Rail transport in Victoria - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rail transport in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. Victorian lines use broad gauge

Victorian broad gauge

Rail gauge in Australia displays significant variation, which has been an ongoing problem for transportation on the Australian continent, for over a hundred years.-Track gauges and route km:The most used gauges are Main gauges:...

, with the exception of a number of standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

freight and interstate lines, a few experimental narrow gauge

Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways

The former Victorian Railways, the state railway authority in Victoria, Australia built a number of experimental narrow gauge railway lines around the beginning of the 20th century. Although all were closed by the early 1960s, parts of two have been reopened as heritage railways.- Background :A...

lines, and various private logging, mining and industrial railways.

Railways were privately owned and operated, until the State Government established the vertically integrated

Vertical integration

In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...

Victorian Railways

The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...

in 1883. This remained until corporatisation

Corporatization

Corporatization refers to the transformation of state assets or agencies into state-owned corporations in order to introduce corporate management techniques to their administration...

occurred in the 1980s, followed by privatisation

Privatization

Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...

in the 1990s. Passenger services today are operated by Metro Trains Melbourne

Metro Trains Melbourne

Metro Trains Melbourne is the current franchise operator of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture led by Hong Kong based MTR Corporation together with John Holland Group and United Group Rail .Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 381...

in suburban Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

with electric multiple units, and V/Line

V/Line

V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...

in regional Victoria with diesel trains. Freight services are operated by Pacific National

Pacific National

Pacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....

and other private operators such as El Zorro

El Zorro (railway)

El Zorro is a railway operator based in Victoria, Australia. It is a private company that was founded in 1999, based in Spotswood, and named by director Ray Evans who has a taste for things Spanish. . The company has three shareholders: director Ray Evans, business manager Geoff Tighe, and Lisa...

, Specialised Container Transport

Specialised Container Transport

SCT Logistics is an interstate transport company in Australia, with facilities in Melbourne, Adelaide, Parkes, and Perth. The company was founded in 1974.- History :...

and QRNational.

The rail network radiates from the state capital, Melbourne, with two main interstate links to Sydney and Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, as well as major lines running to regional centres, upgraded as part of the Regional Fast Rail project

Regional Fast Rail project

The Regional Fast Rail project was a rail transport project of the State Government of Victoria, Australia undertaken between 2000 and 2006 aimed at improving the passenger services on the Victorian regional railway network , specifically to reduce travel times, enhance service frequency and...

. The rail network reached a peak in 1942 but steadily declined, as branch and cross country lines were closed up to the 1980s.

Victoria does not have a dominant mining base as with other states, and has traditionally been more dependent on agriculture for rail freight traffic. By the 1990s road transport

Road transport

Road transport or road transportation is transport on roads of passengers or goods. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport is the historic horse-drawn boat.-History:...

had captured most general freight traffic, with an average of only 6.1 million tonnes of intrastate freight carried each year between 1996 and 1998; containers being the major cargo, followed by cement, logs, quarry products, and steel.

First lines

Australia's first steam operated railway was a 2+1/2 mi Victorian broad gauge

Victorian broad gauge

line between the Melbourne

Melbourne

(or City) Terminus (on the site of modern day Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...

) and Sandridge (now Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne, Victoria

Port Melbourne is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km southwest of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government areas are the cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, Port Melbourne had a population of 13,293....

), constructed by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

The Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company was founded on 20 January 1853 to build Australia's first railway broad gauge line from Melbourne to the port of Sandridge...

and opened in September 1854. The first country line in Victoria was from Melbourne to Geelong, opened in 1857 by the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company

Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company

The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a railway in 1857 from Geelong to Newport. In 1859 this line was extended to Spencer Street Station and a branch line was opened from Newport to Williamstown Pier. The Company was taken...

. The early years saw the majority of lines being constructed by privately companies, this not changing until the 1870s when the Government Railway Department (Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

) had built their own lines.

The suburban network expanded to the east from Princes Bridge railway station to Richmond

Richmond railway station, Melbourne

Richmond is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Richmond. It is classed as a Premium Station and is in Metcard Zone 1.-Facilities:...

in 1859, then later to Brighton and Hawthorn by the early 1860s. the initial suburban lines were all built by different private companies centred upon Flinders St, being amalgamated into the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company

Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

by 1865, with public ownership not coming until 1878. In 1862 Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

lines had reached the great gold rush

Victorian gold rush

The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...

towns of Bendigo and Ballarat, and in 1864 railways were extended to the Murray River

Murray River

The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...

port of Echuca

Echuca, Victoria

Echuca is a town located on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe river in Victoria, Australia. The Border town Moama is on the northern side of the Murray river in New South Wales. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Shire of Campaspe...

.

In 1883 the first connection to another State's rail system was made, when the Albury-Wodonga line was completed to the New South Wales Government Railways

New South Wales Government Railways

The New South Wales Government Railways was the government department that operated the New South Wales Government's railways until the establishment of the Public Transport Commission in 1972. Although later known officially as the Department of Railways, New South Wales, it was still generally...

' station at Albury

Albury, New South Wales

Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...

, requiring a break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

to New South Wales' (standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

). It was then followed in 1887 by a connection with the broad gauge South Australian Railways

South Australian Railways

South Australian Railways built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 to the incorporation of its non-urban railways into the Australian National Railways Commission in 1975, together with the former Commonwealth Railways and the former Tasmanian Government Railways...

at Serviceton

Serviceton, Victoria

Serviceton is a small town in Victoria, Australia, located near the Victorian-South Australian border, 437 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. The town was named after James Service, Premier of Victoria in 1880 and from 1883-86...

, with the Intercolonial Express (now The Overland) to Adelaide running between the capitals. Additional trunk lines were also built though the 1870s, with rails extended to Sale

Sale, Victoria

Sale is a city in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. It is the seat of the Shire of Wellington as well as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale and the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland. It has a population of around 13,336, and is expected to reach a population of 14,000 soon...

, Portland

Portland, Victoria

The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...

and Colac

Colac, Victoria

Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...

; and the first branch lines built. It was a time of improved train safety, with the first interlocking

Interlocking

In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant...

of railway signalling

Railway signalling

Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...

to protect trains provided in 1874, and tests of continuous train brakes

Brake (railway)

Brakes are used on the cars of railway trains to enable deceleration, control acceleration or to keep them standing when parked. While the basic principle is familiar from road vehicle usage, operational features are more complex because of the need to control multiple linked carriages and to be...

carried out in 1884.

In 1884 State Parliament

Parliament of Victoria

The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council ; and the Legislative Assembly...

passed The Railway Construction Act
Railway Construction Act 1884
The Victorian Government's Act No. 821, Railway Construction Act 1884, authorised the construction of 59 new railway lines. Created by the Minister for Railways, Thomas Bent, and passed on 12 December 1884, it became notorious for the excessive number of inner-city railways it created, and received...

, which authorised fifty-nine new lines to almost every corner of the state, and thus became known as the Octopus Act. The proposed lines would serve both new agricultural communities and support suburban land speculation. It was also this decade that the first narrow gauge line

Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways

was opened from Wangaratta to Whitfield, with three other lines following by 1910. The South Gippsland line was also opened from Dandenong to Leongatha

Leongatha, Victoria

Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. The town is the commercial, religious, educational and civic centre of the region. At the 2006 census, Leongatha had a population of 4,504.The Murray...

by 1891. However by the late 1890s the majority of the state was now covered in railways, with the exception of the Mallee country

The Mallee

The Mallee is the most northwesterly district in the state of Victoria, and also encompasses the agricultural district of South Australia. Definitions vary, however all are based on the Victorian distribution of mallee eucalypts...

in the north west of the state which saw further line openings, such as the Mildura line in 1903.

A new century

In 1907 the A2 class

Victorian Railways A2 class

The A2 class was an express passenger locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1907 to 1963. A highly successful design entirely the work of Victorian Railways' own design office, its long service life was repeatedly extended as economic depression and war delayed the introduction of more...

steam locomotives were introduced, 185 in number they were Victorian Railway's main passenger locomotive until the arrival of the diesel electric B class in 1952. On 20 April 1908 the Sunshine train disaster

Sunshine train disaster

The Sunshine rail disaster occurred at the Sunshine railway station, which is the junction for the Ballarat and Bendigo railway lines, from Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia....

occurred, killing 44 passengers in the worst Victorian accident ever.

