Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor

The Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor is an 828 kilometres (514 mi)standard-gauge railway corridor that runs between the cities of Melbourne, Victoria and Adelaide, South Australia.[1] Most of the current traffic is freight, though the only named and perhaps best known regular train is the twice-weekly passenger service The Overland, operated by Great Southern Rail.

Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor
Overview
LocaleVictoria and South Australia
PredecessorVictorian Railways and South Australian Railways
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Previous gaugeconverted from 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Melbourne–Adelaide
corridor
to Crystal Brook and the East–West
and Adelaide–Darwin railways
 Adelaide
Adelaide–Wolseley railway
Victoria
South Australia
border
Western standard gauge line
Melbourne–Sydney railway
 Melbourne

History

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Victorian Railways and South Australian Railways broad gauge networks were extended. The South Australian main line, the Adelaide-Wolseley line, was connected to the Victorian system at Serviceton in 1887. This was the first single gauge inter-colonial link in Australia.[2]

Conversion to standard gauge and rerouting

In 1983, studies by VicRail and Australian National suggested figures of about $400 million to construct a standard-gauge link. Various routes were considered, including via Serviceton and Ararat, and via Pinnaroo, Ouyen and Maryborough.[3]

In 1995, the line was converted to standard gauge, under the One Nation program and rerouted between Melbourne and Ararat in Victoria, to run on the line via North Shore and Cressy.[4]

Track and gauge

The line is single track the entire route with the exception of a short dual gauge section near Melbourne, and a number of 1,500–1,600 m (4,900–5,200 ft) passing loops every 15–45 km (9.3–28.0 mi).

Some branches have also been converted to standard gauge.

References
  1. "AusLink Network Corridors". www.auslink.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  2. "ARHS Railway Museum: History 1839 – 1900". www.railwaymuseum.org.au. Archived from the original on 29 September 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  3. "General News". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. February 1983. p. 19.
  4. "ARHS Railway Museum: History 1950 – now". www.railwaymuseum.org.au. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2008.

Sources
  • Avery, Rod (2006). Freight Across the Nation: The Australian Superfreighter Experience. Brisbane: Copyright Publishing Co. ISBN 1876344474.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.