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Robinvale railway line

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Robinvale
Overview
StatusOpen for freight to Manangatang, closed beyond Manangatang.
Connecting linesEaglehawk-Inglewood railway line, Kulwin railway line, Mildura line
Former connectionsWedderburn Line
Stations12 (some demolished)
Service
TypeVicRail passenger service (former) and freight line
SystemPacific National
ServicesGrain to Boort, Quambatook and Manangatang, containers from Ultima
Rolling stockvarious
History
Opened1924
Completed1926
Closed18 January 2008 (Manangatang to Robinvale)[1]
Technical
Line length301.346 km (187.2 mi)
Number of tracksSingle track
Route map

Victorian rail network

Legend
209.099
 Mildura line at Dunolly
229.875
 Llanelly
236.000
Arnold Block Point
Eaglehawk - Inglewood line
248.741
 Inglewood
255.252
 Kurting
Wedderburn
280.863
Korong Vale Crossing Loop
281.420
 Korong Vale
Kulwin line
289.313
 Borung
291.000
Mysia Block Point
308.112
Boort G.E.B Siding
309.971
 Boort
323.157
 Barraport
329.154
 Gredgwin
336.341
 Oakvale
344.000
Quambatook Block Point
345.341
 Quambatook
357.894
 Cannie
369.138
 Lalbert
380.565
 Meatian
394.003
 Ultima
396.000
Ultima Block Point
403.046
 Gowanford
413.723
 Waitchie
426.472
 Chillingollah
439.533
 Chinkapook
448.787
 Cocamba
456.200
 Manangatang
457.280
Manangatang Block Point
465.464
 Bolton
472.333
 Koimbo
479.143
 Annuello
472.333
 Koimbo
488.225
 Margooya
approx. 490
 Stopping Place No.25
497.148
 Bannerton
510.445
 Robinvale
approx. 513
 Euston (never opened)
approx. 521
 Benanee (never opened)
approx.531
 Koorakee (never opened)
unknown
 Lette (never opened)
This diagram:

The Robinvale railway line is a freight only country railway line in north-western Victoria, Australia. The line branches from the Mildura line at Dunolly, and at Inglewood the Eaglehawk – Inglewood line connects with the Piangil line outside Bendigo. The parallel Kulwin line junctions from the Robinvale line at Korong Vale then continues northward.[2]

History

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The line was opened from Inglewood to Korong Vale in 1882, and first extended towards Charlton as part of what is now the Kulwin line. The line from Korong Vale to Boort opened in 1883, and to Quambatook in 1894. It was extended to Ultima in 1900, to Chillingollah in 1909, to Manangatang in 1914, to Annuello in 1921, and Robinvale in 1924. In 1930, it was extended to Koorakee, New South Wales, as part of the proposed Lette railway line, although that section was never officially opened for traffic. The extension into New South Wales involved the construction of a lift-span bridge over the Murray River.[3] The section in New South Wales closed in 1943.[4]

Access to Melbourne 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, operated by a DERM, ran from Bendigo to Robinvale on 3 June 1978.[5] From 5 June 1978, the service was replaced by Bendigo – Ultima and Swan Hill – Robinvale buses.[5]

Lette railway line

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Lette railway line
Overview
StatusClosed
LocaleVictoria and New South Wales, Australia
History
Openednever officially opened
Closed12 February 1943 (construction officially ceased)
Technical
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)[6]

The Lette railway line was a proposed extension running from Robinvale in Victoria to Lette in New South Wales, Australia. The line from Anneullo to Robinvale in Victoria was opened on 5 June 1924, and a 60-kilometre (37 mi) extension to Lette was planned, being provided for under the Border Railways Act 1922. The extension, part of a scheme to foster closer settlement of the Riverina district of New South Wales,[7] was to serve the locations of Euston, Benanee, Koorakee, Werimble, Mylatchie and Lette.[8]

Construction

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Work started on the railway in 1926, and the rail-road bridge across the Murray River at Robinvale, built as part of the project, was opened on 14 March 1928.[7] Construction was halted for a time, but recommenced in April 1929, and in April 1930, a special train ran as far as Koorakee. Construction work continued towards Lette, but was never completed, and the section to Koorakee was never officially opened for traffic.

Closure

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Trains on the line were operated by the Railways Construction Branch until construction was officially abandoned on 12 February 1943. The rail-road bridge was replaced in 2006 by a new road bridge. The lifting span of the former bridge has been placed in a nearby park, as a permanent historical display.[9] The remains of the only other bridge on the line still exist today. The line to Robinvale is still open for freight trains, even though the section between Manangatang to Robinvale was closed in 2008.[10]

Operation

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Today the line operates using the Train Order Working system of safeworking, with just a single crossing loop at Korong Vale.[11] Speed limits are set between 65 and 40 km/h (40 and 25 mph) to Manangatang, with all Victorian mainline locomotives permitted to run.

In 2008 the line was booked out for upgrades to the track and level crossings from Ultima to Robinvale.[12] In April 2008, it was announced that the Korong Vale – Quambatook section of the line would be upgraded as part of the Victorian core grain network, in a $23.7 million package with six other lines. The Dunolly – Korong Vale section had already been upgraded.[13]

In 2008, the line was cut back to Manangatang, and containers formerly loaded at Boort are now loaded at Donald (Mildura line). The Eaglehawk (Bendigo) - Inglewood link has had traffic suspended, and has been disconnected at the northern end. All trains run via Dunolly on the Mildura line. The line speed was cut to 25 km/h from Korong Vale to Lalbert, due to poor sleeper condition, then 40km/h beyond. While the Mildura line was being converted to standard gauge, the containers normally loaded at Merbein were loaded at Manangatang.

The line was scheduled to be converted to standard gauge after the conversion of the Mildura and Murrayville lines had been completed. That work was cancelled in 2019, due to the Murray Basin Rail Project, under which the conversion was to be done, running out of money.[14]

Current operations are grain services as required, which are operated by Pacific National and Southern Shorthaul Railroad, as well as a container train service from Ultima to Victoria Dock, which is operated by QUBE Logistics.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Victorian Network Map". V/Line ~ Network Access ~ Information Pack. vline.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. ^ Wurr, Chris (April 1999). "Robinvale to Lette Railway", Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, pp. 123–138
  4. ^ Brown, Sid (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 71–76.
  5. ^ a b Chris Banger (March 1997). "Rail Passenger Service Withdrawals Since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 77–82.
  6. ^ "NSW Railway Lines Other Than Standard Gauge". Nswrail.net. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Developing the Riverina". The Argus. 15 March 1928. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Robinvale - Lette Line". Nswrail.net. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  9. ^ "Euston-Robinvale Bridge". Robinvale-Euston Visitor Centre. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  10. ^ "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Dunolly to Robinvale" (PDF). V/Line ~ Network Access ~ Information Pack. vline.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  12. ^ "VICSIG - Infrastructure - Line Data Robinvale line". vicsig.net. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  13. ^ "$43m to upgrade rail freight lines". business.theage.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  14. ^ "Murray Basin Rail Project has run out of steam - Rail Express". www.railexpress.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Northern Victoria's Ultima Freight Terminal opens - Infrastructure Magazine". infrastructuremagazine.com.au. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.

Further reading

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  • Dodd, Ian; Dodd, Sophia (2018). Lette, the Railway that Never Opened. Little Catherine Books. ISBN 9780648245254.
  • McNicol, Steve; Woodland, Tony (2010). Bridging the Murray: A Study of the Rail Crossings. Railmac Publications. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-86477-076-6.
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