The Tocumwal railway line (also known as the Shepparton line) is a gauge railway line in
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. The line runs between the border town of
Tocumwal
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 ...
in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
to
Southern Cross
Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...
,
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 ...
. The line is utilised by various passenger and freight trains serving the northern suburbs of Melbourne and northern regions of Victoria.
History
The
Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company
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 metropol ...
opened the first section of the Tocumwal railway line from
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
to
Essendon Essendon may refer to:
Australia
*Electoral district of Essendon
*Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington
* Essendon, Victoria
**Essendon railway station
**Essendon Airport
* Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League
United Ki ...
in 1860. Following its take over by the Victorian Government in 1867, the line was extended to
Tallarook
Tallarook is a town the Shire of Mitchell local government area in central Victoria, Australia. The town is in on the Hume Highway, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Tallarook had a population of 789.
Tallarook Post Office opene ...
and
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
in 1872.
A line was built from Mangalore to
Toolamba
Toolamba is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. It is in the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Toolamba and the surrounding area had a population of 873. ...
and
Shepparton
Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...
in 1880 and extended to
Numurkah
Numurkah ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Goulburn Valley Highway, north of Shepparton, in the Shire of Moira. At the , Numurkah had a population of 4,768.
History
The area was occupied by the Yorta Yorta people prior t ...
in 1881,
Strathmerton in 1905 and connecting with the New South Wales Government Railways at
Tocumwal
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 ...
at a
break-of-gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
in 1908.
Passenger services to Tocumwal ended on 8 November 1975 with the last train operated by
T class diesel locomotive T324 and passenger carriages
3AS -
31BE - 2AE - 22CE. Before this time the
Strathmerton - Cobram section was operated as the 'branch line' with a
102hp Walker railmotor
The family of Walker railmotors were a type of diesel railcar operated by the Victorian Railways in Australia.
After World War II, the Victorian Railways undertook a major rebuilding program known as Operation Phoenix. One of the first tasks wa ...
connecting with the main line train. A bus service was then introduced for the Tocumwal branch, connecting with the Cobram service. By 1977/78 the service between Cobram and Tocumwal was being operated by a
VicRail owned
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
driven by the Cobram station master.
The last passenger service from
Toolamba station to Echuca ran on 2 March 1981 with
Y class diesel locomotive Y161, an
ABE carriage and a C van. This consist had only been introduced a few months prior, with a
DERM
The Diesel Electric Rail Motor (DERM) was a railmotor operated by the Victorian Railways of Australia.
History
Originally built as a petrol electric rail motor (PERM), they were the longest-lived rail motor on the Victorian Railways, wi ...
usually being rostered.
Toolamba finally closed as a station on 20 December 1987.
The passenger service from Numurkah north to Cobram was withdrawn on 24 April 1981 but was restored on 14 August 1983.
The service from Melbourne to Shepparton then to Cobram was again withdrawn on 21 August 1993, with
Hoys Roadlines
Hoys Roadlines was an Australian bus operator based in the Victorian city of Wangaratta. From 1993 until 2004 the company also had a contract to operate train services on the Shepparton line on behalf of the Victorian State Government.
Bus s ...
taking control of the train as far as Shepparton from 22 August,
hiring locomotives, carriages and train crews from
V/Line
V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cros ...
. This arrangement remained until 2004.
There have been calls for the line to be standardised as part of the proposed Melbourne to Brisbane '
Inland Railway
Inland Rail, also known as Inland Railway and previously Australian Inland Railway Expressway, is a railway line under construction in Australia. Once complete, it will connect the ports of Melbourne and Brisbane along a new route west of th ...
'. In April 2008 it was announced that the Shepparton – Tocumwal section of the line would also be upgraded, as part of the Victorian core grain network in a
A$23.7 million package with 6 other lines.
On 20 February 2020, a
NSW TrainLink
NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...
