South Gippsland railway line, Victoria
The South Gippsland railway line opened in 1892, branching from the Gippsland line at Dandenong, and extending to Port Albert. Much of it (the section up to Leongatha) remained in use until 1993 (the track up to Leongatha is still intact), however only a small portion is in use today, as the suburban Cranbourne line.
In addition to the Cranbourne line, the section from Nyora to Leongatha is used by the South Gippsland Tourist Railway, and Leongatha to Foster has been converted to the Great Southern Rail Trail.
Contents
History
The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company opened a line from Princes Bridge railway station to Punt Road (Richmond) and South Yarra in 1859 and extended to Dandenong in 1879. The South Gippsland railway line (also known as the Great Southern Railway) was opened from Dandenong to Cranbourne in 1888 and extended to Koo Wee Rup, Nyora and Loch in 1890, Korumburra and Leongatha in 1891 and Welshpool, Alberton and Port Albert in 1892. The section from Alberton to Port Albert was closed in the 1940s. A branch line was built from Alberton to Yarram and Woodside in 1921. The line was well known for its sharp curves and spectacular scenery, it was also one of the last lines to offer a 'Mixed Passenger and Goods' service in Victoria.
The section from Yarram to Woodside was closed early 1970s. The section from Barry Beach Junction to Yarram was closed in the 1980s, when the mixed goods service closed. From this point until about 1992, the track beyond Agnes received minimal usage, although a short branch leading from Agnes to Barry Beach was used extensively for goods traffic to serve the oil platforms in Bass Strait. The Barry Beach service ceased in 1992 and with it all usage of the train line beyond Leongatha. This section of track was then dismantled in 1994, amazingly requiring the strengthening of a bridge to allow the track machine onto the track to do the dismantling.
The section from Nyora to Leongatha was transferred to the South Gippsland Railway in 1994 and trains have not operated beyond Cranbourne since about that time.
Branch lines
A 5km-long narrow-gauge horse-drawn tramway was built from Welshpool to Welshpool Jetty in 1905. It was closed in 1941.
A mountainous branch line was built from Koo Wee Rup to Strzelecki in the 1920s. This line was closed bit by bit in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
A branch line was built from Nyora to Wonthaggi in 1910 to serve the State Coal Mine. This line was closed in 1978.
A branch line was built from Korumburra to the coal mine at Outtrim in the 1890s. It was closed in the 1950s.
Services
A passenger service operated to Leongatha for many years, but this was cut in the early 1980s, however this service was later reinstated by the Cain Labor Government but was later cut again by the Kennett Liberal Government in 1993. The line then became unused beyond Cranbourne which still retained a short V/Line service, except for a tourist operation to become known as South Gippsland Railway which commenced operation between Nyora and Leongatha. In 1995 the section between Dandenong and Cranbourne was electrified and a station added at Merinda Park.
Current status
The track beyond Leongatha to Yarram and the Barry Beach branch line was dismantled in 1994 (Although dismantling of other facilities along the line such as level crossing signals took place around mid to late 1992, not long after the last train ran down the tracks from Barry Beach). The remaining sections of track are still intact, the section to Cranbourne was electrified in 1995 and is now part of the suburban rail network, the section after Cranbourne to Lang Lang is still intact but is disused, however the remaining track from Korumburra to Leongatha is now used as the South Gippsland Tourist Railway. Due to VicRoads roadworks, the tourist section from Nyora to Korumburra is currently out of service, but may be used by tourist trains again in 2007. The branch line from Nyora to Wonthaggi was closed in 1978 and later dismantled.
Possible reopening
Prior to the 1999 election, the government promised that services would return to Leongatha soon, however they are currently doing a feasibility study into reopening the section, seven years on. However some Bridges have been repaired betweem Leogatha and Korumburra which has allowed the South Gippsland Tourist railway to restore its services on this section of the track after it was prevented from using it due to the declining condition of the bridges.
List of stations
Bold stations are terminuses, italic stations are staffed.
Branches from Pakenham line at Dandenong station.
| Zone 3
Dandenong (DNG) > |
Pakenham line branches | ||||
| Merinda Park (MPK) | |||||
| Cranbourne (CBE) | |||||
| Closed Section | |||||
| Clyde | |||||
| Tooradin | |||||
| Dalmore | |||||
| Koo Wee Rup > | Strezlecki Line | ||||
| Monomeith | Bayles | ||||
| Caldermeade | Catani | ||||
| Lang Lang | Yannathan | ||||
| AGM Sdg | Heathill | ||||
| S.G. Tourist railway | Athlone | ||||
| Wonthaggi Line | Branches after Nyora | Nyora | Topiram | ||
| Woodleigh | Loch | Triholm | |||
| McKenzie | Jeetho | Strezlecki | |||
| Kernot | Bena | END OF LINE | |||
| Almurta | White Law | ||||
| Coal Creek | Branch From Outtrim | Outtrim Line < | Korumburra | ||
| Glen Forbes | Jumbunna | ||||
| Woolamai | Outtrim North | Kardella | |||
| Anderson | Outtrim | Ruby | |||
| Mitchell's Sdg | END OF LINE | Leongatha | |||
| Kilcunda | Great Sth. Rail Trail | ||||
| Dalyston | Koonwarra | ||||
| Dudley Area < < | State Mine | Tarwin | |||
| Wonthaggi | Meeniyan | ||||
| Eastern Area | < branch > | Kirrak | Stony Creek | ||
| END OF LINE | Buffalo | ||||
| Boys | |||||
| Fish Creek | |||||
| Hoddle | |||||
| Foster | |||||
| Bennison | |||||
| Toora | |||||
| Barry Beach < | Agnes | ||||
| Welshpool Jetty < | Welshpool | ||||
| Hedley | |||||
| Gelliondale | |||||
| Alberton > | Woodside line | ||||
| Port Albert | Yarram | ||||
| END OF LINE | Devon | ||||
| Calrossie | |||||
| Won Wron | |||||
| Napier | |||||
| Woodside | |||||
| END OF LINE |
See also
- List of closed regional railway stations in Victoria
- List of closed regional railway lines in Victoria
- Transportation in Australia
- Rail transport in Victoria
