Mildura railway line, Victoria

VictorianRailwayLineInfobox
type = vic
name = Mildura
yearcommenced = 1874
yearopened =
yearcompleted = 1903
yearclosed = 1993 (for passengers)
fate = Freight only
lengthkm = 604
stations = 9
tracks = 1
users = Pacific National
servicepattern =
RollingStock =
connections = Robinvale line at Dunolly
formerconnections =

---

The Mildura line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. Passenger services ceased on the line in 1993, but freight services continue to be operated on the line by Pacific National. An announcement was made in 2006 for passenger services to be re-introduced to Mildura after a 13 year absence, under the Linking Victoria program, following a constant stream of similar announcements since 1999. It has nine main stations.

History

The Mildura line was opened from Ballarat to Creswick, Clunes, Maryborough and Dunolly in 1874 and 1875, and extended to St Arnaud in 1878, Donald in 1882, Birchip in 1893, Woomelang in 1899, Ouyen, Red Cliffs and Mildura in 1903, Merbein in 1910 and Yelta in 1925.

A passenger service was provided by V/Line with three weekly overnight services from Melbourne (known as the "Vinelander"), including sleeping cars, until 1993 when it was discontinued by the Kennett Government.cite web
url=http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/pdf/Mildura.pdf
title=The Mildura Story The Battle of the Routes
publisher=Royal Historical Society of Victoria
accessdate=2008-08-30] The present State Labor Government had promised to re-open this line to passenger traffic as one of its election pledges. This has not come to fruition, however.

A line was opened from Ballarat to Waubra in the 1880s. It was closed in the 1960s.

A branch line was built from North Creswick to Daylesford in 1887, connecting with the line from Carlsruhe. This line was closed in 1953.

A line was opened from Maryborough to connect with the Melbourne - Bendigo line at Castlemaine in 1874. This line is not currently used by regular traffic.

Another branch line was opened from Maryborough to Avoca in 1876 and Ben Nevis and Ararat in 1890. This line was closed in 1959, reopened in 1966, standardised in 1996 and closed again in 2005. A branch was opened from Ben Nevis to Navarre in 1914 and it was closed in 1954.

A line was opened from Dunolly to Inglewood in 1888, connecting with the Bendigo - Boort line, completed in 1883.

A line was opened from Ouyen to Murrayville in 1912 and the South Australian border in 1915, connecting with the line to Pinnaroo and Tailem Bend. The line west of Pinnaroo was standardised in 1998 creating a break-of-gauge. Nevertheless, it is proposed to standardise the line from Geelong to Mildura and the line between Ouyen and Pinnaroo. In 2006, state and federal money was announced to upgrade the line to Mildura with gauge convertible sleepers. However, this upgrade will still leave the passenger service in limbo. The Vic Govt still will not make any comment on the return of the passenger service.

A branch line was completed from Red Cliffs to Meringur in the 1920s and extended to Morkalla in the 1930s. This line was closed in the 1980s. A 2 km section of the line near Red Cliffs has been converted to a 610 mm-gauge steam railway, operated occasionally by the Red Cliffs Historical Steam Railway (see [http://www.visitvictoria.com/displayObject.cfm/objectid.0003C002-D4F8-1A7B-835580C476A90000/vvt.vhtml Victorian Tourism] ).

In 1923, a series of sidings were placed between the Mildura railway station and the wharves on the Murray River. These included a zig-zag section to enable trains to travel between the different elevations. These sidings were removed in 1973 ["Mildura's Riverfront Railways" Maclean, Bruce Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 1978 pp33-38] .

In December 2007 work begun on upgrading the line between Gheringhap (on the Geelong - Ballarat line and Mildura, at a cost of $73 million and involving one in every two sleepers being replaced, and lifting maximum train speeds to 80 km/h. [cite web
url=http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases/2007/December/AA001_2007.htm
title=WORKS BEGIN ON MILDURA RAIL FREIGHT UPGRADE
publisher=www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au
accessdate=2008-04-27] Current speeds are restricted to 50 km/h on one-third of the track and are as low as 30 km/h in some sections. [cite web
url=http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/Doi/Internet/Freight.nsf/AllDocs/CEFAA4D3E21F849DCA2573290018A76E?OpenDocument
title=Roads, ports and freight - Mildura Rail Freight Upgrade - Frequently asked questions
publisher=www.doi.vic.gov.au
accessdate=2008-04-27] In April 2008 it was announced that the Mildura - Yelta section of the line would also be upgraded, as part of the Victorian core grain network in a $23.7 million package with 6 other lines. [cite web
url=http://business.theage.com.au/43m-to-upgrade-rail-freight-lines/20080421-27nl.html
title=$43m to upgrade rail freight lines | theage.com.au
publisher=business.theage.com.au
accessdate=2008-04-27]

ervices

The main services on the line are containerised freight, despatched to Melbourne from a terminal at Merbein (near Mildura) operated by Wakefield Transport. [cite web
url=http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/Internet/Freight.nsf/AllDocs/0B68D60810012C21CA256E05000488F9?OpenDocument
title=Roads, ports and freight - Intermodal terminals
publisher=www.doi.vic.gov.au
accessdate=2008-08-01] A freight terminal also exists at Donald, and grain services run as required.

Line guide

References

External links

* [http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=infrastructure&section=lineguide&line=Yelta Statistics and detailed schematic map] at the [http://www.vicsig.net/ vicsig] enthusiast website