Editing City Loop (section)

===Planning===
[[File:Plan of Proposed Melbourne Underground Railway c1930-50.jpg|alt=Map of the Melbourne Town Planning Commission's 1929 plan for a city rail tunnel, a precursor to the City Loop.|thumb|Melbourne Town Planning Commission's 1929 plan for a city rail tunnel, a precursor to the City Loop.]]
Plans for an underground city railway in Melbourne are almost as old as electrification of the network itself. In 1929, the [[Metropolitan Town Planning Commission]] released a report recommending an underground city bypass from [[Richmond railway station, Melbourne|Richmond]] to [[North Melbourne railway station|North Melbourne]] stations via [[Exhibition Street|Exhibition]] and [[Victoria Street, Melbourne|Victoria]] streets.<ref name=lf>{{cite web
 |url=http://rtsa.com.au/assets/2008/03/rapid-transit-by-l-fouvy.pdf 
 |author=C L Fouvy 
 |title=The Melbourne Region's Opportunity and need for Rapid Transit 
 |publisher=Railway Technical Society of Australasia 
 |access-date=20 July 2008 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721025337/http://rtsa.com.au/assets/2008/03/rapid-transit-by-l-fouvy.pdf 
 |archive-date=21 July 2008
}}</ref> The 1940 [[Victorian Railways]] [[Ashworth Improvement Plan]] recommended a different approach, with additional platforms at the [[Flinders Street railway station|Flinders Street]]/[[Princes Bridge railway station|Princes Bridge]] station complex to be built over two levels, along with a connection to an underground City Railway.<ref name=elect32 >{{cite book | author = S.E. Dornan and R.G. Henderson | title = Electric Railways of Victoria | publisher = Australian Electric Traction Society | page = 32| year = 1979 | isbn = 0-909459-06-1 }}</ref> The Victorian Railways promoted another route in 1950 as part of the [[Operation Phoenix (railway)|Operation Phoenix]] rehabilitation plan, the line running from [[Richmond railway station, Melbourne|Richmond]] towards [[Jolimont railway station|Jolimont station]], under the [[Fitzroy Gardens]] and [[Lonsdale Street]] then turning north to [[North Melbourne railway station|North Melbourne station]]. A branch line turned north from [[William Street, Melbourne|William Street]], and went through the [[Flagstaff Gardens]].<ref name=br1950>{{cite book |author=Public Relations and Betterment Board  |title=Operation Phoenix |publisher=Victorian Railway Commissioners |year=1950 }} (VR publicity brochure)</ref> In 1954 the [[Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works]] released their Planning Scheme for Melbourne report, which included the Richmond – North Melbourne Lonsdale Street route.<ref name=lf />

A Parliamentary Committee on Public Works reported favourably on a city loop in 1954, and in 1958 a City Underground Railway Committee was appointed by the Transport Minister. It stated bluntly that the aim of the loop was not just to relieve crowding at Flinders Street, but to win back [[patronage (transportation)|patronage]] from [[private railroad car|private cars]], and if it did not then the project was a waste of time and resources.<ref name=lee190>{{cite book |author=Lee, Robert |title=The Railways of Victoria 1854–2004 |publisher=[[Melbourne University Publishing]] |year=2007 |isbn= 978-0-522-85134-2 |page=190}}</ref> The plan included four stations, being cut to the present three by the elimination of one under Latrobe Street.<ref name="elect92" />

[[File:MURLA-logo.png|thumb|Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority logo used during construction.|alt=Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority logo]]

The 'City of Melbourne Underground Railway Construction Act' was passed in 1960, and test bores were sunk by the Mines Department in 1961, but no funding was provided. Throughout the next few years many proposals were made for providing more [[car park]]ing in the city, so in 1963 the Government set up the Metropolitan Transportation Committee to look at both [[road transport|road]] and [[rail transport]]. It released a report in 1965 that included the same rail plan as the 1960 Act.<ref name=lee191>{{cite book |author=Lee, Robert |title=The Railways of Victoria 1854–2004 |publisher=Melbourne University Publishing |year=2007 |isbn= 978-0-522-85134-2 |page=191}}</ref>