne Central in 1997. Wikipedia says some train lines moved out of the City Loop on 1 February 2026, so check Metro or PTV for the services that run now.

“Melbourne Central” has been the top related search to “melbourne” in Australia over the past week, so here is a plain guide to what the name covers. We read Wikipedia’s Melbourne Central railway station article and Wikipedia’s Melbourne Central Shopping Centre article on 22 and 23 October 2026 (Melbourne) and use only those two sources. We did not read any operator, PTV or Metro website.

30-second summary

It is a station and a shopping centre joined together, at La Trobe and Swanston Streets.
The station opened on 24 January 1981 as Museum, the first City Loop station, and was renamed on 16 February 1997.
The shopping centre opened on 11 September 1991 around Coop’s Shot Tower (1888), under a glass cone.
In 2023-24 Wikipedia lists it as the third-busiest station on the network, with 11.177 million passengers.
Wikipedia says some lines moved to the Metro Tunnel on 1 February 2026. Check PTV or Metro for current services.

Melbourne Central is both a City Loop station and a shopping centre built around a shot tower

According to Wikipedia’s station article, Melbourne Central is a Metro Trains Melbourne station. It is an underground “premium” station on the City Loop, with four platforms on two island platforms on two floors, under La Trobe Street between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets. Wikipedia lists the Burnley, Caulfield, Clifton Hill and Northern group lines as serving it, though that changed in 2026 (see below).

Wikipedia’s shopping centre article describes the centre as a large shopping centre, office and transport hub at La Trobe and Swanston Streets. It opened on 11 September 1991 with 160 specialty stores, 30 cafes and Daimaru, and Wikipedia mentions a design by Kisho Kurokawa.

Looking straight up the brick Coop’s Shot Tower inside a glass and steel cone. Diagonal shadows from the cone’s frame fall across the bricks. A sign reading R. M. Williams, Est. 1932, Australia is fixed to the base of the tower at the bottom of the frame. Blue sky shows through the glass. — Looking up Coop’s Shot Tower inside the cone at Melbourne Central, photographed on 2 February 2018 according to the Commons file page. Photo: Orderinchaos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The two parts are joined. Wikipedia says the centre is integrated with the station, with tram and bus stops around it. The station is staffed from the first train to the last, as a premium station, and its Elizabeth Street entrance opened on 5 April 1982.

The station opened in 1981 as Museum and was renamed in 1997

The station opened on 24 January 1981 as Museum, the first City Loop station. It was renamed Melbourne Central on 16 February 1997, after the shopping centre had opened in 1991. The Elizabeth Street entrance came on 5 April 1982.

Timeline of six cards. 24 January 1981: opens as Museum, the first City Loop station. 5 April 1982: Elizabeth Street entrance opens. 11 September 1991: shopping centre opens with 160 specialty stores, 30 cafes and Daimaru. 16 February 1997: renamed Melbourne Central. 2002 to 2004: concourse redeveloped in 2002 and 2003 and integrated into the centre, with centre works finished in December 2004. 1 February 2026: per Wikipedia, Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines move to the Metro Tunnel and the Frankston line returns to the Loop. — Illustration by MELB NOTE. Data: Wikipedia.

For 2023-24 Wikipedia lists Melbourne Central as the third-busiest station on the network, with 11.177 million passengers. It gives a peak flow of 30,000 passengers an hour, with a train every 2.5 minutes. These are Wikipedia’s figures, and we have not checked them against Metro.

The shot tower and glass cone are the landmark

The centre is built around the heritage-listed Coop’s Shot Tower, which dates from 1888. A glass cone encloses the tower. Wikipedia gives the cone’s weight as 490 tonnes and says it uses 924 glass panes.

Opposite the shot tower is the Marionette Watch, which has an hourly marionette display. Wikipedia says the Seiko branding and the chain were removed in the 2000s redevelopment. We have not checked whether the display runs today.

The centre has also changed over the years. Wikipedia records these dates, which are not a guide to what is there now:

20 September 2005: a Hoyts cinema opened on levels 3 and 4.
2008: a vertical garden was added to the shot tower. It was replaced by a billboard in 2013.
2011: the Dining Hall food court and an Elizabeth Street entrance opened, along with “The Corner” fashion precinct.
27 May 2019: the ELLA dining space opened.
7 May 2022: a LEGO Certified Store opened.
15 November 2023: Monopoly Dreams opened.

