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Piangil railway line

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Piangil
The line near Pyramid station
Overview
Other name(s)
  • Yungera
  • Swan Hill
StatusOperational between Piangil and Bendigo, closed beyond Piangil.
OwnerVicTrack
LocaleVictoria, Australia
Termini
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Services
Operator(s)Passenger: V/Line
Freight: Pacific National
History
Completed1926 (1926)
Technical
Line length225.2 km (139.9 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
ElectrificationNone
Route map

Legend
Code
km0
Zone
 Yungera
Koorkab
Kooloonong
Natya
Coonimur
389.4
 Piangil
385.0
 Miralie
376.1
 Nyah West
368.5
 Pira
359.3
 Woorinen
SWH
347.3
 Swan Hill
↑ freight only
31
 Pental
332.1
 Lake Boga
Tresco
318.6
 Mystic Park
308.2
 Lake Charm
Fairley
Stony Crossing line &
Kerang–Koondrook Tramway
KER
291.9
 Kerang
25
 South Kerang
Tragowel
267.8
 Macorna
Mincha
PYD
251.4
 Pyramid
21
 Mologa
231.1
 Mitiamo
221.2
 Prairie
DGE
213.3
 Dingee
17
 Tandarra
192.9
Raywood
(original location)
192.8
 Raywood
Sebastian
Woodvale
Myer's Flat
Eaglehawk–Inglewood line
to Robinvale & Kulwin lines
EAG
172.1
 Eaglehawk
13
Deniliquin line
BDG
164.2
 Bendigo
13
Deniliquin line
SBY
39.4
 Sunbury
2
Sunbury line
SDM
25.1
 Watergardens
2
Sydenham line
FSY
5.6
 Footscray
1
SSS
0.0
 Southern Cross
1
km0
Zone
This diagram:

The Piangil railway line is a 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) gauge railway line in north-western Victoria, Australia. It branches off the Deniliquin line just north of Bendigo, and runs in a north-westerly direction through Pyramid Hill and Kerang to the border town of Swan Hill, then roughly parallels the New South Wales border to Piangil and Yungera. The line is now open only as far as Piangil, and passenger services only operate to Swan Hill.

History

[edit]

The line was opened from its junction with the Deniliquin line, just north of Bendigo, to Raywood in 1882. It was progressively extended to Mitiamo in 1883, Pyramid and Kerang in 1884, and Swan Hill in 1890.[1] The line from Swan Hill was extended to Piangil in 1915, Kooloonong in 1920, and Yungera in 1926. The section from Kooloonong to Yungera was closed in 1957, and from Piangil to Kooloonong in 1981.[1] Parts of the former route beyond Piangil, including all of it beyond Kooloonong, are preserved as the Piangil Yungera Railway Bushland Reserve.[2][3]

Silos and goods crane at Kerang

The Koondrook branch line, built and operated by the Shire of Kerang, was opened in 1886. It was acquired by the Victorian Railways in 1952 and closed in 1981. Under the 1922 Border Railways Act, a branch opened from Kerang to Murrabit in 1924, which was extended across the New South Wales border at the Murray River to Stony Crossing in 1928. Passenger services on the section beyond Murrabit had ended by 1932, and all services were suspended in 1943. Passenger services to Murrabit had ceased by the end of 1941, and the line to Murrabit closed in 1961.[4]

Silos and loop siding at Lake Boga

The last passenger service from Swan Hill to Woorinen, a service for school children that was paid for by the Victorian Education Department and run by a 102 hp (76 kW) Walker railmotor, was withdrawn on 17 December 1976. The last passenger service from Swan Hill to Piangil ran on 24 December 1976, again using a 102 hp Walker. Both services were replaced by coaches.[5]

Proposed upgrade and extension

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Silos and goods shed at Pyramid

In April 2008, it was announced that the Swan Hill – Piangil section of the track, along with six other lines, would be upgraded under a $23.7 million package of improvements to the Victorian core grain network.[6]

In October 2010, the Victorian government released a report into public transport options for the north-west of Victoria, which analysed nine proposals for improving services to the city of Mildura. One alternative investigated was an extension of the railway from Swan Hill to connect to the Mildura railway line at Ouyen.[7][8]

As part of the Regional Rail Revival program, a new station at Raywood opened on 17 July 2022, replacing the old station 100 metres (110 yd) down the track.[9][10]

Passenger services

[edit]

Some Bendigo V/Line passenger trains extend their services to Eaglehawk on weekdays. Dedicated Swan Hill passenger services serve the remainder of the operating stations on the line and Eaglehawk.

Swan Hill services

[edit]
Swan Hill
Overview
Service typeRegional rail
StatusOperational
LocaleVictoria, Australia
Current operator(s)V/Line
Route
TerminiSwan Hill
Southern Cross
Stops15
Distance travelled347.3 km (215.8 mi)
Average journey time4 hours 40 minutes
Service frequency2 return services daily
Line(s) usedPiangil
On-board services
Class(es)First and economy
Disabled accessNo
Seating arrangementsYes
Catering facilitiesYes
Technical
Rolling stockN set
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
ElectrificationNone
Operating speed65km/h at North Bendigo Junction - Eaglehawk

80km/h at North Bendigo Junction - Bendigo and From (Swan Hill) Bryan Street PCR to Swan Hill Station

90km/h from Victoria Street PCR (Kerang) to Bryan Street PCR (Swan Hill)

100km/h from Eaglehawk to Wellington Street PCR (Kerang)
Track owner(s)VicTrack

Two services operate daily in each direction between Swan Hill and Southern Cross station in Melbourne. In metropolitan Melbourne, services only stop at Watergardens and Footscray stations, setting down passengers only on services to Southern Cross and picking up passengers only on services to Swan Hill. Outside Melbourne, services do not stop at Macedon, Riddells Creek or Clarkefield. Malmsbury is only served by one weekday service to Swan Hill, and Kangaroo Flat is only served on weekdays. All Swan Hill services stop at all other operating stations, both picking up and setting down passengers. The Swan Hill line is one of the two remaining lines that uses the loco hauled V/Line N class with N type carriages as services to Albury, Bairnsdale and Shepparton are all operated by V/Line VLocity as of October 2024

Swan Hill-Kooloonong rail ticket 1977
Swan Hill-Koondrook rail ticket 1977

Incidents

[edit]

On 5 June 2007, a fatal crash occurred when a semi-trailer ran into a train at a level crossing near Kerang. Eleven people died, all of whom were passengers on the train.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Sid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 71–76.
  2. ^ "Piangil – Yungera Railway B.R." Parks Victoria. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  3. ^ Macfarlane, Neil (18 June 2015). "Submission to VEAC State Wide Assessment of Public Land" (PDF). Mid-Murray Field Naturalists Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  4. ^ Hennell, David. "Poonboon" (PDF). The Times online. Australian Timetable Association Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  5. ^ Chris Banger (March 1997). "Rail passenger service withdrawals since 1960". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 77–82.
  6. ^ "$43m to upgrade rail freight lines". business.theage.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Victorian Government press release – "NORTH WEST PUBLIC TRANSPORT REVIEW REPORT RELEASED", 13 October 2010". Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  8. ^ "North West Public Transport Review". Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  9. ^ Nakos, Nicholas (31 July 2020). "Three new train station concept maps released for Huntly, Goornong and Raywood". Bendigo Advertiser. Australian Community Media. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Huntly Station construction fast-tracked". Department of Transport (Victoria). Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
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