The North East railway line is a railway line in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The line runs from

Southern Cross railway station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Victoria, Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins and La Trobe Street, La Tr ...

on the western edge of the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Albury railway station Albury railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Railway Place, Albury, New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the border with Victoria, in Australia. It was designed under the direction of John Whitton and built from 1880 to 1 ...

in the border settlement of Albury-Wodonga, serving the cities of

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

and

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ...

, and smaller towns in northeastern Victoria. The railway line is both

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 in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

and

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

. It originally was built as broad gauge the entire length, but another track was built as standard gauge between and , with construction of the standard gauge track commencing in November 1959 and completed in January 1962, completing the Sydney-Melbourne standard gauge railway. Between 2008 and 2010, the broad gauge track between Seymour and Albury was finally converted to be the line's second standard gauge track. The original section between Southern Cross and remains broad gauge, with the standard gauge joining and running parallel to the broad gauge between Jacana and Seymour, where the broad gauge branches off on the Tocumwal line, and finally continuing as standard gauge all the way to Albury. The line is owned by

VicTrack VicTrack, the trading name of the Victorian Rail Track Corporation, is a business enterprise of the Victorian Government which owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands, track corridors and other infrastructure in the state of Vic ...

, but the standard gauge sections are leased to and maintained by the

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation, spanning across five states and 39 worksites. ARTC continues to expand the networ ...

History

Broad gauge via Essendon

The

Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company The Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company was formed in 1858 and was authorised by the Victorian Parliament to build a railway line from North Melbourne to Essendon. The single track railway was opened in October 1860. The company immediately com ...

opened the first section of the Albury line, from

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

, in 1860. Following its takeover by the Victorian Government in 1867, the line was extended by 1872 to School House Lane on the south side of the

Goulburn River The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victor ...

near

, and later that year to Seymour and then to Longwood.

Violet Town Violet Town is a town in northeastern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Strathbogie local government area, northeast of the state capital, Melbourne on the Hume Highway. At the , Violet Town had a population of 936. The town i ...

Benalla Benalla is a small city in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town sits on the Broken River (Victoria), Broken River, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. As of the , the population wa ...

, Springhurst and

Wodonga Wodonga (pronounced ; ) is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury-Wodonga and is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga L ...

were reached in 1873, connecting with the

New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...

Albury Albury (; ) is a major regional city that is located in the Murray River, Murray region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the twin city of Albury–Wodonga, Albury-Wodonga and is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of ...

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 railroad car, rolling stock g ...

in 1883. The design engineer was Robert Watson. The section between Flinders Street and Essendon was used by suburban services and in May 1919, that section was part of the first lines to be electrified in Melbourne, apart from a test installation on the Flemington Racecourse line. In 1921, the line was electrified to Broadmeadows, where it remained till the extension of electrification in 2007. Until 2008, the Albury V/line service continued to run via Essendon along the broad gauge tracks, together with the Seymour and Shepparton V/line services.

First standard gauge track

Preliminary work for construction of the standard gauge track began in November 1957 with the establishment of camps for the building gangs, with the first section being laid in November 1959, and the final section on 5 April 1962. The track ran via what is now Albion–Jacana railway line and does not run parallel with the broad gauge track between Jacana and Spencer Street stations. The line was used by prestige passenger services between the state capitals of

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, including the ''Sydney Limited'', ''

Spirit of Progress The ''Spirit of Progress'' was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the New South Wales border at Albury, and later through to Sydney. Route From its introduction in November 1 ...

'', ''

Southern Aurora The ''Southern Aurora'' was an overnight express passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the ''Southern Aurora'' featured all-sleeper ...

'', and ''

Intercapital Daylight The Inter-Capital Daylight was a passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne from March 1956 until August 1991. History Until April 1962, the line between Sydney and Albury was of a different ga ...

''. Due to high costs and declining patronage, they were replaced by the XPT in the 1990s.