Electrification of the Melbourne suburban network

Railways in Melbourne

The Melbourne rail network is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise from the Government of Victoria. The network is based on a commuter rail model centred on the Melbourne Central Business District and Flinders Street Station, rather than a rapid transit model, with a focus on...

was also carried out, with the first train running in 1919. By 1924 210,000 passengers passed through the main city terminal of Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station

per weekday. St Kilda was Melbourne's busiest suburban station with 4½ million journeys, followed by Footscray with almost 4 million, then Elsternwick, Ascot Vale, Essendon and Balaclava

Balaclava railway station

Balaclava railway station opened in 1892 and closed in 1992. It served the small town of Balaclava on the Kingston to Montego Bay line and was from the Kingston terminus....

. Technology advancements continued, with 3 position automatic signals introduced in 1915, the conversion of screw couplings to knuckle couplers from 1924, and the first remote controlled signalling provided in 1925. The first level crossing

Level crossing

A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...

flashing lights were installed at Mentone

Mentone, Victoria

Mentone is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston...

on Moorabin Road in 1932.

Despite the World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, significant extensions of rail lines were carried out, particularly in the wheat growing areas in the north west and west. The new lengthy parallel lines were considered to be cheaper to operate that the numerous short spurs such as those in the Goulburn Valley

Goulburn Valley

The Goulburn Valley is a region of Victoria, Australia. The region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. The Goulburn Valley is bordered on the south by the Great Dividing Range and to the north by the...

. By 1930 the railway map of Victoria was largely complete, with the best land settled and the remaining land marginal for agriculture, with a number of lines built across the state border into the Riverina

Riverina

The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...

of NSW. On November 1937 the first run of the Spirit of Progress
Spirit of Progress
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express train passenger service on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the Victorian border, and later through to Sydney.-Route:...

was made, a streamlined

Streamliner

A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...

all air conditioned train run between Melbourne and Albury, led by the matching S class

Victorian Railways S class

The S class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1928 to 1954. Built when the VR was at its zenith and assigned to haul premier interstate express passenger services, the S class remained the VR's most prestigious locomotive class until the advent of diesel...

steam locomotives.

The Victorian Railways biggest steam locomotive H 220 Heavy Harry

Victorian Railways H class

The H class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1941 to 1958. Intended to eliminate the use of double heading A2 class locomotives on Overland services on the steeply graded Western line to Adelaide, wartime restrictions led to only one locomotive being built...

entered service in 1941, at a time when the railways were struggling with the needs of the war effort. In 1943 the Victorian Railways employed 25,450, had 577 steam locos and 12 electric locos on register along with 19,823 goods wagons and 1,499 passenger cars, running along 4758 miles (7,657.2 km) of lines. The network reached its largest extent in 1942, covering 7668 route kilometres.

Post war rebuilding

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

the railways were run down, with Operation Phoenix

Operation Phoenix (railway)

Operation Phoenix was a post World War II rehabilitation program carried out by the Victorian Railways in Australia. The program commenced in 1950 and was originally planned to take 10 years and cost £80 million pounds...

unveiled in 1950, involving the expenditure of £80,000,000 over 10 years. Works included electrification

Railway electrification system

A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...

to Traralgon

Traralgon, Victoria

Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Traralgon is a city within the City of Latrobe....

, new Harris suburban trains

Harris (train)

The Harris trains were the first steel-bodied Electric Multiple Unit train to operate on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They were introduced in 1956 by the Victorian Railways, and last operated in 1988, although a number of the carriages were converted for other...

, the Walker railmotors, and approximately 3,000 new goods wagons.

On 14 July 1952 the VR entered the diesel era

Dieselisation

Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.-Water Transport:...

, with the delivery of the first B class mainline locomotive, with the commissioning of the first mainline electrification scheme in Australia in July 1954 to Warragul

Warragul, Victoria

Warragul is a rural centre with a population of 12,943 people east-southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north...

. March 1954 saw Queen Elizabeth II tour Victoria by Royal Train

Victorian Railways Royal Train

The Victorian Railways operated Royal Trains to transport members of the Monarchy of Australia on their Royal visits to Australia. The same carriages were also used for a number of vice-regal trains for the Governor-General of Australia and the Governor of Victoria...

, the first time a reigning monarch had travelled on the VR, 1954 also saw the last steam locomotive to enter service, J class 559

Victorian Railways J class

The J class was a branch line steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1954 to 1972. A development of the successful Victorian Railways K class 2-8-0, it was the last new class of steam locomotive introduced on the VR...

, as well as the last four wheeled open wagons being built. The fifties also saw the loss of a number of short branch lines, particularly country where the only traffic had been timber or livestock.

In the 1960s the break of gauge at Albury was eliminated, with the opening of the North East standard gauge line in 1962. The new line aided freight traffic between the state capitals, and enabled though passenger trains, such as the Southern Aurora
Southern Aurora
The Southern Aurora was a named express passenger train that operated between the cities of Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales, in Australia. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the Southern Aurora featured all-sleeper accommodation...

and the Intercapital Daylight
Intercapital Daylight
The Intercapital Daylight was a named passenger train that operated between the cities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, running during the daytime making intermediate stops between Sydney and Albury, but running express between Albury and Melbourne.-History:On the Victorian side the train was...

. At the same time the sixties was also the end of steam, with the demolition of the massive North Melbourne Locomotive Depot

North Melbourne Locomotive Depot

North Melbourne Locomotive Depot was the main location for maintenance of the Victorian Railways steam locomotive fleet based in Melbourne. Located in the middle of the Melbourne Yard precinct in the suburb West Melbourne near North Melbourne railway station, the site is now occupied by the...

on 20 January 1961.

1965 saw the Victorian Railways produce at £193,727 surplus, but by 1973 it had turned into a $86,086,361 deficit. On 20 July 1976 the Laverton derailment occurred, killing one passenger, in what was the last railway passenger fatality not involving a road vehicle. By the late seventies roadside goods and country railmotor services had been replaced by road transport, and branch lines outside the grain producing areas were now virtually non-existent. The Lonie Report

Lonie Report

The Lonie Report, officially titled Victorian Transport Study, was a thoroughgoing study of freight and passenger transport within the state of Victoria, in Australia...

delivered in 1980 recommended the closure of all country passenger service except that to Geelong, elimination of a number of suburban railways, and moving small-volume freight from rail to road.

New deal

The 1980s saw corporatisation

Corporatization

Corporatization refers to the transformation of state assets or agencies into state-owned corporations in order to introduce corporate management techniques to their administration...

of the Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

carried out, with the railway commissioners replaced by VicRail and later government authorities. New liveries on trains were unveiled, as elderly "red rattlers" were replaced by new trains.

1981 saw the Melbourne underground loop

City Loop, Melbourne

The City Loop is a mostly-underground, partly surface-level and partly elevated railway around the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

open in January, followed by the new air conditioned Comeng suburban trains and "N" type

N type carriage

The N type carriages are an intercity passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria, Australia. They were introduced between 1981 and 1984 as part of the 'New Deal' reforms of country passenger rail services...

country passenger carriages in September the same year. Country services were also sped up under the New Deal
New Deal (railway)
The New Deal' for Country Passengers was a timetable introduced on 4 October 1981 in Victoria, Australia that revolutionised the provision of country passenger railway services. 35 little-used passenger stations were closed, rolling stock utilisation improved, and new rolling stock introduced...

by the closure of 35 of small wayside stations. Country passenger services saw the last of the non-air-conditioned wooden bodied passenger cars withdrawn from service in 1986, replaced by new "H" set

H type carriage

The H type carriages are an interurban passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria, Australia. Fitted with economy class only high density 2+3 seating, they are exclusively used on short distance interurban services with V/Line.-History:...

carriages. Trials were also carried out for further upgrades, with locomotive A85 re-geared for 160 km/h operation in a series of test runs between Glenorchy

Glenorchy, Victoria

Glenorchy is a town in the Wimmera district of the Australian state of Victoria. The town in located in the Northern Grampians Shire and on the Wimmera River, north-west of the state capital, Melbourne....

and Lubeck in the state's west in July 1986.

