Rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. The network consists of 2,281.4 km of Victorian broad gauge () lines, and 1,805.5 km of standard gauge () freight and interstate lines; the latter increasing with gauge conversion of the former. Historically, a few experimental gauge lines were built, along with various private logging, mining and industrial railways. The rail network radiates from the state capital, Melbourne, with main interstate links to Sydney and to Adelaide, as well as major lines running to regional centres, upgraded as part of the Regional Fast Rail project and the Regional Rail Revival project.
The government-owned VicTrack owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands and other rail-related infrastructure in Victoria, which it leases to Public Transport Victoria which then sublets assets and infrastructure as appropriate to rail and tram operators. The state has four railway networks:
- Metro Trains Melbourne operates Melbourne's electrified metropolitan network providing passenger services with electric multiple units,
- V/Line operates the country passenger network with diesel trains,
- Australian Rail Track Corporation leases from VicTrack the standard gauge tracks from Melbourne to Albury and to Serviceton to operate the interstate Melbourne-Adelaide and Melbourne-Sydney services, and
- the grain network in the north west of the state, connected to the ports at Geelong and Portland. By the 1990s road transport had captured most general freight traffic, The first country line in Victoria was from Melbourne to Geelong, which was opened in 1857 by the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company. In the early years, the lines were constructed by private companies.
The suburban network expanded to the east from Princes Bridge to Richmond in 1859, then later to Brighton and Hawthorn by the early 1860s. The initial suburban lines were all built by different private companies centred on Flinders Street, which amalgamated into the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay United Railway Company by 1865; In 1862, Victorian Railways lines had reached the great gold rush towns of Bendigo and Ballarat, and in 1864, railways were extended to the Murray River port of Echuca. It was then followed in 1887 by a connection with the broad gauge South Australian Railways at Serviceton, with the Intercolonial Express (now The Overland) to Adelaide running between the capitals. It was also this decade that the first narrow gauge line was opened from Wangaratta to Whitfield, with three other lines following by 1910. By 1924, 210,000 passengers passed through the main city terminal of Flinders Street station per weekday. the conversion of screw couplings to knuckle couplers from 1924, and the first remote controlled signalling provided in 1925. Works included electrification to Traralgon, new Harris suburban trains, the Walker railmotors, and approximately 3,000 new goods wagons. Country passenger services saw the last of the non-air-conditioned wooden bodied passenger cars withdrawn from service in 1986, replaced by new "H" set carriages. Trials were also carried out for further upgrades, with locomotive A85 re-geared for 160 km/h operation in a series of test runs between Glenorchy and Lubeck in the state's west in July 1986.
It was also the end of an era, with freight trains having their guards vans and guards abolished from 1985, and the carriage of livestock ended in 1986. Working practices were also altered, with through working of C class locomotives introduced between Melbourne and Adelaide in 1982.
Cuts continued to the rail network, with larger centralised silos in the north western area of the state, and replacement of traditional safeworking systems by systems that required no local staff caused further stations to be subsequently de-staffed. taking profitable steel, and intermodal trafficks from V/Line; and the Melbourne to Adelaide standard gauge line was opened in 1995, removing the break of gauge.
Moves towards privatisation began in 1997, with V/Line split into V/Line Passenger and V/Line Freight and in 1998 Melbourne services operated by the Public Transport Corporation split into Bayside Trains and Hillside Trains. The program was largely funded by the Federal Government, through the Commonwealth's asset-recycling fund.
The project allocated $518 million for upgrades to the Ballarat line, including 18 km of duplicated track between Deer Park West and Melton stations, new passing loops, new train stabling, upgraded stations and more car parking along the corridor. The Geelong line will see a new platform and track added to Waurn Ponds station and the investigation of a rail line to Armstrong Creek. The Gippsland line will have its signalling upgraded, some track duplicated, a new stabling facility built and platforms added to some stations. The project will also include track speed and signalling upgrades to the Bendigo-Echuca line, with all projects aimed to be completed by 2022.