Gauge conversion

Maintaining two parallel railways between Seymour and Albury drew criticism, noting inefficiencies in maintaining track, operating trains, and duplicated train control centres. By 2001, the State Government announced the

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

of the broad gauge line to standard, but action was stifled, due largely to complex leasing arrangements. Speed restrictions were eventually applied to the broad gauge line due to track deterioration. In May 2008, it was announced that the tracks would be upgraded, including a bypass around Wodonga, the conversion of of the North East railway line to standard gauge between Seymour and Albury as well as other upgrades to the North East line. Costing A$501.3 million, the Victorian Government was to contribute A$171.3 million, the Australian Government A$45 million for the

Wodonga Rail Bypass The Wodonga Rail Bypass, was a Government of Victoria (Australia), Victorian state government project in regional Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, to provide a new double-track railway bypass around the northern city of Wodonga. The 5.5 ...

, and the

A$285 million and take responsibility for the standard-gauge line under a 45-year lease from Victoria. The project was due for completion by 2010, with passenger services to be disrupted for up to 12 months. On 8 November 2008, broad gauge passenger trains ceased after the evening V/Line service from Melbourne to Albury and a special train operated by the

Seymour Railway Heritage Centre The Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (SRHC) is a railway preservation group based in Seymour, Victoria, Seymour, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The volunteer non-profit incorporated association was established in 1983 as the Seymour ...

, the final broad-gauge passenger train from Albury to Melbourne. In December 2008, standardisation works commenced, contracted by ARTC to the Southern Improvement Alliance. The first train on the Wodonga Rail Bypass was in March 2010. In early August 2010,

CountryLink CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas of New South Wales, and to and from Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of Ne ...

decided to terminate all Sydney-Melbourne XPTs at Albury for an indefinite length of time, due to defects in the newly re-sleepered track. "Mud holes" resulted in speed restrictions on more than 200 kilometres (about 66 per cent) of the line, adding an extra 1.5 hours to the travelling time. Train drivers have blamed the ARTC's $285 million concrete sleeper project for the track issues, stating that the incorrect insertion of 300,000 new concrete sleepers is to blame. They have repeatedly reported freight trains breaking couplings due to the rough track. CountryLink trains resumed in mid September 2010, V/Line trains the following year.

Wallan train derailment

On 20 February 2020, a

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...

XPT passenger train 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 ...

, resulting in suspension of freight, V/Line and NSW TrainLink services on the North East Line and the adjacent

Tocumwal railway line. V/Line services resumed on 1 and 2 March 2020.

Regional Rail Revival

The North East Line Upgrade (part of the

Regional Rail Revival The Regional Rail Revival is a joint initiative between the Australian federal government and the Victorian state government to upgrade all regional railway lines in Victoria. The project has an estimated total cost of . of the project's tota ...

Program) was unveiled in mid 2018, with a series of upgrades announced to the line. Upgrades were delivered by different parties, including: * The

, which completed: ** Track resurfacing ** New ballast ** New underground wires ** Drainage improvements ** Rail bridge upgrades ** Mud-hole removal ** Upgrades to 20 more rail bridges ** The renewal of track turnouts at

and

* Rail Projects Victoria, which completed: ** A number of level crossing closures and upgrades ** Modifications to train stabling at South Dynon ** Upgrades to train stabling and accessibility at Albury station The upgrades were completed December 2020 and allowed the introduction of VLocity

DMUs A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

on the

Albury V/Line rail service The Albury line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves passengers between the state capital of Melbourne and the regional cities of Benalla, Wangaratta, Wodonga, and the NSW border city of Alb ...

, replacing existing locomotive hauled train sets.

Network and operations

Services

Craigieburn service

Seymour service

and

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates Regional rail, regional passenger rail and Intercity bus service, coach services in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five Commuter rail, ...

services continue to use the adjacent broad gauge tracks.

