Pinnaroo railway line, South Australia

The Pinnaroo railway line ran east from the Adelaide to Melbourne line at Tailem Bend to Pinnaroo near the South Australia / Victoria state border. The route continues into Victoria via the Victorian Railways line to Ouyen where it joined the Mildura line.[1]

This article is about railway line in South Australia. For the associated railway line in Victoria, see Pinnaroo railway line, Victoria.

Pinnaroo railway line, South Australia
The Pinnaroo railway line at Peake, South Australia
Overview
LocaleMurray Mallee
Coordinates35°23′S 140°8′E
History
Opened14 September 1906 (1906-09-14)
Closed31 July 2015 (2015-07-31)
Technical
Line length265.2 km (164.8 mi)
Track length144.1 km (89.5 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm)
Route map
To Adelaide
120.3 km
 Tailem Bend Loop
 to Loxton line, closed 2015
to Wolseley & Melbourne
158.5 km
 Peake Loop & silos
188.8 km
 Geranium Loop & silos
222.2 km
 Lameroo Loop
236.7 km
 Parilla Loop & silos
259.7 km
 Pinnaroo Loop
264.4 km
 Pinnaroo AWB Loop & silos
End of Standard Gauge
265.2 km
 South Australia / Victoria Border
 Pinnaroo line
to Ouyen & Mildura line
Blue is Standard Gauge, Red is Broad Gauge

History

The line opened from Tailem Bend to Pinnaroo on 14 September 1906, being extended to the state border on 29 July 1915.[2]

When the Adelaide to Wolseley line was closed east of Tailem Bend for gauge conversion, the Pinnaroo line became part of the main line between Adelaide and Melbourne for two weeks in April 1995. Journey times increased by 10 to 12 hours.[3][4]

In May 1995, it was announced that the line west of Pinnaroo would be gauge converted from broad gauge to standard gauge.[5][6] Work on the conversion of the line was delayed until 1996, due to a large grain crop and increased traffic by trains destined for Tocumwal and Yarrawonga in regional Victoria that were on the broad gauge network.[7]

A small part of the line converted in 1996, was converted back for the 1997 grain harvest. To continue the journey to Adelaide, the grain was transhipped at Tailem Bend.[8] The last broad gauge train operated on 2 July 1998[9] with the line reopening on 25 November 1998.[2][10] As the Victorian line remained broad gauge, trains could no longer operate over the entire length with Pinnaroo becoming a break of gauge point.

The line closed in July 2015.[11] Viterra announced that no more grain would be carried by rail after 31 July 2015, with the 2015 harvest to be entirely transported by road.[12] As the South Australian line closed, the Victorian government was upgrading part of its end of the line for regional freight.[13]

References
  1. Panitya Line Vicsig
  2. Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 53, 56. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
  3. "National Rail's Melbourne - Adelaide Diversion Services" Railway Digest April 1995 page 31
  4. "Pinnaroo Diversions a Success" Railway Digest June 1995 page 15
  5. "SA Branches to be Standardised" Railway Digest June 1995 page 15
  6. Non-Metropolitan Railways (Transfer) Act 1997 Government of South Australia
  7. "SA Murray Lands Renaissance" Railway Digest October 1995 page 15
  8. "South Australia" Railway Digest April 1997 page 37
  9. "Australian Southern News" Railway Digest September 1998 page 36
  10. "Australian Southern's Grain Gain" Railway Digest January 1999 page 12
  11. Freight Study & Rail Operations Investigation Archived 16 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Flywheel Advisory 17 November 2014
  12. Strathearn, Peri (21 May 2015). "End of line for Murraylands, Mallee grain trains". The Murray Valley Standard. Fairfax Regional Media. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  13. Jones, Erin (18 November 2017). "Campaign to reinstate South Australia's regional rail network to help boost employment and create economic benefits for towns". Sunday Mail. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
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