The Piangil railway line is a 5 ft 3 in gauge (1600 mm) railway line in north-western Victoria, Australia. It branches off the Deniliquin line just north of Bendigo, and runs in a north-westerly direction through Pyramid Hill and Kerang to the border town of Swan Hill, then roughly parallels the New South Wales border to Piangil and Yungera. The line is now open only as far as Piangil, and passenger services only operate to Swan Hill.
Piangil
The line near Pyramid station
Overview
Other name(s)
Yungera
Swan Hill
Status
Operational between Piangil and Bendigo, closed beyond Piangil.
The line was opened from its junction with the Deniliquin line, just north of Bendigo, to Raywood in 1882. It was progressively extended to Mitiamo in 1883, Pyramid and Kerang in 1884, and Swan Hill in 1890.[1] The line from Swan Hill was extended to Piangil in 1915, Kooloonong in 1920, and Yungera in 1926. The section from Kooloonong to Yungera was closed in 1957, and from Piangil to Kooloonong in 1981.[1] Parts of the former route beyond Piangil, including all of it beyond Kooloonong, are preserved as the Piangil Yungera Railway Bushland Reserve.[2][3]
The Koondrook branch line, built and operated by the Shire of Kerang, was opened in 1886. It was acquired by the Victorian Railways in 1952 and closed in 1981. Under the 1922 Border Railways Act, a branch opened from Kerang to Murrabit in 1924, which was extended across the New South Wales border at the Murray River to Stony Crossing in 1928. Passenger services on the section beyond Murrabit had ended by 1932, and all services were suspended in 1943. Passenger services to Murrabit had ceased by the end of 1941, and the line to Murrabit closed in 1961.[4]
The last passenger service from Swan Hill to Woorinen, a service for school children that was paid for by the Victorian Education Department and run by a 102hp Walker railmotor, was withdrawn on 17 December 1976. The last passenger service from Swan Hill to Piangil ran on 24 December 1976, again using a 102 hp Walker. Both services were replaced by buses.[5]
In April 2008, it was announced that the Swan Hill – Piangil section of the track, along with six other lines, would be upgraded under a $23.7 million package of improvements to the Victorian core grain network.[6]
In October 2010, the Victorian government released a report into public transport options for the north-west of Victoria, which analysed nine proposals for improving services to the city of Mildura. One alternative investigated was an extension of the railway from Swan Hill to connect to the Mildura railway line at Ouyen.[7][8]
Some BendigoV/Line passenger trains extend their services to Eaglehawk on weekdays. Dedicated Swan Hill passenger services serve the remainder of the operating stations on the line, as well as Eaglehawk.
Two services operate daily in each direction between Swan Hill and Southern Cross station in Melbourne. In metropolitan Melbourne, services only stop at Watergardens and Footscray stations, setting down passengers only on services to Southern Cross and picking up passengers only on services to Swan Hill. Outside Melbourne, services do not stop at Macedon, Riddells Creek or Clarkefield. Malmsbury is only served by one weekday service to Swan Hill, and Kangaroo Flat is only served on weekdays. All Swan Hill services stop at all other operating stations, both picking up and setting down passengers.
Swan Hill-Kooloonong rail ticket 1977
Swan Hill-Koondrook rail ticket 1977
Incidents
On 5 June 2007, a fatal crash occurred when a semi-trailer ran into a train at a level crossing near Kerang. Eleven people died, all of whom were passengers on the train.
References
^ abSid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 71–76.
^"Piangil - Yungera Railway B.R." Parks Victoria. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
^Macfarlane, Neil (18 June 2015). "Submission to VEAC State Wide Assessment of Public Land" (PDF). Mid-Murray Field Naturalists Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
^Hennell, David. "Poonboon" (PDF). The Times online. Australian Timetable Association Inc. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
^Chris Banger (March 1997). "Rail passenger service withdrawals since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 77–82.
^"$43m to upgrade rail freight lines". business.theage.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
^Victorian Government press release - "NORTH WEST PUBLIC TRANSPORT REVIEW REPORT RELEASED", 13 October 2010
^. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
^Nakos, Nicholas (31 July 2020). "Three new train station concept maps released for Huntly, Goornong and Raywood". Bendigo Advertiser. Australian Community Media.
^"Huntly Station construction fast-tracked". Department of Transport (Victoria).