Albury service

Since 2010, the entire line is utilised by

trains, which stops at every station between Albury and . South of Seymour, all passenger trains heading to, and from, Melbourne (Southern Cross) only make a scheduled stop at . The services are run using dedicated standard gauge VLocity

Spirit of Progress

The Spirit of Progress was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia. From its introduction in November 1937 until April 1962 the train service ran on the broad gauge line from Spencer Street station to Albury, on the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

border, where passengers changed to a

train (the ''Melbourne Limited Express''), running on the standard gauge track to complete the journey to

. Following the completion of the standard gauge line between Melbourne and Albury in April 1962 the ''Spirit of Progress'' was extended to Sydney. With declining passenger numbers it was decided to combine the ''Spirit of Progress'' and ''Southern Aurora'' into one train, the ''Sydney/Melbourne Express''. The ''Spirit of Progress'' ran for the last time on 2 August 1986."Farewell to an Ideal" ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways in Australia. Overview The magazine is published by the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was in March 1 ...

'' September 1986 page 284

Intercapital Daylight

The Inter-Capital Daylight was a daytime express passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities,

and

On 26 March 1956, the

and

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 ...

introduced connecting daytime services named the ''Sydney–Melbourne (Melbourne–Sydney) Daylight Express''. Following the completion of the standard gauge to Melbourne, the New South Wales train was extended to Melbourne from 16 April 1962 and named ''Inter-Capital Daylight''. With deregulation of the Australian airline industry in the 1990's, patronage dropped to around 30%. A decision was made to cancel the service with the last service operating on 31 August 1991."The Intercapital Daylight" ''

'' November 1991 page 396

Southern Aurora

The Southern Aurora was an overnight express passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities,

and

. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the Southern Aurora featured all-sleeper accommodation. The train first ran on 13 April 1962 after the opening of the standard gauge line from Melbourne to Albury, eliminating the

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 canno ...

between the capital cities. The ''Southern Aurora'' ran for the last time on 2 August 1986."Farewell to an Ideal" ''Railway Digest'' October 1986 Page 204

Sydney–Melbourne Express

The Sydney–Melbourne Express was an overnight intercapital passenger train service that operated between Australia's largest two cities,

and

, the name depended on the direction of travel, with the train nicknamed the 'Sex' or 'Mex'. The ''Sydney–Melbourne Express'' was formed to replace the ''Spirit of Progress'' and ''Southern Aurora'' to cut operating costs of the intercapital rail service with the first train operating on 2 August 1986. The last ''Melbourne Express'' ran on the night of 20 November 1993 ex Sydney, with the last ''Sydney Express'' running ex Melbourne on 21 November.

XPT

In November 1993, XPTs replaced locomotive hauled stock on the overnight ''Sydney/Melbourne Express''. In December 1994 an XPT daylight service to Melbourne was introduced by extending the '' Riverina XPT'' from Albury. The entire line is used by

Southern services to, and from, Sydney (Central), which makes limited stops on this section. The services are run using

New South Wales XPT The New South Wales XPT (short for eXpress Passenger Train) is a class of diesel locomotive, diesel-powered passenger trains built by Commonwealth Engineering, Comeng and ABB. Based on the British Rail-designed InterCity 125, High Speed Train, ...

diesel-powered passenger trains.

Freight

Operators

New South Wales operators

Victorian operators

Stations

BG

SG

Infrastructure

Branch lines

South of Craigieburn

In October 1889, the

Upfield railway line The Upfield line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth-shortest metropolitan railway line at . The line runs from Flinders Street station in centra ...

was extended to , but closed in July 1903. In March 1928, despite strong resistance from the Railways Commissioners, the state government ordered the reopening of the section from Fawkner to near Somerton for passengers, although no actually connection was provided at this time.In May 1956, the line from Fawkner to Somerton was again closed, but only three years later, in July 1959, the Upfield to Somerton section reopened for

goods trains A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...

. In January 1963, the line from Somerton to the Ford factory was re-laid as

dual gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...

gauntlet track Gauntlet track or interlaced track, also gantlet track () is an arrangement in which Rail tracks, railway tracks run parallel on a single track bed and are interlaced (i.e., overlapped) in such a way that only one pair of rails can be used at any ...