Faster rail
There have been numerous proposals for higher-speed passenger rail to regional Victoria. In 2018, the State Government allocated $50 million to plan for a high speed rail line to Geelong, and appointed a Fast Rail Reference Group of technical advisors. The Government suggested trains could run to Geelong and Ballarat at speeds up to 250 km/h, an increase on the 160 km/h limit of current VLocity trains. In 2019, the Federal Government pledged $2 billion for a fast rail line to Geelong, promising a travel time of 32 minutes. Business cases for faster rail to Albury-Wodonga and Greater Shepparton are currently being prepared for the National Faster Rail Agency, a federal body established in 2019.
Infrastructure
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:right; margin:10px; text-align:right;"
|- style="text-align:left;"
! colspan="3" | Route-kilometres of open railway (December 2024)
|- style="text-align:left;"
! Gauge
! Electrified
! Non-electrified
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1067 mm (narrow)
| 0 km
| 0 km
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1435 mm (standard)
| 0 km
| 1805.5 km
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1600 mm (broad)
| 377.2 km
| 1904.2 km
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Dual (standard/broad)
| 0 km
| 53.3 km
|}
The trunk railway lines of Victoria are double track, some built as such, and others duplicated later on. Early sections of the suburban network were double track, with later additions being single track that were later duplicated.
The Bendigo and Geelong–Ballarat mainlines were both built as double track in the 1860s, but were singled in the 1930s and first decade of the 21st century respectively. The north-east line to Seymour was duplicated in the mid-1880s and remains so today, the Gippsland line to Moe was duplicated in the 1950s in conjunction with increased briquette traffic, and the busiest country line in the state to Geelong was progressively duplicated from 1959 to 1981. Of those open today the longest is the single track 422-metre long Geelong Tunnel, followed by the double track 385-metre Elphinstone and the 390-metre-long Big Hill Tunnels on the Bendigo line. A 154-metre-long tunnel also exists on the Healesville line, as well as three tunnels on the suburban Hurstbridge line, and another on the freight lines under Footscray station.
On the interstate railway corridors, there are independent sections of track due to the use of both broad and standard gauges in the state, these sections being from Melbourne to Seymour and on to Albury (constructed in the 1960s), and Melbourne to Geelong (completed in 1995). The gauge issue also sees dual gauge track used, in areas including Maryborough, North Geelong, and various freight terminals in Melbourne.
The maximum speed of suburban electric multiple units and locomotive hauled trains is 115 km/h, with diesel multiple units permitted up to 130 km/h on the same track, and up to 160 km/h on specified lines. Train lengths are limited to 1200 metres, except on the main interstate lines where 1500 metre long trains are permitted.
By the 1950s, interstate traffic was suffering from the break-of-gauge at the New South Wales state border, and a parallel standard gauge line was opened from the Melbourne to join the New South Wales system in 1962, along with a bogie exchange depot to allow wagons to operate across the broad and standard gauge networks. Gauge conversion
of 2000 kilometres of track was announced in May 2001 by the Victorian Government under the Linking Victoria program, but did not proceed due to the difficulty of achieving any agreement with then track manager, Freight Australia. including the Mildura line via Geelong, Ballarat, and Maryborough; the north western Victorian grain network; and the lines centred upon Seymour and Benalla in the north east. Conversion of the regional and suburban passenger networks is not envisioned.
The Murray Basin Rail Project, commenced in 2014, aimed to convert the Mildura, Manangatang, and Sea Lake lines to standard gauge, in order to allow the grain traffic in the state's north-west to access the ports of Portland, Geelong, and Melbourne, and to enable other freight on the lines to access the national standard gauge network. The converted Mildura line reopened in 2018, but standardisation of the Sea Lake and Manangatang lines was deferred until 2020 due to the collapse of the major works contract.
Loading gauge
The Victorian loading gauge for vehicles is sized between that of British and American practices. Wagons may be up to long, wide, and carry loads up to 4.27 metres above the rail height. Double stacking of container wagons is not possible under these limits, with high containers the largest permitted, with the exception of high containers on some routes.
Semaphore signals were used on the very first railway lines, but only a bare minimum were provided as the time interval system being relied upon instead. The first interlocking of signals to protect trains was provided in 1874, and the lower quadrant somersault type main line signals adopted in 1887, Both of these systems ensured that only one train would be in a section of track at one time. Telegraphic block working was then replaced with Winters Block working between 1883 and 1888, a system that is a predecessor of the Double line Block system which is still used today. Later years saw variations made to the Staff and Ticket system, with busier lines provided with Electric Staff working which provided greater safely when more trains ran.
