Great Southern Rail Trail

Great Southern Rail Trail with disused track at Leongatha
Great Southern Rail Trail
Length 68 km
Difficulty Easy to medium
Hills Multiple gentle hills
Hazards Some travel on, and crossings of, major highways
Path Compacted gravel
Connecting Transport
Train No regular passenger service; tourist train at Leongatha

The Great Southern Rail Trail is a Rail trail from Leongatha to Welshpool in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.[1] (The 10 km Toora to Welshpool section was opened on 7 February 2015) The trail is about 68 km long and travels through open farmland, before passing through the Hoddle range to Foster. As of 2013, there is a 3 km section between Koonwarra and Meeniyan where trail users are diverted onto the nearby South Gippsland Highway. This section, containing three dilapidated trestle bridges, is currently being repaired, and when completed later in 2015, will provide an unbroken trail from Leongatha to Welshpool. Users can then link to a 6 km pathway to Port Welshpool and its picturesque Long Jetty.

The trail is being progressively extended, and may eventually reach Yarram.[2]

The trail is well maintained with a surface of compacted gravel. Koalas and wallabies can often be seen from the trail particularly in the early mornings and evenings.

The original South Gippsland line opened in 1892, joining Dandenong to Port Albert, with a later extension to Woodside and branch lines to Strzelecki, Outtrim and Wonthaggi. The railway was important for settlement and development of the area, providing transport for forestry and dairy products to Melbourne. The line was closed to all rail traffic in 1992, a century after opening when the Esso Mobil Barry Beach Marine Terminal, situated in Corner Inlet, oil rail freight services ceased operation on 30 June 1992. Almost two weeks prior on 17 June 1992, superphosphate rail freight services along the line to Buffalo ceased, which was the last 'mixed goods service' in the region and a distinctive feature during the existence of the line. The line beyond Leongatha to Yarram and Barry Beach was dismantled in stages up until 14 December 1994, when the final V/Line 'Rail Recovery' train transported the last of the tracks that were recovered and were subsequently reused for the Melbourne to Adelaide railway line standardisation gauge conversion project throughout 1995. This day also marked the closure of the South Gippsland railway line from Nyora to Leongatha, however, it was reopened for the South Gippsland Railway two weeks after this event, who continue to operate heritage rail services on this ection. The establishment of the South Gippsland Railway and the eventual electrification of the Cranbourne line in March 1995 prevented the original plans by the Victorian state government at the time to dismantle the entire line as far as Cranbourne.

Route

Map of the route, as of August 2013.


References

  1. ↑ Melbourne and Geelong's shared paths in Google Maps
  2. ↑ http://www.bv.com.au/change-the-world/11334/

See also