The Melbourne rail network is a passenger and freight train system in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The metropolitan passenger rail network is centred on the Melbourne CBD and consists of 222 stations across 16 lines, which served a ridership of 99.5 million over the year 2021-2022. It is the core of the larger Victorian railway network, with links to both intrastate and interstate systems. The first steam train in Australia commenced service in Melbourne in 1854, with the metropolitan network having grown over the last two centuries to cover much of the city. Metro Trains Melbourne operates the Melbourne metropolitan railway network under franchise from the Government of Victoria, while the government-owned entity V/Line operates trains from Melbourne across regional Victoria. The metropolitan network is a suburban rail system designed to transport passengers from Melbourne's suburbs into the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and associated city loop stations, with the main hub at Flinders Street station. Southern Cross station is the main interchange station between metropolitan and regional V/Line services. A new underground line is currently under construction as part of the Metro Tunnel project, which aims to increase network capacity and provide Melbourne with a turn-up-and-go metro-like service. A major new orbital line is also under construction, and would be the network's first autonomous line. A total length of 998 km of track is owned by VicTrack and leased to train operators through Public Transport Victoria. The railway network is primarily at ground level, with some underground and elevated sections. There were more than 170 level crossings before the Level Crossing Removal Project commenced in 2015 to grade separate 110 of the busiest crossings and rebuild 51 railway stations, with 67 crossings removed by December 2022. The metropolitan network operates primarily between 5:00 a.m. and midnight, with 24-hour services from Friday to Sunday. Some tracks are also used by freight trains and V/Line regional services. In addition to the primary commuter and freight railway networks, Melbourne also features heritage railways such as Puffing Billy and has the world's largest urban tram network. History First railway On 7 September 1851, a public meeting called for the construction of Australia's first railway to linking Melbourne and Sandridge (now known as Port Melbourne), which led to the establishment of the privately owned Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company in 1853. On 8 February 1853, the Government also approved the establishment