Gippsland V/Line rail service

The Gippsland V/Line rail service is a passenger service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia between Melbourne and the Gippsland region including the regional cities of Moe, Morwell, Traralgon, Sale and Bairnsdale. It operates along the Gippsland railway line.

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

Gippsland

Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Current operator(s)	V/Line
Route
Start	Southern Cross
End	Bairnsdale
Distance travelled	276.80 km (172.00 mi)
Line(s) used	Gippsland
On-board services
Class(es)	First & Economy
Technical
Rolling stock	Sprinter VLocity N class locomotive with N type carriages
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	None
Track owner(s)	VicTrack

History

See also: Gippsland railway line § History

Although the Gippsland line was extended to Orbost in 1916, from the 1930s passenger services along the line extended only as far as Bairnsdale. 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 railway 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In 1993, passenger services from Sale to Bairnsdale were withdrawn. 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 in the peak direction during the weekday peak also stops at Berwick. A those six stations, trains running towards Traralgon only pick up passengers, trains running towards Southern Cross and only set down passengers. Local services stop at all stations between Pakenham and Traralgon, but services during peak periods run express between Pakenham and Garfield, Garfield and Drouin, and Warragul and Moe. One morning peak service terminates and originates at Flinders Street instead of Southern Cross. During weekdays off-peak, Richmond station is only served by trains to Southern Cross in the morning, and to Traralgon in the afternoon and evening.

From Monday to Saturday there are three daily return services to Bairnsdale, and two daily return services on Sunday.[4] At Bairnsdale, trains connect with road coach services to Orbost, Batemans Bay and Canberra. One service in each direction daily is run using locomotive-hauled N type carriages, which provide first-class accommodation and a snack bar. Other services are operated by VLocity diesel multiple units, which are single-class and have no refreshment facilities. All services run semi-express between Melbourne and Moe.

Line Guide

Gippsland V/Line Service
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

References

1. Gippsland trains halted over safety fears The Age 21 March 2013
2. Train services between Traralgon and Bairnsdale Gippsland Times 22 March 2013
3. V/Line passengers train return to Bairnsdale Minister for Public Transport 29 October 2013
4. Bairnsdale - Melbourne timetable Archived 29 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine V/Line

External links

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