It was also the end of an era, with freight trains having their guards van

Caboose

A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

s and guards abolished from 1985, and the carriage of livestock ended in 1986. The last run of the Spirit of Progress
Spirit of Progress
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express train passenger service on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the Victorian border, and later through to Sydney.-Route:...

and Southern Aurora
Southern Aurora
The Southern Aurora was a named express passenger train that operated between the cities of Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales, in Australia. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the Southern Aurora featured all-sleeper accommodation...

passenger trains were also made in 1986, on 3 August. Working practices were also altered, with through working of C class

Victorian Railways C class (diesel)

The Victorian Railways C Class GT26C mainline diesel locomotives are a hood unit heavy freight locomotive introduced from 1977 which are mechanically identical to American EMD SD40s, and used on interstate freight services...

locomotives introduced between Melbourne and Adelaide in 1982. Previously Victorian locomotives were detached at the state borders, and replaced by locomotives from the next state. New locomotive were also introduced, with the G class and N classes enabling the retirement of many of the 1st generation diesels.

Cuts continued to the rail network, with larger centralised silos in the north western area of the state, and replacement of traditional safeworking systems

Railway signalling

by systems that required no local staff saw further stations de-manned.

Privatisation

The 1990s saw costs further reduced on the rail network. Guards were removed from passenger trains in 1989, and driver only suburban trains commenced running in 1993, with the last suburban train crewed by a guard running in November 1995. In 1994 the National Rail Corporation

National Rail Corporation

The National Rail Corporation was a rail operator in Australia. The Australian Government, New South Wales and Victoria established the National Rail Corporation in 1992...

was established, taking profitable steel, and intermodal trafficks from V/Line

Public Transport Corporation

The Public Transport Corporation was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services in Victoria, Australia....

; and the Melbourne to Adelaide standard gauge line

Western standard gauge line

The Western standard gauge is a railway line in western Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1995, it forms part of the Melbourne-Adelaide railway and serves as the principal interstate rail link between Victorian and the western states...

was opened in 1995 moving the break of gauge.

Moves towards privatisation begun in 1997, with V/Line split into V/Line Passenger and V/Line Freight by Bayside Trains and Hillside Trains being separated from the Public Transport Corporation

Public Transport Corporation

in 1998. V/Line Freight was sold to Rail America, known as Freight Victoria in 1999, followed by National Express

National Express Group

National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...

taking over Bayside Trains and V/Line Passenger in 2000, with Connex Melbourne

Connex Melbourne

Connex Melbourne was a wholly owned subsidiary of French company Veolia Environnement, which had a franchise from the State Government of Victoria to operate all suburban passenger rail services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In August 2007, Connex's contract was extended to 30 November 2009....

taking over Hillside Trains.

End of private lease

Steve Bracks negotiated a premature end to the "under-rail" Victorian country Broad Gauge network lease just minutes before the caretaker mode began before the state election of November 2006. This cost around $125 million.

In May 2008 John Brumby arranged a 45 year lease to the ARTC of the single track Seymour-Albury section. Part of the negotiation involved Victoria contributing money for the track to be upgraded and standardised and for Wodonga to be bypassed.

Today, the state consists of four networks: the electrified metropolitan system

Railways in Melbourne

operated by Metro Trains Melbourne

Metro Trains Melbourne

, the country passenger network operated by V/Line

V/Line

and upgraded as part of the Regional Fast Rail project

Regional Fast Rail project

, the standard gauge interstate lines to Adelaide and Sydney, and the grain network in the north west of the state, connected to the ports at Geelong and Portland.

Infrastructure

Network route kilometres (January 2007)(excludes interstate and metropolitan passenger lines)
	Broad gauge	Standard gauge	Total
Passenger and freight	1712	nil	1712
Freight-only	1673	368	2041
Services suspended	290	86	376
Total	3675	454	4129

The trunk railway lines of Victoria are double track, some built as such, and others duplicated later on. Early sections of the suburban network were double track

Double track

A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...

, with later additions being single track

Single track (rail)

A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....

that were later duplicated.

The Bendigo and Geelong–Ballarat mainlines were both built as double track in the 1860s, but were singled in the 1930s and first decade of the 21st century respectively. The north-east line to Seymour was duplicated in the mid 1880s and remains so today, the Gippsland line to Moe was duplicated in the 1950s in conjunction with increased briquette traffic, and the busiest country line in the state to Geelong was progressively duplicated from 1959 to 1981.

Few railway tunnels

Railway Tunnels in Victoria, Australia

Victoria has only ever had about 10 tunnels on its railway network, with some others on private narrow gauge tramways. This is generally due to the relatively easy terrain through which the lines ran.-Broad Gauge Line Tunnels:...

exist in Victoria, with the exception of the Melbourne City Loop. The longest tunnel before the opening of the loop was on the Fyansford Cement Works Railway (near Geelong), where a 1300 metre long tunnel existed on a narrow gauge quarry railway. Of those open today the longest is the single track 422 metre long Geelong Tunnel, followed by the double track 385 metre Elphinstone and the 390 metre long Big Hill Tunnels on the Bendigo line. A 154 metre long tunnel also exists on the Healesville line, as well as three tunnels on the suburban Hurstbridge line, and another on the freight lines

Freight railways in Melbourne

The city of Melbourne, Australia has an extensive network of railway lines and yards to serve freight traffic. The lines are of two gauges - broad gauge and standard gauge, and are unelectrified...

under Footscray station.

On the interstate railway corridors there are independent sections of track due to the use of both broad and standard gauges in the state, these sections being from Melbourne to Seymour and on to Albury (constructed in the 1960s), and Melbourne to Geelong (completed in 1995). The gauge issue also sees dual gauge

Dual gauge

A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

track used, in areas including Maryborough, North Geelong, and various freight terminals in Melbourne.

The maximum speed of suburban electric multiple unit

Electric multiple unit

An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...

s and locomotive hauled trains is 115 km/h, with diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s permitted up to 130 km/h on the same track, and up to 160 km/h on specified lines. The maximum axle loading of freight wagons is 20 tonnes, with locomotives of up to 22 tonne axle loading operating. Train lengths are limited to 1200 metres, except on the main interstate lines where 1500 metre long trains are permitted.

Track gauge

The majority of the railways of Victoria are of broad gauge

Victorian broad gauge

, presenting break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

difficulties when connections were made with New South Wales which uses the standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

. In addition, the Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

experimented with four short narrow gauge

Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways

lines of in the early 20th century. Efforts to eliminate the gauge issue were proposed many times in the intervening years, with a Royal Commission in 1921 deciding "that the gauge of 4-ft. 8.5-in. be adopted as the standard for Australia; that no mechanical, third rail, or other device would meet the situation, and that uniformity could be secured by one means only, viz., by conversion of the gauges other than 4-ft. 8.5-in."

By the 1950s, interstate traffic was suffering from the break-of-gauge at the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

state border, and a parallel standard gauge line was opened from the Melbourne to join the New South Wales system in 1962, along with a bogie exchange

Bogie exchange

Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the chassis containing the wheels and axles of the car, and installing a new chassis with...

depot to allow wagons to operate across the broad and standard gauge networks. The second interstate link from Victoria to Adelaide (the oldest single-gauge inter-capital line dating from 1887) was converted from broad to standard gauge in 1995 enabling rail traffic from Victoria to access the rest of the nation without disruption.

Today the standard gauge network consists of the two main interstate lines, and a number of branch lines in the far west of the state. Gauge conversion
of 2000 kilometres of track was announced in May 2001 by the Victorian Government under the Linking Victoria

Linking Victoria

The Linking Victoria was a State Government program launched in 1999 to upgrade transport infrastructure in Victoria, Australia. Costing $3.5 billion, it included the road, rail and port networks...

program, but did not proceed due to the difficulty of achieving any agreement with then track manager, Freight Australia

Freight Australia

Freight Australia was a railway company in Australia. Initially known as Freight Victoria, it operated rail freight services and controlled non-urban rail track in the state of Victoria, later expanding into freight haulage in other states. Freight Australia was taken over by Pacific National in...

. The works would have covered 13 lines, including the Mildura line via Geelong, Ballarat, and Maryborough; the north western Victorian grain network; and the lines centred upon Seymour and Benalla in the north east. Conversion of the regional and suburban passenger networks is not envisioned. In 2008 the conversion of the North East line was announced, with the conversion of 200 kilometres (124.3 mi) of broad gauge track to standard gauge between Seymour and Albury providing double track along the section.

