The Maryborough–Avoca–Ararat railway is a railway line in western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is one of the few railway lines in the state to have been closed and then reopened. Today it is a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

branch line connecting the Western SG with Bung Bong (

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

) and Dunolly (

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

), running through Maryborough station.

History

The first section of line was opened as a branch from Maryborough to Avoca in October 1874, 24 kilometres in length, then was extended 62.8 kilometres to Ararat in November 1890, forming a through route between two main lines. In July 1959 the line between Avoca and Ararat was closed. In October 1966 the line was reopened, and in 1996 it was converted to

, along with the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. The Avoca–Ararat section of the line has been unused for a number of years and

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Government of New ...

used it to store over 100 surplus grain wagons, until many of them were reactivated to carry the 2011–2012 harvest. Although more wagons were stored after this, all were cleared in preparation for re-opening the line. The line was to be reopened as standard gauge and upgraded to 21-tonne axle loads, with insertion of over 100,000 new concrete sleepers. The second reopening of this cross-country line was primarily to allow for the carriage of mineral sands from

Manangatang Manangatang ( ) is a town in north-west Victoria, Australia. At the , Manangatang had a population of 309. It is sometimes noted for its unusual name, from an Aboriginal term - "manang" meaning ''land'' and "kaaiti" meaning ''water''. Transport ...

to a processing plant at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. The reopening project included construction of a direct standard gauge connection between the Avoca and Hamilton lines at Ararat to avoid the need for trains to have to reverse at Ararat. However, following cancellation of the conversion of the Robinvale line to standard gauge in 2020, it is almost certain these trains will not operate. It was announced in June 2017 that work would begin to reopen the 87 km line between Maryborough and Ararat. The Maryborough-Ararat rail freight line was officially re-opened at Avoca early in 2018 after more than 13 years of siting idle.

Operations

The line is used for services from the

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

and Murrayville lines heading to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, as there is no direct standard gauge link from Maryborough to

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

via

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. This forces services on the standard gauge lines to Mildura and Murrayville to instead take the longer route via Avoca and Ararat.

References

External links

Avoca and District Historical Society
*

Level Crossings On The Closed Ararat-Maryborough Line (Avoca Railway Line)
{{Victorian Railway Lines, Cross Country Freight railway lines in Victoria (Australia) Railway lines opened in 1874 Standard gauge railways in Australia

History

Operations

See also

References

External links