Heavier suburban traffic on the Melbourne network saw a greater strain on the block working then used, which required a large number of staffed signal boxes to enable trains to run close together. As a result, it was decided to adopt power signalling under the Automatic Block System (ABS) of safeworking, where the presence of trains automatically control the signals after them, providing a safe distance between trains. Introduced from 1915, the system was based on American speed signalling practice with GRS2A upper quadrant mechanical signals with two arms able to indicate up to 5 different speed aspects to train drivers.
A variant of the Automatic Block System, Automatic and Track Control (ATC) has since been introduced, which provides the same benefits as ABS on single lines of track, while still ensuring only one train in a section at a time. Centralised Traffic Control was also introduced in the 1960s on the new standard gauge line to Albury, Train protection has also progressed, with the Train Protection & Warning System also introduced on major passenger lines as part of the Regional Fast Rail project. In addition, some classes start the number series with a 0, while others start with a 1. The majority of locomotives were imported from Britain, from companies such as Beyer, Peacock & Company, Robert Stephenson & Company, R & W Hawthorn and George England and Co. The final steam locomotives built for the Victorian Railways were the 4-6-4 R class and 2-8-0 J classes. Although they were of more modern design, their advantages were overshadowed by the simultaneous arrival of the first diesels.
Electric locomotives were first acquired with the electrification of the suburban railways, the E class suburban engines acquired in 1923 and 1928–29, followed by the L class from 1953 when the mainline to Traralgon was electrified for briquette traffic. as the Australian licensee of General Motors EMD engines and traction motors, fitting them into locally designed bodies. By the 1980s the first generation locomotives were approaching the end of their lives, with the electric locomotives withdrawn by 1988,
Today, the former Victorian Railways locomotive fleet has been split into two, with the N class utilised by V/Line on passenger services, with the remainder with Pacific National or other private operators in freight use.
Passenger
thumb|Modern [[V/Line VLocity diesel train purchased for the Regional Fast Rail project]]
thumb|V/Line rail passenger totals by line from 2004 to 2018.
thumb|Metropolitan train patronage 2000–2009 based on official state government figures.
Early passenger services were operated with 4 and 6 wheeled "dogbox" passenger carriage with small compartments and no side corridors. Later years saw the provision of side corridors to provide access down the train, and onboard toilets. Sleeping carriages was first introduced in 1887,
Larger bogie rollingstock started to appear from the turn of the 20th century, and smaller W type carriage stock on intrastate trains. The first air conditioned carriage was introduced in 1935, when one of the E type carriages was fitted. All steel carriages came to the Victorian Railways in 1927, with the construction of the "Avoca" and "Hopkins" dining cars, followed by the S type carriage stock for the new Spirit of Progress in 1937. In 1987, the bogie wagon fleet numbered about 5000: approximately 700 grain hoppers, 800 container flats, 1000 louvred vans, 700 open wagons, 400 tank cars, and 300 flat wagons.
|-
| Bulk grain
| 31.4%
| 50.8%
| 51.9%
|-
| Containers
| 10.6%
| 19.6%
| 44.3%
|-
| Freight forwarders
| 9.5%
| N/A
| rowspan="4" | 3.8%
|-
| Mining &<br /> quarry products
| 7.9%
| 14.7%
|-
| Cement
| 6.8%
| 4.9%
|-
| Iron & steel
| 6.3%
| N/A
|-
| Petroleum
| 4.4%
| 3.2%
| 0%
|-
| colspan="4" style="width: 400px;" | Percentages are indicative only and not directly comparable.
|}
Victoria does not have a dominant mining base as in other states, and has traditionally been more dependent on agriculture for rail freight traffic.
