Melbourne tram route 72 is operated by Yarra Trams on the Melbourne tram network from Melbourne University to Camberwell. The 16.8 kilometre route is operated out of Malvern depot with Z and D class trams.
History
Route 72 was first allocated to the line between Camberwell (Burke Road) and the City (Swanston Street) on 1 November 1970. Prior to that, the line to Camberwell was serviced by route 7. The change was at first due to operations of the Camberwell line being shifted from Malvern depot to Camberwell depot. Even though the route was subsequently returned to Malvern in August 1979, the number 72 was kept. Before 1970, Route 72 was a short-working of the Wattle Park line, for trams that terminated at Riversdale instead of Wattle Park. Trams traditionally terminated at the Victoria Street terminus, but following an accident in 1991, trams instead terminated at the Queensberry Street crossover. Due to congestion during peak hours at the crossover, some trams continued north to Melbourne University. Finally on 17 January 1996, a permanent shunt was built at Melbourne University. From then on, route 72 trams were altered run full-time to Melbourne University. In response to the State Government's Melbourne 2030 planning policy, the Public Transport Users Association lobbied to extend route 72 north to Doncaster Road and Ivanhoe station, and south to Caulfield.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Melbourne tram route 72 evolution
!Dates
!Route
!Notes
|-
|9 December 1934 - 31 October 1970
|Riversdale to City (Batman Avenue)
|
|-
|1 November 1970 - 14 April 1991
|Camberwell to City (Swanston / Victoria Streets)
|via Malvern / Burke Roads
|-
|15 April 1991 - 16 January 1996
|Camberwell to City (Swanston / Queensberry Streets)
|via Malvern / Burke Roads
|-
|17 January 1996 - onwards
|Camberwell to Melbourne University
|via Malvern / Burke Roads
|-
|}
Operation
Route 72 is operated out of Malvern depot with Z and D class trams.