Riverina Express

The Riverina Express was a passenger train operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between Sydney, Griffith and Albury from September 1949 until November 1993.

Riverina Express
RUB carriage at Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot in December 2012
Overview
Service typePassenger train
StatusCeased
First serviceSeptember 1949
Last serviceDecember 1994
Former operator(s)State Rail Authority
Route
TerminiSydney
Albury
Griffith
Distance travelled642 km (Albury)
640 km (Griffith)
Service frequencydaily in each direction
Line(s) usedMain South
Hay branch
Griffith branch

History
38 class hauled Sydney to Albury train at Goulburn in June 1946

The Riverina Express was introduced in September 1949 and operated during daylight hours travelling along the Main South line to both Griffith and Albury at various stages during its life.[1][2] With the change to XPT operation in August 1982, all services ran to Albury. In November 1993, it was extended to Melbourne and renamed the Melbourne Daylight XPT.[3]

Rolling stock

It was initially operated by a locomotive hauled, air-conditioned set of RUB set carriages. In February 1972 the RUB sets were replaced by ten 1200 class Tulloch diesel railcars. These were designed to split en route allowing carriages to detach for Cowra, Tumut, Lake Cargelligo and Hillston on selected days. The 1200s suffered from regular equipment failures, particularly with their complex electrical systems and they were replaced by locomotive hauled sets from January 1973.[4]

One 1200 set was returned from February 1973 with a locomotive set used on alternate days until replaced by a DEB railcar set in August 1973. In October 1975 a second DEB set replaced the remaining 1200 set.[4] At this stage the service operated to Griffith five times a week and Albury only once per week.

In August 1982, the service (which by now only went to Albury) was taken over by a XPT set and renamed the Riverina XPT.[4] In December 1994 an XPT daylight service to Melbourne was introduced by extending the Riverina XPT from Albury.[3]

References
  1. "Attractive Buffet Car on the New Riverina Express" Sydney Morning Herald 13 September 1949
  2. Report of the Commissioner for Railways for the year ended 30 June 1950 p. 64 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1950-51-52 Vol 4 p. 568 "Annual Report 30 June 1950" Commissioner for Railways
  3. "Sydney-Melbourne Daylight XPT Commences This Month" Railway Digest December 1994 page 7
  4. Cooke, David (1984). Railmotors and XPTs. Sydney: Australian Railway Historical Society, NSW Division. ISBN 0 909650 23 3.
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