The Toolamba–Echuca railway is a

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 , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( CI ...

cross-country rail link between the towns of

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 ...

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 larges ...

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. As a railway route to and from Echuca, it provides an alternative to the usual route via

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, mak ...

. The line has not been used for passenger services since 1981, and goods movements on the line are intermittent, with it being booked out of service at times. The line was re-opened for goods traffic while there was track work on the

Shepparton line The Tocumwal railway line (also known as the Shepparton line) is a gauge railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs between the border town of Tocumwal in New South Wales to Southern Cross, Melbourne. The line is utilised by variou ...

between

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

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 Sheppart ...

. On 3 October 2013 the line was re-opened after an upgrade.

History

The last passenger service from Echuca station along the Toolamba–Echuca line ran on 2 March 1981, consisting of Y class diesel locomotive Y161, hauling an ABE carriage and a C van. That 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, w ...

usually being rostered. Toolamba finally closed as a station on 20 December 1987. During the

Regional Fast Rail project The Regional Fast Rail project (or RFR project) was a rail transport project undertaken by the State Government of Victoria, Australia, between 2000 and 2006 aimed at improving rail services on the Victorian regional railway network (operated ...

, the line was used while work was being undertaken on the main line to Echuca via Bendigo. The line was also used by

Freight Australia Freight Australia was an Australian railway company that purchased the V/Line Freight business from the Government of Victoria in 1999. Initially known as Freight Victoria, it operated rail freight services and controlled non-urban rail track in ...

to send rice traffic from north of

into

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 me ...

. On 3 October 2013 the line was re-instated for use by freight trains after an upgrade. There have been plans for the line to be

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to standard gauge to provide standard gauge access to Echuca, but they have not yet eventuated. File:Toolamba - Echuca line junction.jpg, The Toolamba-Echuca line joins the main line at

File:Toolamba - Echuca line junction split.jpg, Lines towards

diverge at

File:Toolamba - line to Echuca goes off.jpg, Toolamba-Echuca line heads westward at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toolamba-Echuca railway line Railway lines in Victoria (state) Railway lines opened in 1880 5 ft 3 in gauge railways in Australia 1887 establishments in Australia