Tocumwal railway line, Victoria

The Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company opened the first section of the Tocumwal railway line from North Melbourne to Essendon in 1860. Following its take over by the Victorian Government in 1867, the line was extended to Tallarook and Mangalore in 1872.

A line was built from Mangalore to Toolamba and Shepparton in 1880 and extended to Numurkah in 1881, Strathmerton in 1905 and connecting with the New South Wales Government Railways at Tocumwal at a break-of-gauge in 1908.

Passenger services to Tocumwal ended on 8 November 1975 with the last train operated by T class diesel locomotive T324 and passenger carriages 3AS – 31BE – 2AE – 22CE. Before this time the Strathmerton – Cobram section was operated as the 'branch line' with a 102hp Walker railmotor connecting with the main line train. A bus service was then introduced for the Tocumwal branch, connecting with the Cobram service. By 1977/78 the service between Cobram and Tocumwal was being operated by a VicRail owned station wagon driven by the Cobram station master.[1]

The last passenger service from Toolamba station to Echuca ran on 2 March 1981 with Y class diesel locomotive Y161, an ABE carriage and a C van. This consist had only been introduced a few months prior, with a DERM usually being rostered.[1] Toolamba finally closed as a station on 20 December 1987.[2]

The passenger service from Numurkah north to Cobram was withdrawn on 24 April 1981 but was restored on 14 August 1983.[1] The service was cut back to Shepparton on 21 August 1993, with Hoys Roadlines taking control of the train from 22 August,[1] hiring locomotives, carriages and train crews from V/Line. This arrangement remained until 2004.[3]

There have been calls for the line to be standardised as part of the proposed Melbourne to Brisbane 'Inland Railway'. In April 2008 it was announced that the Shepparton – Tocumwal section of the line would also be upgraded, as part of the Victorian core grain network in a A$23.7 million package with 6 other lines.[4]

On 20 February 2020, a NSW TrainLink XPT passenger train on the adjacent North East railway line towards Sydney derailed at Wallan, resulting in suspension of freight, V/Line and NSW TrainLink services on the North East and Tocumwal railway lines. V/Line services resumed on 1 and 2 March 2020.[5]

On 31 October 2022, after a week long delay due to extensive major flooding in the Goulburn Valley region, VLocity trains started running from Seymour-Shepparton for the first time, replacing the previous N and H set locomotive hauled services.

Craigieburn passenger services operate on the line within the Melbourne region between Craigieburn and Southern Cross. Upfield line services also utilise a small section of the line between North Melbourne and Southern Cross. Regional services from Seymour (as the Seymour line) and Shepparton also operate to Southern Cross, skipping most metropolitan stations. The line between Tocumwal and Shepparton is no longer served by passenger services.

Shepparton services

Shepparton

Overview
Service type	Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Current operator(s)	V/Line
Route
Termini	Shepparton Southern Cross
Stops	16
Distance travelled	184.84 km (114.85 mi)
Average journey time	2 hour 32 minutes
Service frequency	5 Southern Cross-bound services, 5 Shepparton-bound services on weekdays 3 services on weekends each direction
Line(s) used	Tocumwal
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy
Disabled access	Yes
Catering facilities	None
Technical
Rolling stock	V/Line VLocity
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	Shepparton-Seymour: 115 km/h (71 mph) Maximum Seymour-Southern Cross: 130 km/h (80 mph) Maximum
Track owner(s)	VicTrack

V/Line operates five return services between Shepparton and Melbourne's Southern Cross Station on weekdays, with 3 return services running on Saturdays & Sundays.

Services generally stop at all stations between Shepparton and Donnybrook in both directions, with some services not stopping at Donnybrook, Heathcote Junction and Tallarook. Within the metropolitan network, limited services make stops at Essendon and North Melbourne on weekdays, while all services stop at Broadmeadows. At these stations, Shepparton-bound services only pick up passengers and Southern Cross-bound services only drop off. No services stop at any other station served by a metropolitan service.

Shepparton V/Line Service
h:mm 0:00 0.0 km Southern Cross Zone 1 0:05 1.7 km North Melbourne Zone 1 0:21 16.9 km Broadmeadows Zone 2 0:35 33.2 km Donnybrook Zone 2 0:44 47.5 km Wallan Zone 2 0:52 57.3 km Wandong Zone 2 0:58 65.5 km Kilmore East Zone 3/4 1:06 77.2 km Broadford Zone 4/5 1:25 101.7 km Seymour Zone 6 continues as Albury V/Line Service 1:48 128.1 km Nagambie Zone 9 2:04 149.2 km Murchison East Zone 11 2:28 179.0 km Mooroopna Zone 14 2:37 184.8 km Shepparton Zone 15
Standard timetabled journey from Southern Cross

Wikinews has related news:

• Australian and Victorian governments to begin stage three of Shepparton railway line upgrade in September

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