The Blayney–Demondrille railway line is a railway line in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The line is used mainly for grain haulage and is owned by the Transport Asset Holding Entity, a government department of

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an List of New South Wales government agencies, agency of the Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government established on 1 Novem ...

. However, in 2004 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 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations. ...

became responsible for operations over the line. The Lachlan Valley Railway operated heritage and tourist trains over the line, based at Cowra. It previously also operated general goods trains. From January 2012, the line was managed by John Holland Rail. Following flooding in 2011 between Cowra and Young, the line remains unusable for most of its length.

Opening

Approval was given by the New South Wales Government in April 1881 for the construction of the Blayney–Murrumburrah Railway. The line connects the Main West line at Blayney with the

Main South Line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inv ...

at Demondrille, and passes through the towns of

Cowra Cowra is a small town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre and the council seat for the Cowra Shire, with a population of 9,863. Cowra is located approximately above sea level, on the ...

and Young. The section between Demondrille and Young opened on 26 March 1885. The next section, from Young to Cowra (on the west side of the Lachlan River), saw the first government operated train on 2 November 1886, however the contractor operated trains from May 1886. The bridge over the river was tested on 25 August 1887 and the line opened to the current station site forthwith. The final section, from Cowra to Blayney opened in August 1887. The section from Blayney to Cowra was closed in late 1999 after a bridge near Holmwood burned down but the line was reopened April 2000. Finally, between 2007 and 2009 the line was progressively suspended from service due to declining freight volumes, high maintenance costs and safety concerns. The councils of Blayney, Cowra, Weddin, Harden and Young have strongly supported the re-opening of the 'Cowra Lines', which include the Blayney to Demondrille line and a section of the Grenfell branch line between Koorawatha to Greenethorpe. In mid-2013,

and the Blayney, Cowra, Weddin, Harden and Young councils signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a sustainable and integrated regional road and rail freight infrastructure model. A Registration of Interest process conducted in late 2013 identified that there was market interest in the Cowra Lines from suitably qualified and experienced private sector proponents. As a result, the NSW Government moved to hold an 'open tender' for the Cowra Lines. On 24 March 2014, the NSW Government opened a Request For Tender process for the Cowra Lines. The tender invited submissions from the private sector to restore, operate and maintain the Cowra Lines on a commercially sustainable basis. The Request For Tender process closed on 25 July 2014. The tender process was completed in April 2015. A comprehensive tender evaluation found that none of the proposals received adequately met the tender criteria. It concluded that there was too much uncertainty in the ability of the tenderers to return the lines to full service and run a commercially sustainable business without significant government support. Wattamondara Rail Siding

The Lachlan Valley Railway (LVR), which operates from its base in Cowra, could face an uncertain future if the line remains suspended from operation. The line between Cowra and Demondrille was reopened in December 2009 as per a notice in the January Issue of ''Rail Digest'' but so far has not been used by LVR.

Branch lines

Eugowra

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

branched from Cowra and headed west to the small township of

Eugowra Eugowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is split between Forbes Shire and Cabonne Shire local government area, west of the state capital, Sydney. At the , Eugowra had a population of 779. Geograph ...

. The line opened to

Canowindra Situated on the Belubula River, Canowindra (List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations, pronounced ) is a historic township and largest population centre in Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Cabonne Shire and is located between ...

on 4 July 1910 and to Eugowra on 11 December 1922. It mainly carried grain traffic, but also had a passenger service until 1974. Line Between Cowra and Demondrille was reopened in December 2009 as per a notice in the January Issue of Rail Digest but so far has not been used by LVR. Services are currently suspended and the line is in a poor state and is unlikely to reopen. In June 2010 the Australian Rail Track Corporation removed three viaducts on the line which were located in Cowra.

Grenfell

The Grenfell railway line branched from

Koorawatha Koorawatha is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Olympic Highway between Cowra and Young. It was once a large and thriving centre of activity but now has only a hotel and a cafe. The Koorawatha Hot ...

and headed west to the small township of Grenfell. The line opened in 1901. It went through Greenethorpe, Brundah and Mogogong. The line from Grenfell could be built to Quandialla to allow transport minerals such as iron ore, gold and clay, as well as other minerals yet to mined.

References

External links