LATEST: Melbourne Central station has temporarily reopened for the evening peak after flooding closed the city loop station for most of the day.
The station, one of the city’s busiest, was shut after water cascaded through the ceiling and flooded all four platforms before the morning commute on Thursday.
Metro Trains spokeswoman Larisa Tait said services had resumed at the station at 4pm after cafe stores in the Melbourne Central shopping complex above the station had agreed to turn off their water supply.
The source of the leak has not yet been identified and the retailers agreed to turn off their water to ensure services could run through the peak period. Ms Tait said Metro would continue to work through the night to locate the leak.
City Loop services had continued throughout the day despite the flooding with trains running express through Melbourne Central.
A Yarra Trams spokesperson said services on Swanston and Elizabeth streets had coped with the increased traffic during the morning, but extra trams might run on La Trobe and Burke streets if Melbourne Central was not reopened by the evening.
Thursday’s transport disruptions follow major delays on the city’s rail network on Wednesday, starting just before 1pm when a woman was hit by a train at West Richmond station.
A few hours later rail services were cancelled on a stretch of the Frankston line after a car collided with a train at a level crossing.
The last incident caused delays on several lines just before peak hour when overhead power was lost along a key train route in the city.
