Kulwin railway line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kulwin
Wycheproof station with a Steamrail Victoria train in the background
Overview
StatusOperational as a freight only line to Sea Lake, closed beyond Sea Lake
Connecting linesRobinvale railway line
Stations5
Service
TypeBranch
SystemPacific National, Southern Shorthaul Railroad, Qube Logistics (formerly)
ServicesGrain to Charlton, Wycheproof, Nullawil, Berriwillock, Sea Lake
History
Opened1883
Completed1920
Closed2010 (Sea Lake to Kulwin)[1]
Technical
Line length199.8 km (124.1 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Track gaugeBroad
Route map

281.420
Robinvale line at Korong Vale
295.226
Wychitella
303.475
Buckrabanyule
308.846
Barakee
317.601
Charlton
325.875
Teddywaddy
332.635
Glenloth
338.677
Fairview
344.137
Wycheproof
360.484
Dumosa
371.257
Nullawill
380.749
Warne
387.390
Culgoa
401.229
Berriwillock
411.892
Boigbeat
421.370
Sea Lake
431.045
Ninda
440.442
Nyarrin
449.576
Nandaly
456.417
Pier Millan
467.380
Mittyack
473.664
Leitpar
481.220
Kulwin

The Kulwin railway line is located in north-western Victoria, Australia. It junctions from the Robinvale line at Korong Vale and only sees usage by freight trains.

History[edit]

Melbourne-Kulwin rail ticket 1980

The line was opened from Korong Vale to Wycheproof in 1883, and extended to Sea Lake in 1893, to Nandaly in 1914, Mittyack in 1919, and Kulwin in 1920.[2] Access to the line 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 ran from Bendigo to Sea Lake on 7 May 1977 and was operated by a DERM.[3] In April 2008 it was announced that the Korong Vale – Charlton section of the line would be upgraded as part of the Victorian core grain network, in a $23.7 million package with 6 other lines.[4]

In February 2010, baulks were placed across the line just north of Sea Lake due to the deteriorating condition of the track.[5] As majority of grain trains only go as far as Sea Lake, this made practical sense. Furthermore, the segment between Sea Lake and Kulwin was closed due to sand drifts and sand slides in 2006 and 2008 respectively.[6]

Current operations are as-required grain trains operated by Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. ^ Sid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 71–76.
  3. ^ Chris Banger (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 77–82.
  4. ^ "$43m to upgrade rail freight lines". The Age. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  5. ^ "VICSIG".
  6. ^ "VICSIG".