Gippsland line

This article is about the V/Line service. For the physical railway, see Gippsland railway line.

The Gippsland line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves 23 stations towards its terminus in the regional city of Bairnsdale, however most services terminate at Traralgon.

Gippsland
Traralgon railway station entrance
Overview
Service type	Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Current operator(s)	V/Line
Route
Termini	Southern Cross Traralgon Bairnsdale
Stops	23
Distance travelled	276.80 km (172.00 mi)
Line(s) used	Gippsland
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy
Catering facilities	None
Technical
Rolling stock	VLocity
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	None
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map v t e Gippsland V/Line rail service Legend h:mm 0.0 km Southern Cross Zone 1 1.2 km Flinders Street Zone 1 3.6 km Richmond Zone 1 11.8 km Caulfield Zone 1 20.4 km Clayton Zone 2 31.2 km Dandenong Zone 2 58.1 km Pakenham Zone 2 65.8 km Nar Nar Goon Zone 3/4 70.7 km Tynong Zone 3/4 73.9 km Garfield Zone 4/5 79.1 km Bunyip Zone 4/5 83.5 km Longwarry Zone 5/6 92.2 km Drouin Zone 6 103.0 km Warragul Zone 6/7 115.4 km Yarragon Zone 8 123.5 km Trafalgar Zone 8/9 133.4 km Moe Zone 9/10 147.6 km Morwell Zone 11 161.3 km Traralgon Zone 12/13 183.6 km Rosedale Zone 14/15 209.2 km Sale Zone 17/18 225.3 km Stratford Zone 18/19 278.0 km Bairnsdale Zone 24

History

See also: Gippsland railway line § History

Although the Gippsland line was extended to Orbost in 1916, passenger services along the line extended only as far as Bairnsdale beginning in the 1930s. In 1954 the line beyond Dandenong was electrified as far as Traralgon, with services from this time provided by the L class electric locomotives.

In 1975 suburban services were extended from Dandenong to Pakenham, on what is known as the Pakenham line. By the 1980s, the motive power of trains reverted to diesel locomotives, with electrification cut back to Warragul in 1987, and to Bunyip in 1998. Suburban Comeng trains were used by V/Line to provide services from Melbourne to Warragul in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1993, passenger services from Sale to Bairnsdale were withdrawn, leading to massive protests. They were reinstated in 2004 as part of the Linking Victoria program. The line was upgraded as part of the Regional Fast Rail project in 2005 and the last of the overhead wires were removed, except for a short section to the Melbourne side of Bunyip station.

In March 2013 the service was suspended east of Traralgon because of safety problems with level crossings.^[1][2] Rail services resumed in October 2013.^[3]

Services

Services to Traralgon operate approximately hourly every day, with a higher frequency during the weekday peak periods. Between Southern Cross and Pakenham, services generally stop at Flinders Street, Richmond, Caulfield, Clayton and Dandenong. One service during the weekday peak also stops at Berwick. At metropolitan stations, trains running towards Traralgon and Bairnsdale only pick up passengers, and trains running towards Southern Cross only set down passengers.

Local services stop at all stations between Pakenham and Traralgon, but services during peak periods run express from Pakenham to Garfield, Garfield to Drouin, and through Warragul and Moe. One morning peak service terminates and originates at Flinders Street instead of Southern Cross. During weekdays off-peak, Traralgon services only stop at Richmond in the afternoon and evening.^[4]

From Monday to Saturday there are three daily return services to Bairnsdale. Two return services operate to Bairnsdale and one return service operates to Sale on Sunday.^[5] At Bairnsdale, trains connect with road coach services to Orbost, Batemans Bay and Canberra. All Bairnsdale services as of September 2024 are operated by V/Line VLocity diesel multiple-unit trains, with the last N class locomotive-hauled service operating on 14 September 2024..^[6]

Gallery

• 
  Platform sign at Yarragon
• 
  A V/Line VLocity arriving at Traralgon
• 
  Bairnsdale railway station, the current terminus of the line
• 
  Heritage-listed overhead wiring and electrical substation at Bunyip, a remnant of when the line was electrified as far as Traralgon

