Koo Wee Rup railway station

Koo Wee Rup was a railway station on the South Gippsland line in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The station operated until the closure of the line between Cranbourne Station and Leongatha Station in July 1993. The station remains partly intact with the platform and goods shed (now privately owned) intact, however the track 1 km each way from the railway station platform location has been uplifted and replaced by a concrete pathway for bicycles and recreational use. Koo Wee Rup was also the last station before the Strzelecki line branched off from the main South Gippsland line.

The establishment of the short cycling track from this location has effectively removed any likelihood that the railway could be rehabilitated to this fast growing population centre in the south east of Melbourne. This has also provided the option to extend the cycling track back to Cranbourne, which will challenge future rail transport options for people in Clyde, Cranbourne East and surrounding areas.

Current Status

Between 1999 and 2008 there was constant speculation that the railway line beyond Cranbourne to Leongatha could re-open, as promised by the Victorian State Government, under a project named 'Bringing Trains Back to Victorians'. However, in May 2008, a scoping study carried out on behalf of the State Government found the costs of returning services high, at 72 million dollars. Therefore, plans to reopen the line were stopped, and the Government has pledged to spend 14.2 million dollars on improved V/Line coach services in the South Gippsland region instead. Further, there are plans in motion to turn the railway reservation into a Rail Trail between Cranbourne East and Nyora. Koo Wee Rup was going to be the first station reopened if the Leongatha Rail service returned in May 2008. Clyde and Tooradin didn't meet the required criteria for a passenger railway station. Electrification of the railway line beyond Cranbourne to Cranbourne East, Clyde and even as far as Koo Wee Rup has been speculated since the passenger rail service to Leongatha was originally planned to be reintroduced in 2004. As of December 2013, representatives from the South and West Gippsland Transport Group have called on for state government support in the upcoming election in 2014 to see the railway line reopened as far as Leongatha by early next decade (2020), in which would see Koo Wee Rup station become part of the regional Victorian Rail Network for the first time since July 24, 1993.^[1]

Source: Communication from Minister Lynne Kosky, 3 June 2008, and the Victorian Department of Infrastructure

Rail trail & Walking Track

Starting in early March 2012, the rail line has been gradually removed from the Koo Wee Rup area as a first step toward the creation of a rail trail on the alignment.

The first section of track has been constructed - formed as a concrete pathway, for 1 km each direction from the former Koo Wee Rup railway station platform.

Images of Railway at Koo Wee Rup

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  Close up view of the platform

Close up view, platform Nov 2009, this section has had track pulled and replaced with a concrete walking path. (May, 2012)

Rail bridge over Bunyip River off Railway Road

Collapsed Platform, Koo Wee Rup

Toilet Block; physical cut of the line south of Rossiter Road

Coordinates: 38°12′05″S 145°29′19″E / 38.2014°S 145.4886°E / -38.2014; 145.4886

References