Loading gauge

The Victorian loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

for vehicles is sized between that of British and American practices. Wagons may be up to 22.85 metres long, 2.97 metres wide, and carry loads up to 4.27 metres above the rail height. Double stacking of container wagons is not possible under these limits, with 2655 millimetre high containers the largest permitted, with the exception of 3200 millimetre high containers on some routes. Trials were made with the 4D double deck passenger train

4D (train)

The 4D was a prototype double deck electric multiple unit train built for the Public Transport Corporation of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. It remains the only double deck train ever to have run in Melbourne.-Design:Built by A Goninan & Co...

on some suburban lines, requiring alterations to overhead bridges and structures, but no double deck trains are used today.

Signalling

Compare to Australian railway signalling
Australian railway signalling
Just as the railways of Australia has suffered issues from incompatible rail gauges, the different states have tended to go their own way regarding railway signalling practice.-New South Wales:...

Victoria uses a mix of railway signalling

Railway signalling

practices: British route signalling with home and distant signals (2 position signalling) and American speed signalling (3 position signalling).

Semaphore signals

Railway semaphore signal

One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most...

were used on the very first railway lines, but only a bare minimum were provided as the time interval system being relied upon instead. The first interlocking

Interlocking

of signals to protect trains was provided in 1874, as before this time conflicting moves could be made. The design of the signals also progressed, with the disc type siding signals first introduced in 1885, and the lower quadrant somersault type main line signals adopted in 1887, both of which are still in use today. Green was not adopted as the All Right colour until 1898, with white being used before this time. Red was the usual colour of all signal arms, until yellow was chosen as the colour for distant signals in 1926, with full adoption made in 1930. Colour light signals first appeared in 1918, and by 1924 they were the standard for new installations.

The safeworking of trains between stations on the early lines was time interval working, where a train would be allowed to leave a given time after the train before it. With heavier traffic this method became unsafe, with Staff and Ticket working on single lines adopted from 1873, and telegraph block working from 1878 on double lines. Both of these systems ensured that only one train would be in a section of track at one time. Telegraphic block working was then replaced with Winters Block working between 1883 and 1888, a system that is a predecessor of the Double line Block system which is still used today. Later years saw variations made to the Staff and Ticket system, with busier lines provided with Electric Staff working which provided greater safely when more trains ran.

Heavier suburban traffic on the Melbourne network

Railways in Melbourne

saw a greater strain on the block working then used, which required a large number of manned signal boxes to enable trains to run close together. As a result it was decided to adopt power signalling under the Automatic Block System

Automatic Block Signal

Automatic Block Signaling, or ABS, is a block system that consists of a series of signals that divide a railway line into a series of blocks and then functions to control the movement of trains between them through automatic signals...

(ABS) of safeworking, where the presence of trains automatically control the signals after them, providing a safe distance between trains. Introduced from 1915, the system was based on American speed signalling practice with GRS2A upper quadrant mechanical signals with two arms able to indicate up to 5 different speed aspects to train drivers. These signals were later replaced by colour light signals which are the standard today, but the old mechanical style remained until 2001.

A variant of the Automatic Block System, Automatic and Track Control (ATC) has since been introduced, which provides the same benefits as ABS on single lines of track, while still ensuring only one train in a section at a time. Centralised Traffic Control

Centralized traffic control

Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America and centralizes train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that...

was also introduced in the 1960s on the new standard gauge line to Albury, and then on the main interstate line to Adelaide, allowing trains to be directed from a distance.

Today little mechanical signalling remains, with local signal box

Signal box

On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...

es controlling signals abolished from many areas as part of the Regional Fast Rail project

Regional Fast Rail project

. Today the suburban network and busier regional lines use variants of Automatic Block Signalling, while quieter lines use the Train Staff and Ticket

Token (railway signalling)

In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a locomotive driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the name of the section it belongs to...

or Train Order systems of safeworking. Train protection has also progressed, with the Train Protection & Warning System also introduced on major passenger lines as part of the Regional Fast Rail project

Regional Fast Rail project

Rollingstock

Rollingstock in Victoria has used air braking since tests of continuous train brakes

Brake (railway)

were carried out in 1884. Initially screw couplings were used to connect wagons, but from 1924 automatic knuckle couplers

Coupling (railway)

A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...

were introduced, with buffers

Buffer (rail transport)

A buffer is a part of the buffers-and-chain coupling system used on the railway systems of many countries, among them most of those in Europe, for attaching railway vehicles to one another....

removed from freight wagons by 1960.

Locomotives

In Victoria groups of locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s of the same design are classed together by letter, in a system introduced in 1886. Initially low letters were given to passenger classes, and high letters for goods classes, but from about 1916 this pattern was discarded. Within classes locomotives are individually numbered, in a continuous number block which is unique to the class. In some cases locomotives have been renumbered to keep number blocks continuous, and in some cases there is no correlation between the number blocks used for the steam and diesel locomotives of the same class letter. In addition, some classes start the number series with a 0, while others start with a 1.

The first locomotives used in the state were small steam locomotives, and by the end of the 19th century 0-6-0

0-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...

tender engines were used on goods, and 4-4-0

4-4-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...

configurations for passenger workings. The majority of locomotives were imported from Britain

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

, from companies such as Beyer, Peacock and Company

Beyer, Peacock and Company

Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...

, Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company

Robert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823. It was the first company set up specifically to build railway engines.- Foundation and early success :...

, R and W Hawthorn

R and W Hawthorn

R and W Hawthorn Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer in Newcastle upon Tyne, England from 1817 until 1880.-Locomotive building:Robert Hawthorne first began business at Forth Bank Works in 1817, building marine and stationary steam engines. In 1820, his brother joined him and the firm became R and W...

and George England

George England

George England and Co. was an early English manufacturer of steam locomotives founded by the engineer George England of Newcastle upon Tyne...

. The Williamstown Workshops

Williamstown Workshops

The Williamstown Workshops was the first railway workshop operated by the Victorian Railways, located in the Melbourne inner western suburb of Williamstown.-History:...

also built locomotives locally, as did the Phoenix Foundry

Phoenix Foundry

The Phoenix Foundry was a company that built steam locomotives and other industrial machinery in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Over 30 years they built 352 locomotives for the Victorian Railways, of 38 different designs.-History:...

in Ballarat.

As the size of train increased, so did the locomotives. The 4-6-0

4-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...

wheel arrangement became popular for passenger and mixed traffic work with the D3

Victorian Railways Dd class

The Dd class was a passenger and mixed traffic steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1902 to 1974...

and A2 class

Victorian Railways A2 class

es, and the 2-8-0

2-8-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...

arrangement on goods with the K

Victorian Railways K class

The K class was a branch line steam locomotive that ran on Victorian Railways from 1922 to 1979. Although its design was entirely conventional and its specifications unremarkable, the K class was in practice a remarkably versatile and dependable locomotive...

, J

Victorian Railways J class

and C classes

Victorian Railways C class

The C class was a mainline goods locomotive of the 2-8-0 'Consolidation' type that ran on the Victorian Railways between 1918 and 1962. Although its original design had some key shortcomings, a number of improvements were made over the class' long career on the VR, many of which were subsequently...

lasting into the 1960s. These were then followed by the 4-6-2

4-6-2

4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...

S class

Victorian Railways S class

Pacifics for the Spirit of Progress
Spirit of Progress
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express train passenger service on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the Victorian border, and later through to Sydney.-Route:...

express, and the single 4-8-4

4-8-4

Under the Whyte notation classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...

H class

Victorian Railways H class

locomotive H220, the biggest Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

steam locomotive. The final steam locomotives built for the Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

were the 4-6-4

4-6-4

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...

R class

Victorian Railways R class

The R class was an express passenger steam locomotive that ran on Australia's Victorian Railways from 1951 to 1974. A long overdue replacement for the 1907-era A2 class 4-6-0, their development and construction was repeatedly delayed due to financial constraints caused by the Great Depression and...

and 2-8-0

2-8-0

J class

Victorian Railways J class

es. Although they were of more modern design, their advantages were overshadowed by the simultaneous arrival of the first diesels.

