The Tocumwal railway line (also known as the Shepparton line) is a 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) 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 various passenger and freight trains serving the northern suburbs of Melbourne and northern regions of Victoria.
Passenger services to Tocumwal ended on 8 November 1975 with the last train operated by T class diesel locomotive T324 and passenger carriages 3AS – 31BE – 2AE – 22CE. Before this time the Strathmerton – Cobram section was operated as the 'branch line' with a 102hp Walker railmotor connecting with the main line train. A bus service was then introduced for the Tocumwal branch, connecting with the Cobram service. By 1977/78 the service between Cobram and Tocumwal was being operated by a VicRail owned station wagon driven by the Cobram station master.[1]
The last passenger service from Toolamba station to Echuca ran on 2 March 1981 with Y class diesel locomotive Y161, an ABE carriage and a C van. This consist had only been introduced a few months prior, with a DERM usually being rostered.[1] Toolamba finally closed as a station on 20 December 1987.[2]
The passenger service from Numurkah north to Cobram was withdrawn on 24 April 1981 but was restored on 14 August 1983.[1] The service was cut back to Shepparton on 21 August 1993, with Hoys Roadlines taking control of the train from 22 August,[1] hiring locomotives, carriages and train crews from V/Line. This arrangement remained until 2004.[3]
There have been calls for the line to be standardised as part of the proposed Melbourne to Brisbane 'Inland Railway'. In April 2008 it was announced that the Shepparton – Tocumwal section of the line would also be upgraded, as part of the Victorian core grain network in a A$23.7 million package with 6 other lines.[4]
On 20 February 2020, a NSW TrainLinkXPT passenger train on the adjacent North East railway line towards Sydney derailed at Wallan, resulting in suspension of freight, V/Line and NSW TrainLink services on the North East and Tocumwal railway lines. V/Line services resumed on 1 and 2 March 2020.[5]
On 31 October 2022, after a week long delay due to extensive major flooding in the Goulburn Valley region, VLocity trains started running from Seymour-Shepparton for the first time, replacing the previous N and H set locomotive hauled services.
A short branch line was opened from Shepparton to Dookie in 1888. A tramway, built and operated by the Shire of Tungamah, was opened between Dookie and Katamatite in 1890. It was taken over by the Victorian Railways in 1896.[7] Another short branch line was opened from Strathmerton to Cobram in 1888.
Current freight train operations are as-required grain trains operated by Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad. In addition to these, Pacific National also operates a thrice weekly container service from Tocumwal to Appleton Dock.
Passenger servicesEdit
Craigieburn passenger services operate on the line within the Melbourne region between Craigieburn and Southern Cross. Upfield line services also utilise a small section of the line between North Melbourne and Southern Cross. Regional services from Seymour (as the Seymour line) and Shepparton also operate to Southern Cross, skipping most metropolitan stations. The line between Tocumwal and Shepparton is no longer served by passenger services.
V/Line operates five return services between Shepparton and Melbourne's Southern Cross Station on weekdays, with 3 return services running on Saturdays & Sundays.
Services generally stop at all stations between Shepparton and Donnybrook in both directions, with some services not stopping at Donnybrook, Heathcote Junction and Tallarook. Within the metropolitan network, limited services make stops at Essendon and North Melbourne on weekdays, while all services stop at Broadmeadows. At these stations, Shepparton-bound services only pick up passengers and Southern Cross-bound services only drop off. No services stop at any other station served by a metropolitan service.
^ abcdChris Banger (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 77–82.
^. arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer. Australian Places. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
External linksEdit
Wikinews has related news:
Australian and Victorian governments to begin stage three of Shepparton railway line upgrade in September
http://www.vline.com.au
Statistics and detailed schematic map at the vicsig enthusiast website
October 21, 2023
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For the standard gauge railway line from New South Wales that met with this broad gauge railway line see Tocumwal railway line New South Wales The Tocumwal railway line also known as the Shepparton line is a 1 600 mm 5 ft 3 in 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 various passenger and freight trains serving the northern suburbs of Melbourne and northern regions of Victoria TocumwalOverviewStatusOperational freight only beyond SheppartonOwnerVicTrackLocaleVictoria AustraliaTerminiTocumwalSouthern CrossServiceServicesCraigieburnSeymourSheppartonUpfieldOperator s Passenger Metro Trains V LineFreight Pacific NationalDepot s Southern CrossHistoryOpened1860 1860 TechnicalLine length251 4 km 156 2 mi Number of tracks1 between Tocumwal and Seymour 2 between Seymour and Southern Cross Track gauge1 600 mm 5 ft 3 in Electrification1500 V DC overhead between Craigieburn and Southern CrossSignallingAutomatic block from Southern Cross to Craigieburn Double line block to Seymour Train order to TocumwalRoute mapLegendkmMultiple linesvia Richmond or JolimontCity Loop0 0 Flinders Street 1 4 Parliament 2 7 Melbourne Central3 3 Flagstaff1 2 Southern Cross City LoopNorth East SG amp Western SG linesto Albury Sydney amp Adelaide2 9 North Melbourne 3 1 Dynon RoadUpfield lineto Upfield3 7 CityLink3 7 Moonee Ponds CreekMultiple linesvia Footscray4 8 Kensington5 4 Racecourse Road5 5 Newmarket Flemington Racecourse lineto Flemington Racecourse6 8 Ascot Vale Road7 0 Ascot Vale7 4 Maribyrnong Road8 1 Moonee Ponds9 2 Essendon 9 5 Mount Alexander Road10 4 Glenbervie11 0 Strathmore11 3 Pascoe Vale Road11 7 Moonee Ponds Creek11 8 Bell Street11 9 CityLink12 5 Pascoe Vale14 1 Oak Park15 6 GlenroyNorth East SG line to Southern Cross amp Albion Jacana line to Albion16 7 Jacana16 7 Western Ring Road17 8 Camp Road18 1 Broadmeadows Broadstore Siding demolished 20 5 CoolarooUpfield lineto Flinders Street22 9 Somerton Road23 0 Somerton demolished 23 3 Somerton Yard Roxburgh Park27 3 Craigieburn 27 6 Hume Highway Sydney Road28 0 end of overhead28 7 Hume Freeway31 0 end of Metro area32 6 Merri Creek34 4 DonnybrookMerri Creek43 0 Beveridge48 7 Wallan51 9 Lightwood demolished 54 7 Heathcote JunctionHeathcote lineto Bendigo56 5 Wandong58 0 Hume Freeway59 9 Mathieson s Siding demolished 64 7 Kilmore East67 2 Kilmore East Quarry Siding76 4 Broadford78 5 McDougall s Siding demolished 86 9 Lowry s Siding demolished 89 7 Hume Freeway91 4 TallarookMansfield lineto Mansfield95 7 Dysart97 6 Goulburn River99 9 Seymour Hume Freeway108 1 Gravelside Siding demolished 110 6 Mangalore demolished North East SG lineto Albury amp Sydney119 20 TabilkGoulburn Valley Freeway128 11 Nagambie Goulburn Valley Freeway135 90 WahringGoulburn Valley FreewayRushworth lineto Colbinabbin149 24 Murchison East 157 90 ArcadiaGoulburn River166 05 ToolambaToolamba Echuca lineto Echuca179 00 Mooroopna Goulburn RiverBroken River184 84 Shepparton Dookie railway linePine LodgeCosgroveDookieKatamatite railway lineto Katamatite191 90 Congupna199 00 Tallygaroopna208 30 WunghnuBroken CreekGoulburn Valley Highway215 20 NumurkahPicola lineto Picola215 70 RMSP 85225 80 Katunga227 80 RMSP 86231 70 RMSP 81Goulburn Valley Highway237 90 StrathmertonCobram lineto CobramGoulburn Valley Highway241 60 Mywee250 30 Tocumwal Bridge304 0 Bridge over Murray River VictoriaNSW border227 80 TocumwalTocumwal line NSW to Narranderabroad gaugestandard gaugedual gaugeThis diagram viewtalkedit Contents 1 History 1 1 Branch lines 2 Passenger services 2 1 Shepparton services 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditThe Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company opened the first section of the Tocumwal railway line from North Melbourne to Essendon in 1860 Following its take over by the Victorian Government in 1867 the line was extended to Tallarook and Mangalore in 1872 A line was built from Mangalore to Toolamba and Shepparton in 1880 and extended to Numurkah in 1881 Strathmerton in 1905 and connecting with the New South Wales Government Railways at Tocumwal at a break of gauge in 1908 Passenger services to Tocumwal ended on 8 November 1975 with the last train operated by T class diesel locomotive T324 and passenger carriages 3AS 31BE 2AE 22CE Before this time the Strathmerton Cobram section was operated as the branch line with a 102hp Walker railmotor connecting with the main line train A bus service was then introduced for the Tocumwal branch connecting with the Cobram service By 1977 78 the service between Cobram and Tocumwal was being operated by a VicRail owned station wagon driven by the Cobram station master 1 The last passenger service from Toolamba station to Echuca ran on 2 March 1981 with Y class diesel locomotive Y161 an ABE carriage and a C van This consist had only been introduced a few months prior with a DERM usually being rostered 1 Toolamba finally closed as a station on 20 December 1987 2 The passenger service from Numurkah north to Cobram was withdrawn on 24 April 1981 but was restored on 14 August 