[1] It operated until 26 October 1940, when the Bourke Street cable lines were abandoned by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) in favour of double decker buses.

[5] In the 1980s, it was decided to close the short St Kilda and Port Melbourne railway lines and convert them to 'light rail'.

They involved an eventual segregation of trams from traffic along nearly the entire route, and the upgrade of all stops to level access to improve passenger flow and make the network disability-compliant.

On Nicholson Street, all on-street parking would eventually be removed to create dedicated tram lanes where it is illegal for cars to drive.

The Batman Park (previously the World Trade Centre) and Clarendon Street Junction stops in South Melbourne would be redesigned with a separate bay for the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, while in St Kilda, some parts of Acland Street would be closed to cars in favour of widened footpaths, pedestrian plazas and tram right of way.

The project has received strong support from commuters, urban planners and public transport advocates, while there have been concerns from shop owners along the route that a loss of on-street parking will negatively affect business.

[21] Work completed as at October 2018 has included: Route 96 runs from the terminus at Blyth Street, East Brunswick, travelling south on Nicholson Street through the suburbs of Carlton North, Fitzroy North, Carlton and Fitzroy, passing the Royal Exhibition Building and Melbourne Museum.