Electric locomotives were first acquired with the electrification

Railway electrification system

of the suburban railways, the E class

Victorian Railways E class (electric)

The Victorian Railways E class was a class of electric locomotive that ran on the Victorian Railways from 1923 until 1984. Introduced shortly after the electrification of the suburban rail system in Melbourne, Australia, and based on the same electrical and traction equipment as Melbourne's early...

suburban engines acquired in 1923 and 1928–29, followed by the L class

Victorian Railways L class (electric)

The Victorian Railways L class was a class of mainline electric locomotive that ran on the Victorian Railways and its successor V/Line from 1953 until 1987...

from 1953 when the mainline to Traralgon

Traralgon, Victoria

Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Traralgon is a city within the City of Latrobe....

was electrified for briquette

Energy in Victoria

The primary energy source for the generation of electricity in the State of Victoria is brown coal - one of the largest contributors to Australia's total domestic greenhouse gas emissions. Brown coal is used for the generation of approximately 85 percent of Victoria's household, commercial and...

traffic.

Dieselisation

Dieselisation

Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.-Water Transport:...

occurred from 1951 with the F class shunter, but the B and S classes

Victorian Railways S class (diesel)

The Victorian Railways S class mainline diesel electric locomotive were built from 1957 by Clyde Engineering for the Victorian Railways of Australia...

of 1952 and 1957 revolutionised main line operations. They were then followed by the T

Victorian Railways T class (diesel)

The Victorian Railways T class diesel electric locomotive are a small branch line and shunting unit built by Clyde Engineering . They were the most numerous class of diesel locomotives in the state....

and Y classes

Victorian Railways Y class (diesel)

The Victorian Railways Y class diesel electric locomotive is a small branch line and shunting unit built by Clyde Engineering . Three separate orders were delivered...

in 1955 and 1963 which displaced steam from the branch lines and yards. Apart from the F class, Clyde Engineering

Clyde Engineering

Clyde Engineering was the name of part of the business now known as Downer EDI Rail. Clyde Engineering were involved in the construction of railway locomotives and rolling stock, as well as larger scale engineering projects on behalf of the governments of Australia...

has had a monopoly on Victorian diesel-electric locos. as the Australian licensee of General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

EMD engines and traction motors, fitting them into locally designed bodies. By 1980s the first generation locomotives were approaching the end of their lives, with the electric locomotives withdrawn by 1988, and the modern N and G classes allowing the withdrawal of lower power T and Y classes.

Today the former Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

locomotive fleet has been split into two, with the N, A and P classes utilised by V/Line

V/Line

on passenger services, with the remainder with Pacific National

Pacific National

or other private operators in freight use. No new passenger locomotives have been built since the 1980s, with Diesel Multiple Unit

Diesel multiple unit

s being acquired instead. Freight operations have seen the re-powering of the G and X classes

Victorian Railways X class (diesel)

The Victorian Railways X class mainline diesel electric locomotives were built by Clyde Engineering from 1966, with a further two orders being placed in 1970 and 1975...

, as well as the restoration to service of stored locomotives, now up to 50 year old.

Passenger

Early passenger services were operated with 4 and 6 wheeled "dogbox" passenger carriage with small compartments and no side corridors. Later years saw the provision of side corridors to provided access down the train, and onboard toilets. Sleeping carriages was first introduced in 1887, and dining cars from 1908.

Larger bogie rollingstock started to appear from the turn of the 20th century, with the E type carriage stock

E type carriage

The E type carriages were wooden express passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria, Australia. Introduced by Victorian Railways Chairman of Commissioners Thomas James Tait and based on Canadian carriage design, the class remained in regular service for 85 years.-Design:Carriages on...

introduced on The Overland, and smaller W type carriage stock

W type carriage

The W type carriages were wooden passenger carriages used on the railways of Victoria, Australia.-Construction:In the early 20th century, the Victorian Railways converted the central part of their network to electric traction. As part of this project, they converted a large number of 'Swing Door'...

on intrastate trains. The first air conditioned carriage was introduced in 1935, when one of the E type carriages was fitted. All steel carriages came to the Victorian Railways in 1927, with the construction of the "Avoca" and "Hopkins" dining cars, followed by the S type carriage stock

S type carriage

The S type carriages are a compartment layout passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria, Australia. The carriages were constructed by the Victorian Railways in 1937 for use on the Spirit of Progress, with additional carriages built until the 1950s for other trains.Two major types of...

for the new Spirit of Progress
Spirit of Progress
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express train passenger service on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the Victorian border, and later through to Sydney.-Route:...

in 1937.

On the Melbourne suburban network Electric Multiple Unit

Electric multiple unit

s were introduced speeding up services. Experiments were also made with various diesel and petrol railcars for use smaller branch lines, with the DERM being the most successful, remaining in service from 1928 to 1991. A fleet of Walker railcars was also introduced in the 1950s, along with Z type

Z type carriage

The Z type carriages are an air conditioned steel passenger carriage used on the railways of Victoria, Australia. The carriages were constructed by the Victorian Railways from 1957 for use on intrastate services....

saloon carriage stock for both intra and interstate trains.

By the 1980s country passenger services were run down, and older wooden rolling stock was now approaching their use by date. As a result, the N type carriage

N type carriage

s were introduced from 1981, followed by the converted H type stock

H type carriage

from 1984. Since then, diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

s have become the norm for new purchases, with the Sprinter

Sprinter (Victorian train)

The Sprinter is a high speed diesel railcar train manufactured by Goninan for use on interurban and semi-regional rail services in Victoria, Australia...

introduced in 1992, and the VLocity from 2005.

Freight

Early wagons were built on four wheeled under frames, but from 1871 bogie

Bogie

A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...

vehicles begun to appear. These early wagons were of all wood construction, but later types had wood bogies on steel underframes, then followed by all steel wagons. Groups of wagons of the same design are classed together by a multiple character alphabetical code, initially in a system restricted to Victoria only, but from 1979 the Railways of Australia four letter coding was introduced. Under this system the first letter represent owner of the wagon, the second represents the general type of wagon, the third separates different classes of the same general type, and the four letter indicates the maximum running speed.

The last four wheeled open wagons were built in 1958, but were not scrapped in large numbers until the 1980s when new bogie wagons replaced them. In 1987 the bogie wagon fleet numbered 5000, with approximately 700 grain hoppers

Covered hopper

A Covered Hopper is a railroad freight car. They are designed for carrying dry bulk loads, varying from grain to products such as sand and clay. The cover protects the loads from the weather - dried cement would be very hard to unload if mixed with water in transit, while grain would be liable to...

, 800 container flats

Flatcar

A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...

, 1000 louvred vans

Boxcar

A boxcar is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry general freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is probably the most versatile, since it can carry most loads...

, 700 open wagons

Gondola (rail)

In railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-top type of rolling stock that is used for carrying loose bulk materials. Because of its low side walls, gondolas are used to carry either very dense material, such as steel plates or coils, or bulky items such as prefabricated pieces of rail...

, 400 tank car

Tank car

A tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...

s, and 300 flat wagons. Today the broad gauge intrastate fleet numbers 2600, with large numbers of louvred vans, open and flat wagons, and tank cars stored or scrapped due to the transfer of traffic to road following years of apathy by Governments.

Commodities

Traffic by year (by tonnes consigned)
Commodity	Percentage (1987)	Percentage (1996 to 1998)
Bulk grain (wheat, barley, oats)	31.4%	50.8%
Containers	10.6%	19.6%
Freight forwarders	9.5%	?
Mining, quarry products	7.9%	14.7%
Cement	6.8%	4.9%
Iron and steel	6.3%	?
Petroleum	4.4%	3.2%

Victoria does not have a dominant mining base as with other states, and has traditionally been more dependent on agriculture for rail freight traffic. In the early 20th century rail was a "common carrier

Common carrier

A common carrier in common-law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport...

" and was required to carry almost any freight offered. After World War I road competition increased, until in 1933 legislation was passed to regulate trucks competing with rail on specific routes. From 1974 to the 1980s intrastate road freight was deregulated, and rail "common carrier" obligations were removed, resulting in the loss of to road of much non-bulk freight. In 1987 10.51 million tonnes of freight was carried by rail, with bulk grain being the main commodity consisting of 31.4% of traffic.

