line is long and predominantly double-tracked; however, between Flinders Street station and Richmond, the track is widened to 12 tracks, narrowing to 6 tracks between Richmond and South Yarra before again narrowing to 4 tracks between South Yarra and Caulfield. After Caulfield station, the track again narrows to two tracks, which remain for the rest of the route. The only underground section of the Cranbourne line is in the City Loop, where the service stops at 3 underground stations and operates in a counter-clockwise direction. Exiting the city, the Cranbourne line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal earthworks for most of the line. However, between South Yarra and Malvern, the rail corridor has been lowered into a cutting to eliminate level crossings, and between Malvern and Caulfield, the corridor it has been raised on an embankment for the same reason. After Caulfield, the line formerly had numerous level crossings; all have now been abolished between Caulfield and Dandenong as part of an elevated rail project, as well as some older bridges over and under roads. The remaininng crossing will be fully removed by 2025, with the Cranbourne line becoming the first fully level crossing free line on the Melbourne railway network. The line follows the same alignment as the Pakenham line along the Gippsland line, with the two services splitting onto different routes at Dandenong. The Cranbourne line turns south and branches on to the South Gippsland line, while the Pakenham line continues along the Gippsland line. Most of the rail line goes through built-up suburbs and some industrial areas, but after Dandenong, the line gets into a mix of both open fields and suburbia. This outer portion of the line is one of Melbourne's main growth corridors, which is rapidly replacing farmland with housing and commercial developments, adding additional passengers to the line each year. Stations The line serves 24 stations across of track. The stations are a mix of elevated, lowered, underground, and ground level designs. Underground stations are present only in the City Loop, with the majority of elevated and lowered stations being constructed as part of level crossing removals. From 2025, services will cease to stop at Flinders Street, Southern Cross, Flagstaff, Melbourne Central, Parliament, Richmond, and South Yarra stations due to the opening of the Metro Tunnel. Planned stations Infrastructure Rolling stock The Cranbourne line uses electric multiple unit (EMU) trains