Great Southern Rail Trail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Southern Rail Trail | |
|---|---|
 Great Southern Rail Trail with disused track at Leongatha | |
| Length | 131 km |
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Established | 2015 |
| Difficulty | Easy to medium |
| Hazards | Some crossings of major highways |
| Surface | Compacted gravel |
| Hills | Multiple gentle hills |
| Water | Available in most towns |
| Train(s) | No regular passenger service |
| Bus | Available at Leongatha |
The Great Southern Rail Trail is a 131-kilometre rail trail from Yarram to Nyora in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.[1] Sections of the trail are flat or gently undulating trail through lush dairy farmland, areas of remnant bush and lowland scrub. There is a big climb on the section between Loch and Leongatha. The section between Fish Creek and Foster climbs past Mount Hoddle and goes through dense forest with occasional magnificent views of Wilsons Promontory and Corner Inlet.[2]
The trail is well maintained with a surface of compacted gravel. Koalas, Wombats, wallabies and Echidnas can often be seen from the trail particularly in the early mornings and evenings.
The 10 km Toora to Welshpool section was opened on 7 February 2015. The section from Koonwarra to Minns road was opened in March 2016, incorporating what had been three very dilapidated wooden trestle bridges and replacing a three-kilometre diversion to the nearby South Gippsland Highway. That made the trail continuous from Leongatha to Welshpool, and users can link to the 6 km pathway to Port Welshpool and its picturesque Long Jetty.
Two trestle bridges north of Loch were surfaced in late 2022 to complete the trail between Nyora and Loch, bringing the total trail length from Nyora to Welshpool to 107 km.
Works to extend the trail from Welshpool to Alberton were completed on 7 June 2024, connecting to the Tarra Rail Trail between Yarram and Port Albert extending the total trail length to 131km from Nyora to Yarram.
The original South Gippsland line opened in 1892, joining Dandenong to Port Albert, with branch line to Woodside, Strzelecki, Outtrim and Wonthaggi. The railway was important for the settlement and development of the area, particularly providing transport for forestry and dairy products to Melbourne.
The line was closed to all rail traffic on 30 June 1992, a century after opening, when rail freight services to the Esso Mobil Barry Beach Marine Terminal, situated on Corner Inlet, ceased operation. Almost two weeks prior, on 17 June 1992, superphosphate rail freight services along the line to Buffalo ceased, which was the last 'mixed goods service' in the region and a distinctive feature of the line during its existence.
The line beyond Leongatha, to Yarram and Barry Beach, was dismantled in stages until 14 December 1994, when a V/Line 'rail recovery' train removed the last of the tracks, which were subsequently reused for the Melbourne to Adelaide railway line gauge standardisation project throughout 1995. The same day also saw the closure of the South Gippsland railway line from Nyora to Leongatha, but, two weeks later, that section of the line was reopened by the South Gippsland Railway tourist railway, which operated heritage rail services until December 2015.
The establishment of the South Gippsland Railway, and the electrification of the Cranbourne line in March 1995, thwarted the original plan by the Victorian state government to dismantle the entire line as far back as Cranbourne. The South Gippsland Railway formally ceased operations on 16 January 2016.[3]