Continued drought, road competition, and rationalisation of intrastate freight operations have seen this change in recent years, with an average of only 6.1 million tonnes of intrastate freight carried from each year between 1996 to 1998; and containers now being the major traffic, with residual cement, logs, quarry, and steel trains operating. By the 1990s road transport has captured most general freight traffic, with less than carload traffic was discontinued in July 2007 with the end of the Fastrack freight service. An exception to the decline is interstate operations, with intermodal container traffic growing due to competition between private operators.

Companies

The first railways in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

were operated by private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

took over. The Victorian Railways was initially known as the "Department of Railways" from the first appointment of staff in 1856, and on 1 November 1883 the Victorian Railways Commissioners Act established the "Victorian Railways".

This situation remained until May 1973 when the Railways (Amendment) Act 1972 passed the management of the Railways from the Victorian Railways Commissioners to a Victorian Railways Board, with rebranding as VicRail following in 1976.

In 1983 VicRail was split into the State Transport Authority

State Transport Authority (Victoria)

The State Transport Authority was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body which operated country passenger and freight trains in Victoria, Australia. It was established under the Transport Act 1983, succeeding the Victorian Railways...

taking responsibility for the provision of country rail and road, passenger and freight services under the V/Line

V/Line

brand; and the Metropolitan Transit Authority

Metropolitan Transit Authority (Victoria)

The Metropolitan Transit Authority was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body that operated suburban passenger trains,trams and buses in Victoria, Australia. It was set up under Section 15 of the Transport Act 1983 and commenced operation on 1 July 1983...

taking over suburban passenger

Railways in Melbourne

operations. These authorities were then merged into the Public Transport Corporation

Public Transport Corporation

in 1989, with the suburban services rebranded as "The Met

Metlink

Metlink, formerly The Met, is the marketing body and umbrella brand for public train, tram and bus transport operators in Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Responsibilities:Metlink is responsible for the promotion of travel by public transport...

".

In 1993 the Kennett Government offered long-distance country rail services previously run by the government-owned operator V/Line to private operators. While several rail services were replaced by road coach services, West Coast Railway

West Coast Railway (Victoria)

West Coast Railway was the trading name of The Victorian Railway Company Pty Ltd, a railway company operating in Victoria, Australia. The company operated passenger services between Melbourne and Warrnambool from 1993 to 2004.-History:...

successfully tendered to operate the railway line to Warrnambool, becoming the first private operator in Victoria. In 1993 Professor Fred Hilmer

Fred Hilmer

Professor Frederick George Hilmer AO is an Australian academic and business figure.Professor Hilmer obtained from the University of Sydney the degree of Bachelor of Laws with Honours Class II in April 1966....

presented the findings of the National Competition Policy Review Committee

National Competition Policy

The term National Competition Policy refers to a set of policies introduced in Australia in the 1990s with the aim of promoting microeconomic reform.-Origins:...

, known as the Hilmer Report, leading to the introduction of National Competition Policy

National Competition Policy

The term National Competition Policy refers to a set of policies introduced in Australia in the 1990s with the aim of promoting microeconomic reform.-Origins:...

in 1995. This allowed new rail freight operators to establish operations in Victoria. Specialised Container Transport

Specialised Container Transport

SCT Logistics is an interstate transport company in Australia, with facilities in Melbourne, Adelaide, Parkes, and Perth. The company was founded in 1974.- History :...

commenced operating trains to Perth in 1995, and Great Northern Rail Services

Great Northern Rail Services

Great Northern Rail Services is a former railway operator in Victoria, Australia. Great Northern Rail Services was incorporated in July 1993 and provided locomotives and train crews to other rail operators, ran general train operations and operated rail vehicle maintenance services in Victoria...

started intrastate operations.

Privatisation of the Public Transport Corporation commenced under the Kennett

Jeff Kennett

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...

Government of the 1990s. V/Line was split into separate freight and passenger divisions, and "The Met" was divided into "Hillside Trains" and "Bayside Trains". These separate bodies were all sold separately in 1999: V/Line Freight and the rural intrastate network to Freight Victoria; Hillside Trains and track lease to Connex Melbourne

Connex Melbourne

; and V/Line Passenger and Bayside Trains (with track lease) to the National Express Group

National Express Group

. Control of V/Line's former interstate rail freight infrastructure was passed to the federal Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns, leases, maintains and controls the majority of main line standard gauge railway lines on the mainland of Australia, known as the Defined Interstate Rail Network .-History:The Interstate...

. Competition in the rail freight industry has also seen the emergence of small operators such as El Zorro

El Zorro (railway)

and Southern Shorthaul Railroad

Southern Shorthaul Railroad

Southern Shorthaul Railroad was established in December 2003, when the remains of Great Northern Rail Services were purchased from CFCL Australia Pty Ltd. Jason Ferguson was then the Fleet Manager for CFCL Australia, and this company was facing a $1.3M write-off of a bad-debt from the previous...

.

On 22 December 2002 National Express

National Express Group

withdrew from their operations in Victoria and the government taking control temporarily, V/Line

V/Line

reverted to government ownership on 1 October 2003, and M-Train was taken over by Connex on 18 April 2004. 16 August 2004 saw the Freight Victoria business and rural track lease was purchased by Pacific National

Pacific National

, but by November 2006 they entered into an agreement to sell the track lease back to the Victorian Government for $133.8 million, with the sale completed on 7 May 2007 and V/Line

V/Line

becoming track manager.

In December 2007 Pacific National announced plans to sell or close its grain transport and Portlink rural container business operations in Victoria. The decision has been criticised as it will force grain growers to use higher cost road transport to transport the annual grain harvest from rural silos to the ports. The decision has seen many commentators accuse Pacific National of only acquiring the operations of Freight Australia

Freight Australia

in 2004 for the purposes of asset stripping

Asset stripping

Asset stripping involves selling the assets of a business individually at a profit. The term is generally used in a pejorative sense as such activity is not considered productive to the economy. Asset stripping is considered to be a problem in economies such as Russia or China that are making a...

and eliminating competition in rail freight. In 2008 El Zorro

El Zorro (railway)

has taken over the Warrnambool

Warrnambool, Victoria

-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...

- Melbourne

Melbourne

container service from Pacific National, and moved into broad gauge grain services, while QRNational has taken over the Melbourne - Horsham

Horsham, Victoria

Horsham is the largest city by population and regional centre of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia and is approximately north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway. At the 2006 census, Horsham had a population of 14,125. Horsham is in the federal Division of Mallee...

container service.

By line

Victoria's first railway was a 4 km Victorian broad gauge

Victorian broad gauge

line between the Melbourne

Melbourne

(or City) Terminus (on the site of modern day Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station

) and Sandridge (now Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne, Victoria

), constructed by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

and opened in September 1854. Today, Melbourne's suburban railway network
Railways in Melbourne
The Melbourne rail network is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise from the Government of Victoria. The network is based on a commuter rail model centred on the Melbourne Central Business District and Flinders Street Station, rather than a rapid transit model, with a focus on...

consists of 16 electrified

Railway electrification system

lines, the central City Loop subway, and 200 stations

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

, with a total length of 372 km of the electrified lines, operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

to the Government of Victoria

Government of Victoria

The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...

.

In Gippsland

Gippsland

Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...

the Orbost line
Orbost railway line
The Orbost railway line is a railway serving the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland regions of Victoria, Australia...

was constructed as an extension of suburban lines between 1877 and 1888 to Bairnsdale

Bairnsdale, Victoria

Bairnsdale is a small city in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. With a population at the 2006 census of 11,282, it is a major regional centre of eastern Victoria along with Traralgon and Sale....

, and extended eastwards to Orbost

Orbost, Victoria

Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, located east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the town of Marlo on the coast of Bass Strait. At the 2006 census, Orbost had a population of 2452...

in 1916. The line between Dandenong and Traralgon was electrified in 1954, but electrification was cut back progressively to Pakenham between 1987 and 2001. V/Line

V/Line

passenger trains now run as far as Bairnsdale.

The South Gippsland line was opened from Dandenong to Cranbourne, Leongatha

Leongatha, Victoria

and Port Albert

Port Albert, Victoria

Port Albert is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, on the coast of Corner Inlet on the Yarram - Port Albert Road, kilometres south-east of Morwell, kilometres south-east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. At the 2006 census, Port Albert had a population of 248.Port Albert was one of the...

between 1888 and 1892. A number of branch lines were also built, with almost all closed in stages between the early 1970s and 1994, except for part has since been electrified and re-opened as part of the suburban network, and between Nyora and Leongatha where the South Gippsland Tourist Railway operates heritage services.