External links
http://www.vline.com.au
Statistics and detailed schematic map at the vicsig enthusiast website
February 20, 2023
piangil, railway, line, gauge, 1600, railway, line, north, western, victoria, australia, branches, deniliquin, line, just, north, bendigo, runs, north, westerly, direction, through, pyramid, hill, kerang, border, town, swan, hill, then, roughly, parallels, sou. The Piangil railway line is a 5 ft 3 in gauge 1600 mm railway line in north western Victoria Australia It branches off the Deniliquin line just north of Bendigo and runs in a north westerly direction through Pyramid Hill and Kerang to the border town of Swan Hill then roughly parallels the New South Wales border to Piangil and Yungera The line is now open only as far as Piangil and passenger services only operate to Swan Hill PiangilThe line near Pyramid stationOverviewOther name s YungeraSwan HillStatusOperational between Piangil and Bendigo closed beyond Piangil OwnerVicTrackLocaleVictoria AustraliaTerminiYungeraBendigoServiceTypeHeavy railServicesBendigoSwan HillOperator s Passenger V LineFreight Pacific NationalHistoryCompleted1926 1926 TechnicalLine length225 2 km 139 9 mi Number of tracks1Track gauge1 600 mm 5 ft 3 in ElectrificationNoneRoute mapLegend0 00 km Southern Cross SSS Zone 15 6 km Footscray FSY Zone 1Sydenham line25 1 km Watergardens SDM Zone 2Sunbury line39 4 km Sunbury SBY Zone 2Deniliquin line164 2 km Bendigo BDG Zone 13Deniliquin line172 1 km Eaglehawk EAG Zone 13Eaglehawk Inglewood lineto Robinvale amp Kulwin linesMyer s Flat Closed Woodvale Closed Sebastian Closed 192 8 km Raywood192 9 km Old Raywood Closed Tandarra Closed 213 3 km Dingee DGE Zone 17221 2 km Prairie Closed 231 09 km Mitiamo Closed Mologa Closed 251 4 km Pyramid PYD Zone 21Mincha Closed 267 8 km Macorna Closed Tragowel Closed South Kerang Closed 291 9 km Kerang KER Zone 25Stony Crossing lineand Kerang Koondrook TramwayFairley Closed 308 2 km Lake Charm Closed 318 6 km Mystic Park Closed Tresco Closed 332 1 km Lake Boga Closed Pental Closed 347 3 km Swan Hill SWH Zone 31359 3 km Woorinen Closed 368 5 km Pira Closed 376 1 km Nyah West Closed 385 0 km Miralie Closed 389 4 km Piangil Closed Coonimur Closed Natya Closed Kooloonong Closed Koorkab Closed Yungera Closed Contents 1 History 2 Proposed upgrade and extension 3 Passenger services 3 1 Swan Hill services 4 Incidents 5 References 6 External linksHistory EditThe line was opened from its junction with the Deniliquin line just north of Bendigo to Raywood in 1882 It was progressively extended to Mitiamo in 1883 Pyramid and Kerang in 1884 and Swan Hill in 1890 1 The line from Swan Hill was extended to Piangil in 1915 Kooloonong in 1920 and Yungera in 1926 The section from Kooloonong to Yungera was closed in 1957 and from Piangil to Kooloonong in 1981 1 Parts of the former route beyond Piangil including all of it beyond Kooloonong are preserved as the Piangil Yungera Railway Bushland Reserve 2 3 Silos and goods crane at Kerang The Koondrook branch line built and operated by the Shire of Kerang was opened in 1886 It was acquired by the Victorian Railways in 1952 and closed in 1981 Under the 1922 Border Railways Act a branch opened from Kerang to Murrabit in 1924 which was extended across the New South Wales border at the Murray River to Stony Crossing in 1928 Passenger services on the section beyond Murrabit had ended by 1932 and all services were suspended in 1943 Passenger services to Murrabit had ceased by the end of 1941 and the line to Murrabit closed in 1961 4 Silos and loop siding at Lake Boga The last passenger service from Swan Hill to Woorinen a service for school children that was paid for by the Victorian Education Department and run by a 102hp Walker railmotor was withdrawn on 17 December 1976 The last passenger service from Swan Hill to Piangil ran on 24 December 1976 again using a 102 hp Walker Both services were replaced by buses 5 Proposed upgrade and extension Edit Silos and goods shed at Pyramid In April 2008 it was announced that the Swan Hill Piangil section of the track along with six other lines