The Riverina Express was a passenger train operated by the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

between

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

and

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

from September 1949 until November 1993.

History

The ''Riverina Express'' was introduced in September 1949 and operated during daylight hours travelling along the

Main South line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...

to both

and Albury at various stages during its life.Report of the Commissioner for Railways for the year ended 30 June 1950 p. 64 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1950-51-52 Vol 4 p. 568 "Annual Report 30 June 1950" Commissioner for Railways With the change to XPT operation in August 1982, all services ran to Albury. In November 1993, it was extended 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 ...

and renamed the ''Melbourne Daylight XPT''."Sydney-Melbourne Daylight XPT Commences This Month" ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in M ...

'' December 1994 page 7

Rolling stock

It was initially operated by a

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

hauled, air-conditioned set of RUB set carriages. In February 1972 the RUB sets were replaced by ten 1200 class ''Tulloch'' diesel railcars. These were designed to split en route allowing carriages to detach for

Cowra Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863. Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...

Tumut Tumut () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River. Tumut sits on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is located on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wolgalu ...

Lake Cargelligo Lake Cargelligo () is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on Lake Cargelligo. It is in Lachlan Shire. At the , Lake Cargelligo had a population of 1,479 people. Its name is said to be a corruption of the Aboriginal ...

and

Hillston Hillston is a township in western New South Wales, Australia, in Carrathool Shire, on the banks of the Lachlan River. It was founded in 1863 and at the had a population of 1,465. History John Oxley and his exploration party were the first Eu ...

on selected days. The 1200s suffered from regular equipment failures, particularly with their complex electrical systems and they were replaced by locomotive hauled sets from January 1973. One 1200 set was returned from February 1973 with a locomotive set used on alternate days until replaced by a

DEB railcar The 900/800 class railcars (or DEB sets) were Diesel Multiple Units built by the New South Wales Government Railways between November 1951 and November 1960. Configuration As introduced, the DEB sets were formed as a four-car with a power car ...

set in August 1973. In October 1975 a second DEB set replaced the remaining 1200 set. At this stage the service operated to Griffith five times a week and Albury only once per week. In August 1982, the service (which by now only went to Albury) was taken over by a XPT set and renamed the ''Riverina XPT''. In December 1994 an XPT daylight service to

was introduced by extending the Riverina XPT from Albury.

References

{{Reflist

History

Rolling stock

References

See also