The North East line originated from a suburban line to Essendon in 1860, being extended to Wodonga

Wodonga, Victoria

Wodonga is a small city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. Adjacent to Wodonga across the border is the New South Wales city of Albury. Wodonga is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA...

by 1873, connecting with the New South Wales Government Railways

New South Wales Government Railways

at Albury

Albury, New South Wales

at a break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

in 1883. A standard gauge track was completed parallel with the broad gauge track from Albury to Melbourne in 1962. V/Line

V/Line

services operate along the broad gauge line, while the Melbourne-Sydney Countrylink

CountryLink

CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...

XPT runs on the standard gauge.

The Shepparton line was built from Mangalore to Shepparton

Shepparton, Victoria

Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...

in 1880 and extended to the New South Wales Government Railways at Tocumwal

Tocumwal, New South Wales

Tocumwal is a town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in the Berrigan Shire Local Government Area, near the Victorian border. The town is situated on the banks of the Murray River, north of the city of Melbourne. The Newell Highway, part of the main road route between...

at a break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

in 1908. V/Line

V/Line

passenger service run as far as Shepparton.

The Bendigo line was completed in 1862, with extensions were opened to Echuca

Echuca, Victoria

in 1864, and Swan Hill

Swan Hill, Victoria

Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Murray Valley Highway, on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At the 2006 census, Swan Hill had a population of 9,684.-History:...

in 1890, followed by a number of lines throughout the north-west corner of the state. Only these lines continue to see V/Line

V/Line

services, with other lines in the region only seeing freight traffic.

The main western line had its beginnings in the first railway line from Melbourne to Ballarat, the Geelong-Ballarat line that opened in 1862. The line extended from Ballarat to Ararat

Ararat, Victoria

Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...

between 1874 and 1875, but it was not until 1889 that the direct line between Melbourne and Ballarat was opened, built from both ends in stages until they met at Ballan

Ballan, Victoria

Ballan is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia located on the Werribee River north west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Ballan had a population of 1,807.It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool Local Government Area....

. Further branch lines followed to Portland

Portland, Victoria

The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...

and other western towns. The line formed the first interstate railway line in Australia, when it was extended to the South Australian Railways

South Australian Railways

at Serviceton

Serviceton, Victoria

in 1887. Up until the 1990s the Ballarat line was on the main route between Melbourne and Adelaide, as well as The Overland services to Adelaide, until the One Nation Program

One Nation (Infrastructure)

One Nation was an Australian Government program of infrastructure development carried out under the Keating Government from 1991 to 1996. Much of the program was implemented as a means of stimulating the economy in the aftermath of the Early 1990s recession....

rerouted the main interstate line via Geelong and Maroona as standard gauge.

The Port Fairy line was started when the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company

Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company

opened the Geelong line to Newport

Newport railway station, Melbourne

Newport is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Newport, at the junction of the Werribee and Williamstown railway lines...

in 1857, being extended to Spencer Street Station

Southern Cross Station

Southern Cross is a major railway station and transport hub in Melbourne Docklands, Victoria, Australia. It is located on Spencer Street between Collins and La Trobe Streets at the western edge of the central business district...

in 1859. The line was taken over by Victorian Railways in 1860 and a line was opened from Geelong to Ballarat in 1862, and later extended south-east from 1876, reaching Warrnambool

Warrnambool, Victoria

and Port Fairy

Port Fairy, Victoria

Port Fairy is a coastal town in south-western Victoria, Australia. It lies on the Princes Highway in the Shire of Moyne, west of Warrnambool and 290 km west of Melbourne, at the point where the Moyne River enters the Southern Ocean.-History:...

in 1890. Branch lines also existed to Queenscliff

Queenscliff, Victoria

Queenscliff is a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula in southern Victoria, Australia, south of Swan Bay at the entrance to Port Phillip. It is the administrative centre for the Borough of Queenscliffe...

, Beech Forest

Beech Forest, Victoria

Beech Forest is a town in Victoria, Australia. The area of Beech Forest is largely used for potato farming.The town was named after the many myrtle beech trees of the area. Beech Forest Post Office opened on 10 May 1890 and closed in 1994....

, and a number of other towns.

Private railways

A small number of private railways have also existed at various times. Some, such as the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company

Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company

, and the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company

Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company

The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a line from Princes Bridge railway station in Melbourne, Australia to Punt Road and South Yarra in 1859, Prahran in 1859 and Windsor in 1860, connecting with the St Kilda and Brighton...

, Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company

, Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company

Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company

The Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company built a railway line from North Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia to Essendon in 1860. It subsequently built a branch line from Newmarket to Flemington Racecourse in 1861...

and St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company

St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company

The St Kilda and Brighton Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a line from St Kilda in Melbourne, Australia to Bay Street in 1859 and Beach in 1861....

were acquired by the Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

and made part of the core state network in 1860 and 1878 respectively. Other country branch lines were also built by private companies: namely the Kerang-Koondrook Tramway

Kerang-Koondrook Tramway

The Kerang-Koondrook Tramway was an Australian private railway of broad gauge, running from the state owned Victorian Railways network at Kerang to the Murray River town of Koondrook, with intermediate stations at Yeoburn, Hinksons, Teal Point and Gannawarra.The long line was opened in 1889, with...

and the Deniliquin and Moama Railway, both not being acquired until the 20th century.

In addition to the main Victorian rail network of the Victorian Railways and successors, a number of narrow gauge private railways and tramways have also existed for logging and mining purposes. These included the Yallourn 900mm Railway

Yallourn 900mm Railway

The Yallourn 900mm Railway was a 900 mm narrow gauge railway operated by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in the Latrobe Valley of Victoria, Australia. The railway was built for the haulage of brown coal and overburden between the Yallourn open cut mine, briquette works, and power station...

in the Latrobe Valley

Latrobe Valley

The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical region and urban area of Gippsland in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is east of the City Of Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Great Dividing Range to the north – with the highest peak to the north of the...

open cut coal mines, the Fyansford Cement Works Railway near Geelong, the Tyers Valley Tramway

Tyers Valley Tramway

The Tyers Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge timber tramway built by the Forestry Commission of Victoria to exploit timber resources on the slopes of Mount Baw Baw, Victoria...

at Mount Baw Baw

Mount Baw Baw

Mount Baw Baw is a mountain in Victoria, Australia. Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort is an Unincorporated area of Victoria surrounded by the Shire of Baw Baw.-Location:...

, and the Powelltown Tramway

Powelltown Tramway

The Powelltown Tramway was a 3' gauge railway that operated between Powelltown and Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia. The railway connected to the broad gauge Victorian Railways at Yarra Junction...

from Yarra Junction

Yarra Junction, Victoria

Yarra Junction is a town in Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district. It sits at the junction of the Yarra and Little Yarra Rivers. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges...

.

Most logging tramways operated in the Otway Ranges, Gippsland

Gippsland

, and the inner east of the Great Dividing Range

Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

; primarily between the 1850s and the 1950s, with only one surviving into the 1960s. They were primarily of or gauge, with , , , and variants also used.

Railway preservation

Organised railway preservation commenced in Victoria with the formation of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society in 1955, and operating under the Emerald Tourist Railway Board from 1977. Formed to operate the narrow gauge

Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways

2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railway in the Dandenong Ranges

Dandenong Ranges

The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...

near Melbourne

Melbourne

, the group continues to operate the railway today.

The demise of the last of the steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s in Victoria commenced in the 1960s, with the Australian Railway Historical Society

Australian Railway Historical Society

The Australian Railway Historical Society was founded in Sydney in 1933 as The Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. It aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. Membership now exceeds 2,500, with Divisions in every...

and Association of Railway Enthusiasts working with the Victorian Railways

Victorian Railways

to have a number of locomotives preserved for the future. In 1962 the ARHS Railway Museum was established at North Williamstown to house static exhibits, and Steamrail Victoria

Steamrail Victoria

Steamrail Victoria is a not-for-profit volunteer group established in 1965 to the restore and operate historic locomotives and rolling stock used on the railways in Victoria, Australia. The main depot of the group is at the Newport Railway Workshops in suburban Melbourne...

was formed in 1965 to assist in the restoration of locomotives and carriages for use on special trains

Restored trains

Restored trains are historic trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, as opposed to having never been removed from service, like UP 844, the only U.S. steam locomotive to never be retired. They are operated in present day service as moving examples of...