would be upgraded under a 23 7 million package of improvements to the Victorian core grain network 6 In October 2010 the Victorian government released a report into public transport options for the north west of Victoria which analysed nine proposals for improving services to the city of Mildura One alternative investigated was an extension of the railway from Swan Hill to connect to the Mildura railway line at Ouyen 7 8 As part of the Regional Rail Revival program a new station at Raywood opened on the 17 July 2022 9 10 Passenger services EditSome Bendigo V Line passenger trains extend their services to Eaglehawk on weekdays Dedicated Swan Hill passenger services serve the remainder of the operating stations on the line as well as Eaglehawk Swan Hill services Edit Swan Hill OverviewService typeRegional railStatusOperationalLocaleVictoria AustraliaCurrent operator s V LineRouteTerminiSwan HillSouthern CrossStops15Distance travelled347 3 km 215 8 mi Average journey time4 hours 40 minutesService frequency2 return services dailyLine s usedPiangilOn board servicesClass es First and economyDisabled accessNoCatering facilitiesYesTechnicalRolling stockN setTrack gauge1 600 mm 5 ft 3 in ElectrificationNoneTrack owner s VicTrackRoute mapvteLegendh mm0 00 0 0 km Southern Cross SSS Zone 10 07 4 9 km Footscray FSY Zone 10 24 24 3 km Watergardens SDM Zone 20 55 66 2 km Gisborne GIS Zone 31 07 80 1 km Woodend WED Zone 41 16 93 6 km Kyneton KNT Zone 61 24 104 2 km Malmsbury MMY Zone 71 40 127 3 km Castlemaine CME Zone 92 00 159 4 km Kangaroo Flat KFT Zone 122 08 164 2 km Bendigo BDG Zone 13 continues as Echuca V Line Service2 25 172 1 km Eaglehawk EAG Zone 132 33 195 0 km Raywood2 54 213 3 km Dingee DGE Zone 173 23 251 4 km Pyramid PYD Zone 213 52 291 9 km Kerang KER Zone 254 40 347 3 km Swan Hill SWH Zone 31Standard timetabled journeyfrom Southern CrossTwo services operate daily in each direction between Swan Hill and Southern Cross station in Melbourne In metropolitan Melbourne services only stop at Watergardens and Footscray stations setting down passengers only on services to Southern Cross and picking up passengers only on services to Swan Hill Outside Melbourne services do not stop at Macedon Riddells Creek or Clarkefield Malmsbury is only served by one weekday service to Swan Hill and Kangaroo Flat is only served on weekdays All Swan Hill services stop at all other operating stations both picking up and setting down passengers Swan Hill Kooloonong rail ticket 1977 Swan Hill Koondrook rail ticket 1977Incidents EditOn 5 June 2007 a fatal crash occurred when a semi trailer ran into a train at a level crossing near Kerang Eleven people died all of whom were passengers on the train References Edit a b Sid Brown March 1990 Tracks Across the State Newsrail Australian Railway Historical Society Victorian Division pp 71 76 Piangil Yungera Railway B R Parks Victoria Retrieved 9 March 2020 Macfarlane Neil 18 June 2015 Submission to VEAC State Wide Assessment of Public Land PDF Mid Murray Field Naturalists Inc Retrieved 1 January 2017 Hennell David Poonboon PDF The Times online Australian Timetable Association Inc Retrieved 26 February 2016 Chris Banger March 1997 Rail passenger service withdrawals since 1960 Newsrail Australian Railway Historical Society Victorian Division pp 77 82 43m to upgrade rail freight lines business theage com au Archived from the original on 6 December 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2008 Victorian Government press release NORTH WEST PUBLIC TRANSPORT REVIEW REPORT RELEASED 13 October 2010 North West Public Transport Review Archived from the original on 21 October 2010 Retrieved 1 November 2010 Nakos Nicholas 31 July 2020 Three new train station concept maps released for Huntly Goornong and Raywood Bendigo Advertiser Australian Community Media Huntly Station construction fast tracked Department of Transport Victoria External links Edithttp 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 Piangil railway line amp oldid 1139518786 Swan Hill services, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
