But authorities are warning fans who use the Cranbourne/Pakenham and Hurstbridge lines to brace for 55-minutes delays.

"With bus replacements on some train lines we’re reminding people heading to the football to plan ahead, allow for extra time and we’ll get you home as quickly as possible," Mr Tillotson.

Level Crossing removal works means buses are currently replacing trains on the Hurstbridge line between Clifton Hill and Macleod stations, and on the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines between Caulfield and Westall.

Melbourne is hosting the Formula 1 grand prix, the AFLW and NBL grand finals, A-League and NRL fixtures, music festivals at Flemington and Hisense Arena and the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

It will make Friday the busiest day of the year for Melbourne's tram network, as rev heads, footy fans and gardening enthusiasts descend on the city.

As well as the drawcard events, the tram network will be contending with regular weekday demand from CBD commuters

On Friday alone, 1639 tram services will run along St Kilda Road and 786 services will run on routes 12 and 96.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters are expected to make trips to the key sites at Albert Park, Etihad Stadium and the Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens between Thursday and Sunday.

More than 230,000 passenger trips are expected to be made to and from Albert Park over the four-day grand prix event, accounting for about 75 per cent of its attendees.

Eight E-class trams will will run as free shuttles between Southern Cross station and gates one and two of Albert Park.

At peak times, trams will operate every one to two minutes.

A Yarra Trams spokesman said almost all of its 1500-plus operational employees would be rostered on to work during the grand prix.

During the trackside festivities, Albert Park and all roads within it, including Lakeside Drive, are closed to the public. They will reopen at midday on Monday.

Road closures to mitigate the chaos will begin as early as 4.30pm on Thursday when Brunton Avenue will be shut to allow safe access to the MCG for the huge crowd expected for the season opener between Richmond and Carlton.

Melbourne Metro Tunnel works will see St Kilda Road traffic limited to one lane between Dorcas Street and Toorak Road, although trams will be unaffected.

VicRoads Traffic Management Unit spokesman Chris Miller said Friday traffic would be the worst hit.

"That's going to be a big one," he said.

"An immense amount of planning has gone into this – a full 12 months – so people can be sure they will get there.

"At least the flower show [in Carlton] is on the other side of the city."