Craigieburn railway line, Melbourne

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Craigieburn railway line, Melbourne

Line details
Commenced	1860
Completed	1872
Stations	15
Tracks	Double track throughout
Used by	Connex Melbourne, V/Line, freight
Service pattern	Stopping all stations
Rolling stock	Hitachi, Comeng, Siemens
Connections	Flemington Racecourse, Albury-Wodonga lines
Former connections	Upfield
Railways in Melbourne
List of stations Freight railways Closed railways Proposed railways

The Craigieburn railway line is a suburban electric railway inner section of the main North East railway line serving the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It has 15 stations and in Metcard ticketing Zones 1 and 2. Prior to electrification to Craigieburn the line was known as the Broadmeadows railway line.

1 Description
2 Infrastructure
3 History
4 Line guide
5 External links, maps, and timetables
6 References

[edit] Description

The line rises steadily after leaving North Melbourne until after Essendon, then drops a little to cross Moonee Ponds Creek, and soon after encounters the Glenroy Bank, a continuous rising gradient of 1 in 50 for nearly three kilometres that used to tax locomotive-hauled trains in the days of steam. After Glenroy, it continues to rise to the end of the suburban line (and beyond). Earthworks, are, however, generally moderate.

The almost-continuous gradients were a factor when, in 2003, an unmanned suburban train rolled the entire length of the line from Broadmeadows to the city, and crashed into a stationary but loaded passenger train waiting to depart Spencer Street Station. No one was killed or seriously injured in the incident.

[edit] Infrastructure

The Craigieburn line is double track throughout, and controlled by automatic block signalling. It has numerous level crossings as well as many bridges over or under roads.

Terminating facilities are provided at Kensington, Newmarket (by shunting onto the Flemington Racecourse line), Essendon, Broadmeadows, as well as Craigieburn itself. However only Essendon, Broadmeadows, and Craigieburn are normally used. Train stabling facilities are provided at Broadmeadows and Craigieburn.

[edit] History

The line from North Melbourne to Essendon was opened by the Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company in November 1860. Soon after, the company also opened a branch from Newmarket to Flemington Racecourse. However, both lines closed after only a short time, in July 1864. The Victorian Railways reopened the Flemington Racecourse line (and therefore the Essendon line as far as Newmarket) in November 1867, and in January 1871 reopened the line to Essendon.

In April 1872, the line was extended to a location near Seymour. In December 1894, through services were provided from Essendon to Brighton Beach on the Sandringham line.

Automatic block signalling started to appear on the line in 1918, with Kensington to Essendon being converted in June of that year, and North Melbourne to Kensington in October of the same year.

In May 1919 Flinders Street to Essendon, along with the Sandringham line, became the first line to be electrified in Melbourne, apart from a test installation on the Flemington Racecourse line.

In January 1924, an extra pair of tracks, including a flyover, was opened between North Melbourne and Kensington. Automatic Block Signalling was extended to Broadmeadows in November 1965.

On September 30, 2007 electrified trains between Broadmeadows station to Craigieburn commenced regular service. Previously, passengers for Craigieburn travelled on V/Line operated diesel services, however Metcards were accepted for fare payment.

[edit] Line guide

Bold stations are termini, where some train services terminate; italic stations are staffed; and stations with an asterisk (*) are manned only during morning peak.

Branches from the City Loop at Southern Cross and Flagstaff.

Craigieburn railway line

Legend