Wikipedia also says a 12-storey timber office tower called “Frame” was proposed in 2019 and put on hold in April 2020.

The 2000s redevelopment joined the concourse to the centre

GPT Group bought 97.1% of the centre in 1999. Daimaru closed in 2002, and redevelopment began in September 2002, by ARM architects at a cost of about $200 million, according to Wikipedia. Parts opened in 2004 and the work was finished in December 2004, excluding levels 3 to 5. The station concourse was redeveloped in 2002 and 2003 and integrated into the shopping centre.

Escalators to Platforms 3 and 4 in the Melbourne Central concourse, photographed on 15 August 2024 according to the Commons file page. Photo: PEPSI697, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

One change affected how people walk through. The direct escalators from Swanston Street to the concourse closed in November 2003, which routed passengers through the shopping centre instead. Wikipedia notes criticism of the longer route.

Quick facts card. Where: under La Trobe Street between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets for the station, and La Trobe and Swanston Streets for the centre. Station: Metro Trains Melbourne underground City Loop station with four platforms on two island platforms on two floors. Staffing: staffed first to last train as a premium station. Passengers: third-busiest station on the network in 2023-24 with 11.177 million passengers. Landmark: Coop’s Shot Tower from 1888 under a glass cone of 490 tonnes and 924 glass panes. Services: Wikipedia says some lines moved to the Metro Tunnel on 1 February 2026; check PTV or Metro. — Illustration by MELB NOTE. Data: Wikipedia.

The card above is the short version. If you are planning a wider day in the city, our guides to What’s On in Melbourne Right Now: Spring 2026 Dates and Coffee Stops and Melbourne Weather by Month: Temperatures, Rain and the Four Seasons Reputation may help.

In 2026 some lines moved to the Metro Tunnel

On 1 February 2026, Wikipedia says, the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines moved out of the City Loop and into the Metro Tunnel. To reach Melbourne Central from those lines, it says, you change at State Library station, which is connected to Melbourne Central by a concourse. It also says the Frankston line returned to the City Loop.

That is Wikipedia’s account, and it is the only source we used. We have not checked it against Metro or PTV. Wikipedia is also a community-edited source, and its statements about 2026 are recent, so they may change. For the services that run today, check Metro or PTV.

Questions people ask

Which lines serve Melbourne Central?

Wikipedia lists the Burnley, Caulfield, Clifton Hill and Northern group lines. It also says that from 1 February 2026 the Pakenham, Cranbourne and Sunbury lines moved to the Metro Tunnel, so passengers from those lines change at State Library station, and the Frankston line returned to the City Loop. Check Metro or PTV for current services.

Why was it called Museum?

The station opened on 24 January 1981 as Museum, the first City Loop station, and was renamed Melbourne Central on 16 February 1997. Wikipedia says it was named after the adjacent National Museum of Victoria and Science Museum of Victoria, in the State Library of Victoria complex on the opposite side of Swanston Street.

What is the cone?

It is the glass cone that encloses Coop’s Shot Tower, which dates from 1888. Wikipedia gives its weight as 490 tonnes and says it has 924 glass panes.

Is it busy?

Wikipedia lists it as the third-busiest station on the network in 2023-24, with 11.177 million passengers, and gives a peak flow of 30,000 passengers an hour with a train every 2.5 minutes.

Do all trains stop there?

Check PTV or Metro. Wikipedia says some lines moved to the Metro Tunnel on 1 February 2026, so not every line that once stopped at Melbourne Central may do so now.

Sources and scope

Both articles were read on 22 and 23 October 2026 (Melbourne). We used no other source. We did not read any operator, PTV or Metro website. Wikipedia is a community-edited source, and its statements about the 2026 line changes are recent.

Photo credits:

Cover: Rexness, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Looking up at Coop’s Shot Tower inside the glass cone; the Commons page gives the date as 14 April 2010.
Looking up the shot tower: Orderinchaos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Station concourse escalators: PEPSI697, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Diagrams: drawn by MELB NOTE from the sources above.

Scope: This guide summarises what Wikipedia says about Melbourne Central. It gives no timetables, no opening hours, no prices and no store list. Check Metro, PTV or the centre for those.