Regional Rail Revival

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Regional Rail Revival

The Regional Rail Revival program is upgrading every regional passenger line in Victoria. Management of our social media channels is entirely at our discretion.

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10/02/2026

✅ From Gippsland to Ballarat, Waurn Ponds to Bendigo, we've upgraded every regional passenger line in Victoria.

🛤️ As part of the Regional Rail Revival, we delivered more than 360km of new track, 140 level crossing upgrades, 20 new and upgraded stations and paved the way for close to 400 new and upgraded services.

👏 A big thank you to Victorians on the regional network for your patience as we carried out the work.

13/03/2025

The Murray Basin Rail Project is charging up! ⚡🚆

A Power Equipment Room was recently craned into the Maryborough warehouse with precision, using a combination of a crane, skates, and a forklift.

Now, it's being fitted with switchboards and a generator before making their way to the freshly poured concrete slab at the Tourello loop.

Once installed and commissioned, it’ll power up the signalling system in Tourello.

30/10/2024

In 2024, and the future of the Fruity is looking bright.

Demand for services from producers continues to grow, and after a bumper harvest in 2023, a record breaking 1500-metre-long Fruity train capable of carrying 4000 tonnes of produce debuted along the line.

We’re boosting capacity as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project, making improvements along the Yelta Line where the Fruity travels including:

- a siding extension at Merbein and a new siding at Donald to increase flexibility for loading

- track upgrades between Ararat and Maryborough to allow for increased loading capacity

- passing loops at Emu and Elmhurst to increase options for trains to pass one another

Signalling upgrades to come at Ouyen, Ararat and Maryborough will boost safety along the line.

Once complete, our work will ensure that the rail freight connection between Sunraysia and the world remains strong for the next 70 years of the Fruity.

23/10/2024

The history of "The Fruity" train dates back to 1958, when the rail freight industry created a service that enabled Sunraysia growers to ‘pick today, sell tomorrow’.

Designed to compete with road transport, the train was billed as running on a faster-than-passenger schedule that broke records, departing Mildura at 5pm and arriving in Melbourne before 6am so that produce could be ready for market.

The train carried around 400 tonnes of Sunraysia produce including citrus, tomatoes, broad beans, peas, pumpkins and fish. These were transported in mostly unrefrigerated wagons, so time was of the essence and speed was necessary.

The service quickly became popular and by 1961, it was running six times a week, providing a crucial link between Sunraysia producers and the Melbourne markets.

Have you ever seen the Fruit Flyer on a run?

16/10/2024

What is it about giving a train a name that makes it legendary?

You’ve heard of the Orient Express, the Rocky Mountaineer, and the Ghan...but have you ever heard of the Fruity?

The Fruity is a familiar sight along the Yelta Line on the Murray Basin freight network, where it’s travelled since 1958.

As the name suggests, the Fruity carries around $450 million worth of produce from the Sunraysia region to Melbourne every year, including fruit, wine, grain, almonds and peas.

If you’ve ever wondered how Mildura oranges end up at your local market, chances are they arrived on one of the Fruity’s three weekly trips from Merbein to Melbourne.

In the coming weeks, we’ll look at the history of the Fruity and the work we’re doing on the Murray Basin freight network to ensure its fruitful future.

02/10/2024

We’ve finished looping the loop at Emu!

Freight capacity on the Yelta Line has been boosted now that work on the Emu Loop extension as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project is complete.

The additional 500 metres of track makes it possible for two 1200 metre freight trains to pass each other in either direction at the same time by using the loop located between Dunolly and St Arnaud.

It's a win for regional roads and the environment too, as an average 800-metre intermodal freight train carries produce equivalent to 55 semi-trailer truckloads.

To learn more, visit https://go.vic.gov.au/4gaRZDw

18/09/2024

We're well on the road to making it possible for freight trains to be refuelled at Ouyen!

Crews have finished work on this refuelling road, a key part of our upgrades at this important rail junction as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project.

The new refuelling station will enable more freight trains to run along the Yelta and Murrayville lines when it is brought into service along with our continuing signalling upgrades at the yard.

11/09/2024

Out with the old invasive species, in with the new native flora.

When we're upgrading track in the bush, environmental impact plays a central role in shaping how we work.

Sometimes, vegetation removal is a necessary part of our process, but it also presents an opportunity for us to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

This was the case at Foleys Creek which forms part of the Emu passing loop.

As part of our work to extend the passing loop, the non-native vegetation and flora that grew in this area had to be removed.

When work on the loop came to an end, native species were planted including river red gum trees, native sedges (juncus, carexes, ficinia) and native grasses (wallaby, kangaroo and silky blue grass).

A win for freight and a win for mother nature!

05/09/2024

A winter transformation like no other.
Here's what we got up to during our epic 72 day work blitz on the Geelong and Warrnambool lines.

03/09/2024

We’re strengthening the connection between regional producers and markets around the world through the Murray Basin Rail Project.

At Maryborough Station, locals gathered recently to celebrate the completion of the Ararat-Maryborough Line upgrade.

Our upgrades, which include rerailing and a new passing loop at Elmhurst, benefit Sunraysia producers by increasing flexibility on the Murray Basin freight network.

15/08/2024

Construction by moonlight.

Crews on the Murray Basin Rail Project have installed a new signalling gantry at Tourello between Creswick and Clunes as part of our work to reinstate the passing loop there.

The gantry is part of our new signalling system that will guide trains along the loop track.

Its job is to tell drivers whether the line ahead is occupied and to make sure there is enough stopping space between trains.

At 9.5 metres tall and weighing just over 5 tonnes, the gantry was pre-assembled with help from two cranes. It was then transported in three pieces along the rail line where it was lifted into place by a hydraulic lifting machine known as a rotating telehandler.

Once complete, the 960m loop will be able to accommodate 50 wagon trains, each able to carry 3000 tonnes of grain!

08/08/2024

Hi-vis vest alert!

We're back in Maryborough to upgrade the signalling at this critical and historic rail freight junction.

As part of the Murray Basin Rail Project, we will deliver a safer and more efficient control system for freight trains at Maryborough Yard, enabling the use of all three siding roads.

Once complete, the upgrades will increase flexibility and capacity for freight operators and primary producers.

Address

Pyalong, VIC

Telephone

+611800105105

Website

http://regionalrailrevival.vic.gov.au/

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