The Robinvale railway line is a freight only country
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
line in north-western
Victoria,
Australia. The line branches from the
Mildura line at Dunolly, and at Inglewood the
Eaglehawk – Inglewood line connects with the
Piangil line outside Bendigo. The parallel
Kulwin line junctions from the Robinvale line at Korong Vale then continues northward.
History
The line was opened from
Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
* Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewo ...
to
Korong Vale in 1882, and first extended towards
Charlton
Charlton may refer to:
People
* Charlton (surname)
* Charlton (given name)
Places Australia
* Charlton, Queensland
* Charlton, Victoria
* Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...
as part of what is now the
Kulwin line. The line from Korong Vale to
Boort
Boort () is a town in Victoria, Australia, located next to Lake Boort, in the Shire of Loddon. The town is known for its native birdlife. Boort is a local Aboriginal word meaning "Smoke from the hill".
Main sources of employment are retail, ...
opened in 1883, and to
Quambatook
Quambatook is a town in northern Victoria, Australia.
Description and history
Quambatook is located on the Avoca River in the Shire of Gannawarra local government area, from the state capital, Melbourne. At the Quambatook had a population ...
in 1894. It was extended to
Ultima in 1900, to
Chillingollah
Chillingollah is a locality in Victoria, Australia, located approximately 52 km from Swan Hill, Victoria
Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray Riv ...
in 1909, to
Manangatang in 1914, to
Annuello
Annuello is a locality situated in the Mallee region of Australia. By road, Annuello is about north of Koimbo and south of Robinvale.
It is located in a wheat growing area begun by soldier settlers after World War I
World War I ( ...
in 1921, and
Robinvale in 1924. In 1930, it was extended to
Koorakee, New South Wales, as part of the proposed
Lette railway line, although that section was never officially opened for traffic. The extension into New South Wales involved the construction of a lift-span bridge over the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) ( Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longe ...
. The section in New South Wales closed in 1943.
Access to Melbourne was originally from the
Bendigo line via Bridgewater, until the opening of the Dunolly to Inglewood route to the
Mildura line in 1888.
The last regular passenger service on the line, operated by a
DERM, ran from Bendigo to Robinvale on 3 June 1978.
From 5 June 1978, the service was replaced by Bendigo – Ultima and Swan Hill – Robinvale buses.
Operation
Today the line operates using the
Train Order Working system of safeworking, with just a single
crossing loop at Korong Vale.
Speed limits are set between to Manangatang, with all Victorian mainline locomotives permitted to run.
In 2008 the line was booked out for upgrades to the
track and
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass
An overpass (called ...
s from
Ultima to Robinvale.
In April 2008, it was announced that the Korong Vale – Quambatook section of the line would be upgraded as part of the Victorian core grain network, in a $23.7 million package with six other lines. The Dunolly – Korong Vale section had already been upgraded.
In 2008, the line was cut back to Manangatang, and containers formerly loaded at Boort are now loaded at Donald (Mildura line). The Eaglehawk (Bendigo) - Inglewood link has had traffic suspended, and has been disconnected at the northern end. All trains run via Dunolly on the Mildura line. The line speed was cut to 25 km/h from Korong Vale to Lalbert, due to poor sleeper condition, then 40km/h beyond. While the Mildura line was being converted to standard gauge, the containers normally loaded at Merbein were loaded at Manangatang.
The line was scheduled to be converted to standard gauge after the conversion of the Mildura and Murrayville lines had been completed. That work was cancelled in 2019, due to the
Murray Basin Rail Project, under which the conversion was to be done, running out of money.
Current operations are grain services as required, which are operated by
Pacific National
Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses.
History
In February 2002, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Federal, New South Wales and Victorian Governments) were combined with Freig ...
and
Southern Shorthaul Railroad, as well as a container train service from
Ultima to
Victoria Dock, which is operated by
QUBE Logistics.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Vicsig.net - Robinvale line
{{Victorian Railway Lines, Branch
Freight railway lines in Victoria (Australia)
Railway lines opened in 1882
5 ft 3 in gauge railways in Australia