.

By the 1980s a number of heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

s had been established in Victoria on closed branch lines. These railways serve both as tourist attractions, and to preserve the railway past. The work of railway preservation groups has since expanded to retired railway carriages, electric multiple units, rail motors, and diesel locomotives. In 2006 heritage railways carried 542,000 patrons over 161 km of track; with 28 operational steam locomotives, 47 diesels, 14 railmotors, and 192 carriages.

Heritage Railways and Operators include:

Puffing Billy Railway, Belgrave
Bellarine Peninsula Railway, Queenscliff
Daylesford Spa Country Railway, Daylesford
Victorian Goldfields Railway, Maldon
Mornington Railway Preservation Society, Mornington
Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, Seymour
Steamrail Victoria, Newport
Walhalla Goldfields Railway, Walhalla
Yarra Valley Tourist Railway, Healesville
South Gippsland Railway, Leongatha
Melbourne Tramway Museum, Bylands

Rail trails

A number of former rail lines in Melbourne and regional Victoria have been converted into rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

s, for walking, cycling and horse riding. These make excellent tracks for beginners as the lines were originally designed to avoid steep gradients. Most lines are still in public ownership. Some sections of the track are specially leased to neighbouring farmers for stock grazing. This reduces maintenance costs.

Trails around Melbourne include:

Inner Circle (Rushall to Royal Park)
Outer Circle (Fairfield to Hughesdale)
Rosstown (Hughesdale to Elsternwick)
Hawthorn to Kew
Red Hill (Merricks to Red Hill)

Trails around Victoria include:

East Gippsland (Bairnsdale to Newmeralla)
The Beechy (Colac to Beech Forest)
Crater to Coast (Camperdown to Timboon)
Ballarat–Skipton
Murray to the Mountains (Wangaratta to Beechworth and Bright)
Goulburn River High Country (Bonnie Doon to Mansfield)
Great Southern Rail Trail
Great Southern Rail Trail
The Great Southern Rail Trail is a Rail trail from Leongatha to Foster in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The trail is 49 km long and travels through open farmland, before passing through the Hoddle range to Foster. , there is a 3 km section between Koonwarra and Meeniyan where...

(Leongatha–Foster
Foster, Victoria
Foster is a dairying and grazing town south-east of Melbourne on the South Gippsland Highway in Victoria, Australia. It is about north of the Gippsland coastline which includes Shallow Inlet, Corner Inlet, Waratah Bay, Yanakie and Wilsons Promontory...

, future extension to Yarram)
Bass Coast Rail Trail
Bass Coast Rail Trail
The Bass Coast Rail Trail is a Rail trail located in the Bass Coast Shire of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.The trail has been constructed along a section of the former Wonthaggi line. The trail starts at the former Anderson Station and finishes shortly after the former Wonthaggi Station...

(Anderson–Wonthaggi, future extension to Nyora
Nyora, Victoria
Nyora is a town in south Gippsland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Nyora had a population of 545.The Post Office opened around September 1890 replacing an office at nearby Lang Lang East open since 1885....

)

Planned trails include:

Warrnambool to Port Fairy

Key statutes

The prime rail statute in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

is the Transport Integration Act

Transport Integration Act

The Transport Integration Act 2010 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia. The Act is the prime transport statute in Victoria, having replaced major parts of the former Transport Act 1983....

. The Act establishes the Department of Transport

Department of Transport (Victoria, Australia)

The Department of Transport or DOT is the central Government agency responsible for the coordination, integration and regulation of the transport system in the State of Victoria, Australia...

as the integration agency for Victoria's transport system. The Act also establishes and sets the charters of the State agencies charged with providing public transport rail services and managing network access for freight services, namely the Director of Public Transport

Director of Public Transport

The Director of Public Transport is the Government agency responsible for promoting, providing, coordinating and regulating public transport in the State of Victoria, Australia...

and V/Line

V/Line

. In addition, the Act creates VicTrack

VicTrack

VicTrack is the Victorian Government agency which owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands and other related rail-related infrastructure in the state of Victoria, Australia....

which owns the public rail network and associated infrastructure. Another important statute is the Rail Management Act 1996 which confers powers on rail operators and provides for a rail access scheme for the State's rail network.

Regulation

The safety of rail operations in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

is regulated by the Rail Safety Act 2006

Rail Safety Act

The Rail Safety Act 2006 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia and is the prime statute regulating the safety of rail operations in the State...

which applies to all commercial passenger and freight operations as well as tourist and heritage railways. The Act creates a framework containing safety duties for all rail industry participants and requires rail operators who manage infrastructure and rolling stock to obtain accreditation prior to commencing operations. Accredited rail operators are also required to have a safety management system

Safety Management Systems

Safety Management System is a term used to refer to a comprehensive business management system designed to manage occupational safety and health elements in the workplace.-Description of SMS:...

to guide their operations.

Sanctions

Sanctions (law)

Sanctions are penalties or other means of enforcement used to provide incentives for obedience with the law, or with rules and regulations. Criminal sanctions can take the form of serious punishment, such as corporal or capital punishment, incarceration, or severe fines...

applying to the safety scheme established under the Rail Safety Act

Rail Safety Act

The Rail Safety Act 2006 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia and is the prime statute regulating the safety of rail operations in the State...

are contained in the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983. The safety regulator for the rail system in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

is the Director, Transport Safety

Director, Transport Safety

The Director, Transport Safety is the independent Government agency responsible for rail, bus and marine safety in the State of Victoria, Australia. The position was created as a statutory office by the Transport Integration Act 2010...

(trading as Transport Safety Victoria

Director, Transport Safety

) whose office is established under the Transport Integration Act 2010

Transport Integration Act

Investigation

Rail operators in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

can also be the subject of no blame investigations conducted by the Chief Investigator, Transport Safety

Chief Investigator, Transport Safety

The Chief Investigator, Transport Safety is the independent Government agency responsible for investigation of safety-related trends and incidents in the rail, bus and marine industries in the State of Victoria, Australia. The position was created as a statutory office by the Transport...

or the Australian Transport Safety Bureau

Australian Transport Safety Bureau

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is Australia’s national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air, sea and rail travel. The Australian Transport Safety...

(ATSB). The Chief Investigator is charged by the Transport Integration Act

Transport Integration Act

with conducting investigations into rail safety matters including incidents and trends. ATSB, on the other hand, has jurisdiction over the same matters where they occur on the Designated Interstate Rail Network.

Ticketing and conduct

Ticketing requirements for public transport in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

are mainly contained in the Transport (Ticketing) Regulations 2006 and the Victorian Fares and Ticketing Manual. Rules about safe and fair conduct on trains and trams in Melbourne

Melbourne

are generally contained in the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 and the Transport (Conduct) Regulations 2005.

Tourist and heritage railways

Tourist and Heritage Railways in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

are currently governed by provisions in the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983. In future, they will be regulated by the recently enacted Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010

Tourist and Heritage Railways Act

The Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010 is a law enacted by the Parliament of the State of Victoria, Australia and is the prime statute regulating the activities of tourist and heritage rail operators in the State...

which is yet to commence.

External links

History:

Mark Bau's Victorian Railways - History of rolling stock, locomotives, and signalling
Peter J. Vincent - History of rolling stock and wagons of the Victorian Railways
Victorian Railways Resources - Network maps and analysis at ten year intervals, and histories of stations
Signal Diagrams - Digitised copies of Victorian Railways and V/Line signalling diagrams
Rail Geelong - History of the railways of the Geelong region

Today:

Victorian Railway Stations - photographs of stations of the Victorian network
Vicsig - Information on present infrastructure, operations, signalling, and locomotives
V/Linecars - V/Line carriages and operations website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

First lines

A new century

Post war rebuilding

New deal

Privatisation

End of private lease

Infrastructure

Track gauge

Loading gauge

Signalling

Rollingstock

Locomotives

Passenger

Freight

Commodities

Companies

By line

Private railways

Railway preservation

Rail trails

Key statutes

Regulation

Investigation

Ticketing and conduct

Tourist and heritage railways

See also

External links