XPT passenger train on the adjacent
North East railway line
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury–Wodonga to Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Mel ...
towards Sydney
derailed at
Wallan
Wallan , traditionally known as Wallan Wallan (large circular place of water), is a town in Victoria, north of Melbourne's Central Business District. The town sits at the southern end of the large and diverse Shire of Mitchell which extends f ...
, resulting in suspension of freight, V/Line and NSW TrainLink services on the North East and Tocumwal railway lines. V/Line services resumed on 1 and 2 March 2020.
On 31 October 2022, after a week long delay due to extensive major flooding in the Goulburn Valley region,
VLocity trains started running from Seymour-Shepparton for the first time, replacing the previous N and H set locomotive hauled services.
Branch lines
A branch line was subsequently built from
Murchison East to
Rushworth and
Colbinabbin
Colbinabbin is a town in central Victoria, Australia. The name is derived from aboriginal meaning "the meeting of the black and red soils". At the , Colbinabbin and the surrounding area had a population of 297.
History
Located on the banks of C ...
, with another branch from Rushworth to
Stanhope and
Girgarre. A cross-country line between
Toolamba
Toolamba is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. It is in the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Toolamba and the surrounding area had a population of 873. ...
and
Echuca
Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest ...
was completed in 1887.
A short branch line was opened from Shepparton to
Dookie
''Dookie'' is the third studio album and the major label debut by American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late 1993 at Fantas ...
in 1888. A tramway, built and operated by the
Shire of Tungamah
The Shire of Tungamah was a local government area in the Goulburn Valley region, about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1878 until 1994.
History
Tungamah was o ...
, was opened between Dookie and
Katamatite in 1890. It was taken over by the
Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
in 1896.
Another short branch line was opened from Strathmerton to
Cobram
Cobram is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. It is on the Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Cobram along with the nearby towns of Numurkah and Yarrawonga is part of Shire of Moira and is the a ...
in 1888.
Current freight train operations are as-required grain trains operated by
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 ...
and
Southern Shorthaul Railroad
Southern Shorthaul Railroad is an Australian rail freight services operator in New South Wales and Victoria. The company also provides workshop services, such as rolling stock manufacturing and wagon and locomotive maintenance.
History
Sout ...
. In addition to these, Pacific National also operates a thrice weekly container service from Tocumwal to
Appleton Dock
Appleton Dock is an international shipping facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was opened in about 1956 by the Melbourne Harbor Trust, and is named after MHT commissioner William Thomas Appleton (1859-1930), who was a staunch advocat ...
.
Passenger services
Craigieburn passenger services operate on the line within the Melbourne region between
Craigieburn and Southern Cross.
Upfield line services also utilise a small section of the line between
North Melbourne
North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...
and Southern Cross. Regional services from
Seymour (as the
Seymour line) and
Shepparton
Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...
also operate to Southern Cross, skipping most metropolitan stations. The line between Tocumwal and Shepparton is no longer served by passenger services.
Shepparton services
V/Line operates five return services between Shepparton and Melbourne's Southern Cross Station on weekdays, with 3 return services running on Saturdays & Sundays.
Services generally stop at all stations between Shepparton and Donnybrook in both directions, with some services not stopping at Donnybrook, Heathcote Junction and Tallarook. Within the metropolitan network, limited services make stops at Essendon and North Melbourne on weekdays, while all services stop at Broadmeadows. At these stations, Shepparton-bound services only pick up passengers and Southern Cross-bound services only drop off. No services stop at any other station served by a metropolitan service.
References
External links
http://www.vline.com.auOfficial mapStatistics and detailed schematic mapat th
vicsigenthusiast website
{{Victorian Railway Lines, Main
Railway lines in Victoria (Australia)
V/Line rail services
Railway lines opened in 1860
5 ft 3 in gauge railways in Australia
Shepparton
Public transport routes in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
Transport in the City of Hume
Transport in the City of Whittlesea
1860 establishments in Australia