1983 1 The service was cut back to Shepparton on 21 August 1993 with Hoys Roadlines taking control of the train from 22 August 1 hiring locomotives carriages and train crews from V Line This arrangement remained until 2004 3 There have been calls for the line to be standardised as part of the proposed Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Railway In April 2008 it was announced that the Shepparton Tocumwal section of the line would also be upgraded as part of the Victorian core grain network in a A 23 7 million package with 6 other lines 4 On 20 February 2020 a NSW TrainLink XPT passenger train on the adjacent North East railway line towards Sydney derailed at Wallan resulting in suspension of freight V Line and NSW TrainLink services on the North East and Tocumwal railway lines V Line services resumed on 1 and 2 March 2020 5 On 31 October 2022 after a week long delay due to extensive major flooding in the Goulburn Valley region VLocity trains started running from Seymour Shepparton for the first time replacing the previous N and H set locomotive hauled services Branch lines Edit A branch line was subsequently built from Murchison East to Rushworth and Colbinabbin with another branch from Rushworth to Stanhope and Girgarre A cross country line between Toolamba and Echuca was completed in 1887 6 A short branch line was opened from Shepparton to Dookie in 1888 A tramway built and operated by the Shire of Tungamah was opened between Dookie and Katamatite in 1890 It was taken over by the Victorian Railways in 1896 7 Another short branch line was opened from Strathmerton to Cobram in 1888 Current freight train operations are as required grain trains operated by Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad In addition to these Pacific National also operates a thrice weekly container service from Tocumwal to Appleton Dock Passenger services EditCraigieburn passenger services operate on the line within the Melbourne region between Craigieburn and Southern Cross Upfield line services also utilise a small section of the line between North Melbourne and Southern Cross Regional services from Seymour as the Seymour line and Shepparton also operate to Southern Cross skipping most metropolitan stations The line between Tocumwal and Shepparton is no longer served by passenger services Shepparton services Edit Shepparton nbsp OverviewService typeRegional railStatusOperationalLocaleVictoria AustraliaCurrent operator s V LineRouteTerminiSheppartonSouthern CrossStops16Distance travelled184 84 km 114 85 mi Average journey time2 hour 32 minutesService frequency5 Southern Cross bound services 5 Shepparton bound services on weekdays3 services on weekends each directionLine s usedTocumwalOn board servicesClass es EconomyDisabled accessYesCatering facilitiesNoneTechnicalRolling stockV Line VLocityTrack gauge1 600 mm 5 ft 3 in ElectrificationNoneOperating speedShepparton Seymour 115 km h 71 mph MaximumSeymour Southern Cross 130 km h 80 mph MaximumTrack owner s VicTrackV Line operates five return services between Shepparton and Melbourne s Southern Cross Station on weekdays with 3 return services running on Saturdays amp Sundays Services generally stop at all stations between Shepparton and Donnybrook in both directions with some services not stopping at Donnybrook Heathcote Junction and Tallarook Within the metropolitan network limited services make stops at Essendon and North Melbourne on weekdays while all services stop at Broadmeadows At these stations Shepparton bound services only pick up passengers and Southern Cross bound services only drop off No services stop at any other station served by a metropolitan service vteShepparton V Line ServiceLegendh mm0 00 nbsp 0 0 km Southern Cross Zone 10 05 nbsp 1 7 km North Melbourne Zone 10 21 nbsp 16 9 km Broadmeadows Zone 20 35 nbsp 33 2 km Donnybrook Zone 20 44 nbsp 47 5 km Wallan Zone 20 52 nbsp 57 3 km Wandong Zone 20 58 nbsp 65 5 km Kilmore East Zone 3 41 06 nbsp 77 2 km Broadford Zone 4 51 25 nbsp nbsp 101 7 km Seymour Zone 6 nbsp nbsp continues as Albury V Line Service1 48 nbsp 128 1 km Nagambie Zone 92 04 nbsp 149 2 km Murchison East Zone 112 28 nbsp 179 0 km Mooroopna Zone 142 37 nbsp 184 8 km Shepparton Zone 15Standard timetabled journeyfrom Southern CrossReferences Edit a b c d Chris Banger March 1997 Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960 Newsrail Australian Railway Historical Society Victorian Division pp 77 82 Bob Whitehead 2008 Tocumwal Railway Centenary Track Record 19 April to June 2004 PDF doi vic gov au Archived PDF from the original on 29 July 2008 Retrieved 13 July 2008 43m to upgrade rail freight lines The Age Archived from the original on 6 December 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2008 Resumption of V Line train services in North East Victoria V Line Archived from the original on 1 March 2020 Retrieved 11 April 2020 Toolamba Echuca railway line Katamatite arts monash edu au ncas multimedia gazetteer Australian Places Archived from the original on 21 August 2006 Retrieved 7 June 2006 External links Edit nbsp Wikinews has related news Australian and Victorian governments to begin stage three of Shepparton railway line upgrade in September http www vline com au Official map Statistics and detailed schematic map at the vicsig enthusiast website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tocumwal railway line Victoria amp oldid 1172240954, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