Companies
thumb|[[Pacific National operated freight train]]
thumb|Heritage train in the Victorian Railways livery
The first railways in Victoria were operated by private companies, but when the companies failed or defaulted, the state government took over. The government agency was known as the "Department of Railways" from 1856 to 1883, when the Victorian Railways Commissioners Act established the Victorian Railways. In 1973 the Railways (Amendment) Act 1972 passed management of the Railways from the Victorian Railways Commissioners to a Victorian Railways Board. In 1993 Professor Fred Hilmer presented the findings of the National Competition Policy Review Committee, known as the Hilmer Report, leading to the introduction of a National Competition Policy in 1995. One effect was to allow new rail freight operators to establish operations in Victoria. Specialised Container Transport began operating trains to Perth in 1995 Meanwhile, in July 2003, the government announced its intention to retain V/Line Passenger in public ownership, and set up the state-owned V/Line Corporation, which bought the operator out of receivership on 1 October 2003.
16 August 2004 saw the Freight Victoria business and rural track lease was purchased by Pacific National, but by November 2006 they entered into an agreement to sell the track lease back to the Victorian Government for $133.8 million, with the sale completed on 7 May 2007 and V/Line becoming track manager.
In December 2007, Pacific National announced plans to sell or close its grain transport and Portlink rural container business operations in Victoria. The decision has been criticised as it will force grain growers to use higher cost road transport to transport the annual grain harvest from rural silos to the ports. The decision has seen many commentators accuse Pacific National of only acquiring the operations of Freight Australia in 2004 for the purposes of asset stripping and eliminating competition in rail freight. In 2008 El Zorro took over the Warrnambool – Melbourne container service from Pacific National, and moved into broad gauge grain services, while Aurizon has taken over the Melbourne – Horsham container service.
Lines
Victoria's first railway was a 4 km Victorian broad gauge line between the Melbourne (or City) Terminus (on the site of modern-day Flinders Street station) and Sandridge (now Port Melbourne), constructed by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company and opened in September 1854. Today, Melbourne's suburban railway network consists of 16 electrified lines, the central City Loop subway, and 218 stations, with a total length of 377.2 km of the electrified lines, operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise to the Government of Victoria.
In Gippsland, the Orbost line was constructed as an extension of suburban lines between 1877 and 1888 to Bairnsdale, and extended eastwards to Orbost in 1916. both not being acquired until the 20th century.
In addition to the main Victorian rail network of the Victorian Railways and successors, a number of narrow gauge private railways and tramways have also existed for logging and mining purposes. These included the Yallourn 900mm Railway in the Latrobe Valley open cut coal mines, the Fyansford Cement Works Railway near Geelong, the Tyers Valley Tramway at Mount Baw Baw, and the Powelltown Tramway from Yarra Junction.
Most logging tramways operated in the Otway Ranges, Gippsland, and the inner east of the Great Dividing Range; primarily between the 1850s and the 1950s, with only one surviving into the 1960s. Formed to operate the narrow gauge gauge railway in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne, the group continues to operate the railway today.
The demise of the last of the steam locomotives in Victoria commenced in the 1960s, with the Australian Railway Historical Society and Association of Railway Enthusiasts working with the Victorian Railways to have a number of locomotives preserved for the future. In 1962 the Australian Railway Historical Society Museum was established at Williamstown North to house static exhibits, and Steamrail Victoria was formed in 1965 to assist in the restoration of locomotives and carriages for use on special trains.
By the 1980s, a number of heritage railways had been established in Victoria on closed branch lines. These railways serve both as tourist attractions, and to preserve the railway past. The work of railway preservation groups has since expanded to retired railway carriages, electric multiple units, rail motors, and diesel locomotives. In 2006, heritage railways carried 542,000 patrons over 161 km of track; with 28 operational steam locomotives, 47 diesels, 14 railmotors, and 192 carriages.
Heritage Railways and Operators include:
- 707 Operations, Newport
- Puffing Billy Railway, Belgrave
- Bellarine Railway, Queenscliff
- Daylesford Spa Country Railway, Daylesford
- Victorian Goldfields Railway, Maldon
- Mornington Railway, Mornington
- Seymour Railway Heritage Centre, Seymour
- Steamrail Victoria, Newport
- Walhalla Goldfields Railway, Walhalla
- Yarra Valley Railway, Healesville
- South Gippsland Railway, Leongatha
- Tramway Museum Society of Victoria, Bylands
Rail trails
A number of former rail lines in Melbourne and regional Victoria have been converted into rail trails, for walking, cycling and horse riding. These make excellent tracks for beginners as the lines were originally designed to avoid steep gradients. Most lines are still in public ownership. Some sections of the track are specially leased to neighbouring farmers for stock grazing. This reduces maintenance costs.
