Overview
When the Victorian government committed to funding the Melbourne Metro Rail project, easing inner-city congestion was the topic on everyone's minds. With new transport infrastructure comes new names, however. With five new underground train stations set to join the city's network from 2026, suggesting those monikers has now been tasked upon the state's residents. If you've always wanted to name a piece of Melbourne, here's your chance.
Naming is now open for stations at Arden, Parkville, Domain, and under the northern and southern ends of Swanston Street, with a deadline of October 22 for submissions. Entries can be lodged online, must be no longer than three words or 25 characters unless they're in an Indigenous language, and should be relevant to the geography or heritage of the place in question. Names of people held in high regard by the community will also be accepted, although participants are asked to avoid those of people who are still living.
Alas, before you go thinking what we're all thinking, one idea has already been ruled out: Station McStationface. "Try to come up with something more original," the Premier posted on Facebook, clearly hoping to stop a repeat of the British Boaty McBoatface situation. That said, Trainy McTrainface was ruled a perfectly fine name in Sweden.
"We want as many Victorians as possible to have their say on what they'd like the five new underground stations to be named," is the Premier's official statement, but entries will go through a vetting committee according to The Age. As for the new Metro Rail itself, it will includes two new tunnels as well, and create a new path into the city that doesn't rely on (but connects to) the City Loop. Here's what it will look like:
Image: Binayak Dasgupta via Flickr.