The Kulwin railway line is located in north-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 junctions from the Robinvale line at Korong Vale and only sees usage by freight trains.

History

The line was opened from Korong Vale to

Wycheproof Wycheproof is a small town in the centre of the Shire of Buloke, in north western Victoria, Australia. As of the , it had a population of 610. History The name "Wycheproof" originates from an Aboriginal word meaning 'grass on a hill', referri ...

in 1883, and extended to

Sea Lake Sea Lake is a town in the Mallee district of north-west Victoria, Australia and is situated on the southern shores of Lake Tyrrell. The town is located on the Calder Highway, north-west of Melbourne, and west of Swan Hill. Sea Lake is in the ...

in 1893, to

Nandaly Nandaly is a small town in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The town is located north-west of the state capital, Melbourne on the Calder Highway in the Shire of Buloke local government area. At the , Nandaly had a population of 30. T ...

in 1914, Mittyack in 1919, and Kulwin in 1920. Access to the line was originally from the Bendigo line via Bridgewater, until the opening of the Dunolly to Inglewood route to the Mildura line in 1888. The last regular passenger service on the line ran from Bendigo to Sea Lake on 7 May 1977 and was operated by 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 ...

. In April 2008 it was announced that the Korong Vale – Charlton section of the line would be upgraded as part of the Victorian core grain network, in a $23.7 million package with 6 other lines. In February 2010, baulks were placed across the line just north of Sea Lake due to the deteriorating condition of the track. As majority of grain trains only go as far as Sea Lake, this made practical sense. Furthermore, the segment between Sea Lake and Kulwin was closed due to sand drifts and sand slides in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Current 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 South ...

References

Freight railway lines in Victoria (Australia) Railway lines opened in 1883 5 ft 3 in gauge railways in Australia {{Victoria-rail-transport-stub