Line guide

v t e Gippsland railway line
Legend
km City Loop via Southern Cross 0.00 Flinders Street 0.35 Princes Bridge City Loop via Parliament Hurstbridge and Mernda lines to Hurstbridge and Mernda 2.40 Richmond Belgrave, Lilydale and Glen Waverley lines to Belgrave, Lilydale and Glen Waverley CityLink Yarra River 4.20 South Yarra Sandringham line to Sandringham Metro Tunnel to Sunbury 5.40 Hawksburn 6.70 Toorak 7.40 Armadale 8.90 Malvern 10.60 Caulfield Frankston line to Frankston 12.30 Carnegie 13.20 Murrumbeena Outer Circle line to Fairfield 14.20 Hughesdale Rosstown Railway to Elsternwick 15.40 Oakleigh 17.00 Huntingdale 19.20 Clayton 21.40 Westall 23.30 Springvale Spring Vale Cemetery line to Spring Vale Cemetery 24.40 Sandown Park 25.10 Noble Park Mile Creek 27.80 Yarraman EastLink Yarraman Creek 30.00 Dandenong Dandenong Creek Cranbourne line to Cranbourne Eumemmering Creek 33.80 General Motors South Gippsland Freeway 36.20 Hallam Troups Creek 39.50 Narre Warren Princes Freeway 43.40 Berwick Cardinia Creek 45.80 Beaconsfield 50.20 Officer Gum Scrub Creek 54.60 Cardinia Road Toomuc Creek 56.90 Pakenham 58.80 East Pakenham Princes Freeway Pakenham East Depot 63.40 Nar Nar Goon 69.50 Tynong 72.66 Garfield 77.90 Bunyip 82.30 Longwarry 90.99 Drouin Princes Freeway 101.76 Warragul Noojee line to Noojee 104.20 Nilma 108.50 Darnum 114.20 Yarragon 122.30 Trafalgar Walhalla line to Walhalla 132.22 Moe Yallourn line (second) to Yallourn Thorpdale line to Thorpdale 140.00 Hernes Oak Yallourn line (first) to Yallourn Yallourn 900mm Railway to Hazelwood – to Yallourn Mirboo North line to Mirboo North 146.37 Morwell 148.30 Maryvale Princes Freeway 160.07 Traralgon Maffra line to Stratford 167.00 Loy Yang 173.80 Flynn 182.36 Rosedale 192.30 Kilmany 199.70 Fulham 208.02 Sale 218.00 Montgomery Maffra line to Traralgon Stratford Junction 224.10 Stratford 233.40 Munro 246.20 Fernbank 257.50 Lindenow 262.90 Hillside 276.84 Bairnsdale Bairnsdale Wharf spur 286.60 Nicholson 296.10 Bumberrah 303.90 Mossiface 306.30 Bruthen 321.40 Colquhoun 336.10 Nowa Nowa 345.80 Tostaree 358.80 Waygara 372.60 Orbost km

References

1. Gippsland trains halted over safety fears Archived 9 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Age 21 March 2013
2. Train services between Traralgon and Bairnsdale^{[permanent dead link‍]} Gippsland Times 22 March 2013
3. V/Line passengers train return to Bairnsdale^{[permanent dead link‍]} Minister for Public Transport 29 October 2013
4. "Traralgon – Melbourne via Morwell & Moe & Pakenham – Public Transport Victoria". Public Transport Victoria. Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
5. Bairnsdale – Melbourne timetable Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine V/Line
6. "Bairnsdale – Melbourne via Sale & Traralgon – Public Transport Victoria". Public Transport Victoria. Public Transport Victoria. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.

• Churchman, Geoffrey B. (1995). Railway Electrification in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney & Wellington: IPL Books. pp. 70–77. ISBN 0-908876-79-3.

External links

• http://www.vline.com.au
• Official map
• Statistics and detailed schematic map at the vicsig enthusiast website