Trails around Melbourne include:
- Inner Circle (Rushall to Royal Park)
- Outer Circle (Fairfield to Hughesdale)
- Rosstown (Hughesdale to Elsternwick)
- Hawthorn to Kew
- Red Hill (Merricks to Red Hill)
- Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail
Trails around Victoria include:
- East Gippsland (Bairnsdale to Newmeralla)
- The Beechy (Colac to Beech Forest)
- Crater to Coast (Camperdown to Timboon)
- Ballarat–Skipton
- Murray to the Mountains (Wangaratta to Beechworth and Bright)
- Great Victorian Rail Trail (Tallarook to Alexandra and Mansfield)
- Great Southern Rail Trail (Leongatha–Foster, future extension to Yarram)
- Bass Coast Rail Trail (Anderson–Wonthaggi, future extension to Nyora)
- Port Fairy to Warrnambool Rail Trail
Legislation, governance and access
Key statutes
The prime rail statute in Victoria is the Transport Integration Act. The Act establishes the Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure as the integration agency for Victoria's transport system. The Act also establishes and sets the charters of the State agencies charged with providing public transport rail services and managing network access for freight services, namely the Director of Public Transport and V/Line. In addition, the Act creates VicTrack which owns the public rail network and associated infrastructure. Another important statute is the Rail Management Act 1996 which confers powers on rail operators and provides for a rail access scheme for the State's rail network. As a result of recent changes to the Transport Integration Act, the responsibilities of the Director of Public Transport are being progressively assumed by the new Public Transport Development Authority, a major initiative of the Bailieu Government.
Safety
Regulation
The safety of rail operations in Victoria is regulated by the Rail Safety Act 2006 which applies to all commercial passenger and freight operations as well as tourist and heritage railways. The Act creates a framework containing safety duties for all rail industry participants and requires rail operators who manage infrastructure and rolling stock to obtain accreditation prior to commencing operations. Accredited rail operators are also required to have a safety management system to guide their operations.
Sanctions applying to the safety scheme established under the Rail Safety Act are contained in the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983. The safety regulator for the rail system in Victoria is the Director, Transport Safety (trading as Transport Safety Victoria) whose office is established under the Transport Integration Act 2010.
Investigation
Rail operators in Victoria can also be the subject of no blame investigations conducted by the Chief Investigator, Transport Safety or the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). The Chief Investigator is charged by the Transport Integration Act with conducting investigations into rail safety matters including incidents and trends. ATSB, on the other hand, claims jurisdiction over the same matters where they occur on the Designated Interstate Rail Network.
Ticketing and conduct
Ticketing requirements for public transport in Victoria are mainly contained in the Transport (Ticketing) Regulations 2006 and the Victorian Fares and Ticketing Manual. Rules about safe and fair conduct on trains and trams in Melbourne are generally contained in the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 and the Transport (Conduct) Regulations 2005.
Tourist and heritage railways
Tourist and Heritage Railways in Victoria are governed by provisions in the Tourist and Heritage Railways Act 2010 which commenced on 1 October 2011.
See also
- Dandenong railway line triplication
- Narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways
- Railway accidents in Victoria
- Railways in Melbourne
- Regional Rail Link
- Victorian broad gauge
- Bradshaw's Guide to Victoria (Australia)
References
Bibliography
External links
History:
- Mark Bau's Victorian Railways - History of rolling stock, locomotives, and signalling
- Peter J. Vincent - History of rolling stock and wagons of the Victorian Railways
- Victorian Railways Resources – Network maps and analysis at ten-year intervals, and histories of stations
- Signal Diagrams – Digitised copies of Victorian Railways and V/Line signalling diagrams
- Rail Geelong – History of the railways of the Geelong region
- Diagrammatic History of the Victorian Railways
Today:
- Victorian Railway Stations – photographs of stations of the Victorian network
- Vicsig – Information on present infrastructure, operations, signalling, and locomotives
- Network Map – current VLine rail and bus map