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The Cranbourne line is a commuter rail service operated by Metro Trains Melbourne in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates along the inner section of the former South Gippsland line. The service is part of the Public Transport Victoria metropolitan train network.

Cranbourne
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Current operator(s)	Metro Trains
Route
Termini	Flinders Street Cranbourne
Stops	19 (excluding City Loop stations)
Distance travelled	44.0 km (27.3 mi)
Average journey time	55 minutes (not via City Loop)
Service frequency	10–16 minutes weekdays peak 15-20 minutes weekdays off-peak and weekend daytime 30 minutes weekend nights 60 minutes early weekend mornings Double frequency daytime between Flinders Street and Dandenong in combination with Pakenham line Shuttle-only operation nighttime between Dandenong and Cranbourne
Line(s) used	City Loop Orbost South Gippsland
On-board services
Disabled access	Yes
Technical
Rolling stock	Comeng, Siemens, High Capacity Metro Trains
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	1500 V DC overhead
Track owner(s)	VicTrack

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Description

The line traverses flat country and there is little in the way of earthworks. There are a few level crossings along the line. The area around Cranbourne is one of Melbourne's main growth areas, giving the line considerable potential for growing patronage.

Infrastructure

The line, which branches from the Pakenham line at Dandenong,was single track after the Greens Rd level crossing before 2022, with a crossing loop at Lynbrook towards the Cranbourne end of the line. Trains could also cross at Cranbourne itself, which has two platforms. The line is now fully duplicated. Power signalling is provided throughout, being controlled from Dandenong. There are no intermediate terminating facilities, however stabling sidings are present at Cranbourne.

Beyond Cranbourne there is a siding between Cameron Street and Berwick-Cranbourne Road near the Cranbourne "Shed" and the new Hunt Club Estate. The line then continues to Nyora, but this line has not seen regular trains since January 1998, no train at all since September 1999, and is overgrown, removed at many level crossings and unserviceable.

Services

Between 31 January 2021 and 12 February 2022, all Cranbourne line services ran express between South Yarra and Caulfield.[1] Since 13 February 2022, some off-peak daytime Cranbourne line services (and Pakenham line services) stop again at Malvern station, running express between South Yarra and Malvern stations.[2]

On weekdays, Cranbourne line services operate as shuttles to and from Dandenong between 22:00 and 06:00, connecting with a Pakenham line train. During the peak, some services originate and terminate at Westall or Dandenong. During the morning peak, these short services may also not stop at South Yarra outbound. On weekends, Cranbourne line services operate as shuttles to and from Dandenong between 20:15 and 06:45 (until 09:30 on Sundays), connecting with a Pakenham line train.

All services run anticlockwise through the City Loop.[3] In 2025, Cranbourne line services will cease to stop at South Yarra, Richmond, and the City Loop when trains are rerouted through the Metro Tunnel upon opening.

The only freight traffic was cement traffic from Waurn Ponds near Geelong to Lyndhurst, this ended in 2009 after Pacific National increased the costs charged to Blue Circle Southern.[4] In September 2019, Qube Holdings commenced operating a daily service on a short section of the line hauling containerised cement to the Kimberly-Clark siding at Dandenong South.[5]

v t e Cranbourne Line
Legend
h:mm 0.0 km Southern Cross (SSS) ●●●●● Zone 1 1.3 km Flagstaff (FGE) ●●● 1.9 km Melbourne Central (MCE) 3.0 km Parliament (PAR) ●● 0:00 1.2 km Flinders Street (FSS) ●●●● 0:03 3.8 km Richmond (RMD) ●●●●●● 0:06 5.4 km South Yarra (SYR) ● 0:11 10.1 km Malvern (MAL) 0:13 11.8 km Caulfield (CFD) ●●● 0:15 13.5 km Carnegie (CNE) 0:17 14.4 km Murrumbeena (MRB) 0:19 15.4 km Hughesdale (HUG) Zone 1/2 0:21 16.6 km Oakleigh (OAK) 0:23 18.2 km Huntingdale (HUN) 0:26 20.4 km Clayton (CLA) ●● Zone 2 0:29 22.6 km Westall (WTL) 0:31 24.5 km Springvale (SPG) 0:33 25.6 km Sandown Park (SNP) 0:36 27.3 km Noble Park (NPK) 0:38 29.0 km Yarraman (YMN) 0:41 31.2 km Dandenong (DNG) ●●● 0:48 39.3 km Lynbrook (LBK) 0:51 42.5 km Merinda Park (MPK) 0:55 44.0 km Cranbourne (CBE)
Standard timetabled journey from Flinders Street

History

The Cranbourne line opened in December 1886 as part of the section to Tooradin. This was the first section of the South Gippsland Railway, with passenger services to Leongatha withdrawn on 24 July 1993. The last train ran on 24 July 1993 with P class locomotive hauling an FSH set to Leongatha and back to Melbourne.[6] Shortly after the Leongatha service was axed, V/Line's then newly introduced Sprinters railcars were tested along the line from Dandenong to Cranbourne for a short period of time until the electrification of the line to Cranbourne was completed in March 1995.[7]

In November 1993, Train Order Working replaced Electric Staff safeworking to Cranbourne, then on 24 March 1995, the electrification and power signalling on the Cranbourne line was commissioned. Funded as part of the Federal Government "Building Better Cities" program,[8] the $27 million project included an upgraded Dandenong station and a new Merinda Park station at Cranbourne North[9] (the line had previously been electrified for a short distance to the Commonwealth Engineering siding).

The last regular train running through and beyond Cranbourne was on 16 January 1998, when the AGM Siding (near Nyora) to Spotswood station sand train ceased operation.[10]

In 2008, work started on the construction of six train stabling sidings at Cranbourne station at a cost of $37 million, to enable more trains to run on the line at peak times without duplicating the line,[11][12] which was completed in November the same year, along with a major upgrade of the station and the extension of platform 2.

In January 2018, the City of Casey launched the Commit to Casey campaign to request the State Government and Opposition, to provide $2.7 billion in funding for the Dandenong–Cranbourne duplication and Clyde extension.[13]

Later that year, the Victoria State Government agreed to allocate $750 million for track duplication. It was delivered in conjunction with Melbourne Metro and Level Crossing Removal Project. This would allow the number of train services to double during peak times, with trains running every 10 minutes along the line. Tracks between Caulfield and Dandenong stations were also upgraded. The project included rebuilding of Merinda Park station and provision for the future rail extension to Clyde.[14] In March 2020, contract for the upgrading was awarded to McConnell Dowell, Arup, Mott MacDonald and Metro Trains Melbourne. Works started later in 2020 and would be completed in early 2022.[15][16]

Incidents

On 3 November 2012, a truck travelling along Abbotts Road, in Dandenong South, was hit by a Cranbourne-bound train at about 11:40am. The accident caused the train to jack-knife, causing severe damage to the train, as well as the track and overhead infrastructure. One passenger died at the scene of the accident, having suffered a heart attack, while at least 13 others, including the train driver, were injured.[17]

References

External links

• Cranbourne line timetable
• Official line map
• Network map
• Statistics and detailed schematic map at the VicSig enthusiast website

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