Avoca railway line

Avoca railway line, Victoria
Line details
Opened 1874
Completed 1890
Closed 2005
Fate Freight only line
Length 87.769 km (54.537 mi)
Stations 4
Tracks Single track
Rolling stock Ballast, Grain
Type Branch
Rail transport in Victoria

The Maryborough - Avoca - Ararat railway is a railway line in western Victoria, Australia. It is one of the few railway lines in the state to have been closed and then reopened. Today it is a standard gauge branch line connecting the Western SG with Bung Bong (ballast) and Dunolly (grain), running through Maryborough station.

History

The first section of line was opened as a branch from Maryborough to Avoca in October 1874, 24 kilometres in length, then was extended 62.8 kilometres to Ararat in November 1890, forming a through route between two main lines. In July 1959 the line between Avoca and Ararat was closed.[1] In October 1966 the line was reopened,[1] and in 1996 it was converted to standard gauge, along with the main Melbourne-Adelaide railway.[2]

The Avoca - Ararat section of the line has been unused for a number of years and Pacific National used it to store over 100 surplus grain wagons,[3] until many of them were reactivated to carry the 2011-2012 harvest.

Line guide

Avoca railway
Legend
Mildura line at Maryborough station
Homebush
Avoca
Elmhurst
Ben Nevis
Serviceton Line at Ararat station

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail (Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)): pages 71–76.
  2. ↑ "VICSIG". www.vicsig.net. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
  3. ↑ "Grain wagon must return". Weekly Times (Melbourne). March 5, 2011. Retrieved 2012-05-08.

Further reading