, a year after the North East standard gauge line through Somerton opened. A branch line was opened during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to Broadstore, designed to connect Broadmeadows station with the

Maygar Barracks Maygar Army Barracks is located in Broadmeadows, Victoria. It was the training area for the Australian Light Horse during World War I. The barracks was named after Victoria Cross winner Leslie Maygar, who received the award for his actions during ...

. The line opened on 12 October 1942 and remaining in operation until 1982, when usage of the base began to.

Between Craigieburn and Seymour

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

opened from (near Kilmore) to in 1888 and to

Tooborac Tooborac is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Mitchell local government area, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Tooborac and the surrounding area had a population of 405. At the , Tooborac and the surroun ...

in 1890, connecting with a line from to opened a little earlier. The Heathcote Junction – Heathcote line closed in 1968. A

from Kilmore to

Lancefield Lancefield is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area in Victoria, Australia north of the state capital, Melbourne, 33.6km south of Puckapunyal and had a population of at least 2,743 at the 2021 census. History The are ...

opened in 1892, closed in 1904. The Mansfield line opened from to in 1883, in 1889, and in 1890 and in 1891. It is now closed. A

was built from Cathkin to in 1890 and in 1909. This line closed in 1978.

North of Seymour

The Tocumwal line opened from to , and in 1880. A

opened from to

St James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints *James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater *James, son of Alphaeu ...

in 1883,

Yarrawonga Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira Local government in Australia, local government area in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. In the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Yarrawonga had a population of 8,661 people. ...

in 1886 and in 1938, with a

there until the

State Rail Authority The State Rail Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, operated and maintained railways in the Australian state of New South Wales from July 1980 until December 2003. History The ''Transport Authorities A ...

line closed south of

Boree Creek Boree Creek is a town in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located south west of the state capital, Sydney and west of the regional centre, Wagga Wagga. Boree Creek is situated in the Federation Council local gov ...

. A second

from Benalla to Tatong was opened in 1914 and closed in 1947. In 2008 with the

gauge conversion Track gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another. In general, requirements depend on whether the conversion is from a wider gauge to a narrower gauge or vice versa, on how the ...

the Albury line from broad gauge to standard gauge would have left the Oaklands branch as an isolated and useless spur. The local MP reported that the cost of

converting Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

this branch to

was just over $13m. In October 2008 the Victorian State Government announced that an upgrade would take place. The conversion was completed in December 2009. The narrow-gauge Whitfield branch line opened from to in 1899, closing in 1953. A

opened from (north of Wangaratta) to in 1875, which was extended to in 1876 and in 1891. The line closed in 1954. Another

was built from Everton to in 1883 and in 1890, now closed. A short line to Peechelba East, which opened in 1928 and closed in 1986, also branched from Bowser. A short

opened from via to in 1879. Services were suspended in 1995. A

opened from to between 1889 and 1891, in 1916, in 1919 and in 1921. A connection from Albury was added near Wodonga, creating a turning triangle to enable the ''Sydney Limited'' and its successor ''Spirit of Progress'' with their

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...

s to be turned as complete trains. part of the line was converted to

in 1944 to serve freight depots around . The line closed beyond Bandiana in 1981, and the connection to Wodonga later removed, with only standard gauge traffic continuing to use the line via Albury. The Wodonga-Bandiana section closed on 1 September 2009 as part of the

project.Cudgewa Line
Vicsig

Signalling

Maintenance

Alongside the passenger trains, North East line tracks and equipment are maintained by a fleet of engineering trains. The two types of engineering trains are: the shunting train, designed for moving trains along non-electrified corridors and for transporting other maintenance locomotives; and the infrastructure evaluation carriage designed for general infrastructure evaluation including track and electrical infrastructure (if travelling along electrified corridors). Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line,

Metro Trains Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the operator and brand name of train services on the electrified metropolitan rail network serving the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest urban rail network in Au ...