The slowest trams in Melbourne revealed, where it’s almost quicker to walk

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-04-28T01:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-04-28T01:00:00Z","description":"Melbourne has the world’s largest tram network but also one of the slowest as carriages battle with cars, buses and pedestrians for priority. See where your tram route ranks.","headline":"The slowest trams in Melbourne revealed, where it’s almost quicker to walk","keywords":"Public transport, City life, For subscribers, Just in Age, Fitzroy","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Patrick Hatch","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"/by/patrick-hatch-hvf90"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Craig Butt","jobTitle":"National Data Editor","url":"/by/craig-butt-hvf8q"}],"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-slowest-trams-in-melbourne-revealed-where-it-s-almost-quicker-to-walk-20260424-p5zqrn.html","@type":"WebPage"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"1322.6666666666665","url":"https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.14751358127872963%2C$multiply_0.7025%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_100/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/5a1554bd03b9cab98680106eeccc141434ef0387","width":"744"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":[{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".paywall"}],"publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","height":"628","url":"https://www.smh.com.au/metro-assets/assets/static/smh.png","width":"1200"},"url":"https://www.smh.com.au"},"isPartOf":{"@type":["CreativeWork","Product"],"name":"The Sydney Morning Herald","productID":"smh.com.au:webonly"}}{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/national","name":"National"},"position":1},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria","name":"Victoria"},"position":2},{"@type":"ListItem","item":{"@id":"https://www.smh.com.au/topic/melbourne-public-transport-5zh","name":"Public transport"},"position":3}]}AdvertisementNationalVictoriaPublic transportThe slowest trams in Melbourne revealed, where it’s almost quicker to walkPatrick Hatch and Craig ButtApril 28, 2026 — 11:00amSaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAABrunswick Street in Fitzroy may be one of Melbourne’s trendiest shopping and nightlife strips, but it now has another claim to fame: the slowest trams anywhere outside the CBD.Analysis of tram speed data, obtained by The Age, reveals route 11 trams crawl along the southern end of Brunswick Street, between Johnston Street and Victoria Parade, at an average speed of just 11.8km/h during the morning peak.Trams on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, are slowed down by vehicles - an issue found across the network. Ruby AlexanderThat makes it the slowest section of Melbourne’s tram network outside the Hoddle Grid, where congestion and the huge number of passengers boarding and alighting slow things down even further.Along Swanston Street, where eight routes converge along the world’s busiest tram corridor, trams have an average speed of 7.3km/h between Flinders and Lonsdale streets.AdvertisementMelbourne has the world’s largest tram network, spanning 250 kilometres of double tracks and carrying about 475,000 passengers each weekday. But it is also one of the slowest because roughly three-quarters is mixed with road traffic.Monash University’s chair of…

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