Outer Circle Trail
The Outer Circle Trail, also known as the Anniversary Trail, is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which partly follows the Alamein Line through the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| Anniversary Outer Circle Trail | |
|---|---|
Outer Circle Trail looking north toward Mont Albert Road Bridge | |
| Length | Approx 15.7 km |
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Difficulty | Easy to medium |
| Hazards | Crossing High Street, Toorak Road and Princess Highway- Use crossing |
| Surface | Concrete or bitumen |
| Hills | Various hills at Willsmere park and near Ashburton Station otherwise fairly flat |
| Water | Drinking fountains every 2km approx |
| Train(s) | Alamein line (any station), East Camberwell Station and Hughesdale Station |
| Tram(s) | Route 109, Route 75, Route 70, Route 48 |
| Bus | Routes 612, 623, 624, 626, 822, 900, 546, 548, 200, 207, 302, 304, 350, 609 |
The trail follows the right-of-way of the old steam era Outer Circle Line. It runs from the Yarra River Trail near the Eastern Freeway at Fairfield, down to Hughesdale Station in the south. The Outer Circle train line opened in 1891. Parts of the trail were opened 100 years later in 1991, hence the Anniversary.
It is heavily used by local residents and recreational cyclists, due to its proximity to other paths, many suburbs, and connecting transport. The path was upgraded in Dec 2006 and is now fully sealed and divided. Signs are still lacking, and there is no lighting for some of the sections, such as between Whitehorse Rd and East Camberwell station. The path, in some stages, follows the direct line of the old railway, in others it weaves through parks, and follows the side of the Alamein Line, continuing beyond Alamein Station underneath the still standing pylons for the overhead wiring to the Gardiners Creek Trail in Malvern East through to Hughesdale Train Station in the south.