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List of Passenger Service Withdrawals

The following is a list of rural passenger service withdrawals on the Victorian Railways (and also the Powelltown tramway).

Note that passengers were generally able to buy tickets and use the guards van on goods services after the withdrawal of timetabled passenger services. The Annual Reports of the VR Commissioners show passenger numbers and revenue from stations which in some cases had had their passenger services withdrawn more than a decade earlier.

There are still a few gaps, and if you can help fill them in, let me know!

Date Line Section Notes
1885 Grampians Whole A passenger service may have operated between 1882 and 1885. Picnic trains ran on this line until the 1930s.
1/6/1897 Lancefield Kilmore-Lancefield Reopened 6/2/1900. Closed 30/6/1904.
6/5/1899 Wensleydale Whole Passengers were able to buy tickets and use the guards van on goods services after this date
28/5/1909 Geelong Racecourse Whole Closure due to relocation of racecourse.
By 1913 Deep Leads Mine Whole A passenger service was operated on this line and the timetable appears in Bradshaw’s Guide for about 1905. Exact dates of operation of the service are not known – the line operated between 8/10/1904 and 24/4/1913
21/10/1929 Mildura Merbein-Yelta Occurred three days prior to the Wall Street crash of 1929, so presumably unrelated to economic conditions.
30/6/1930 Noojee Whole
20/10/1930 Skipton Linton-Skipton
21/10/1930 Whitfield Whole
4/11/1930 Buninyong Whole
17/11/1930 Briagolong Whole
22/11/1930 Strzelecki Triholm – Strzelecki Closed with the section of line, due to a trestle bridge developing a large sway every time a train ran over it, with the cost of repairs deemed uneconomical in view of the light traffic.
1/12/1930 Alvie Whole Special trains carrying passengers ran after this date. Passengers were able to buy tickets and use the guards van on regular goods services after this date.
1/12/1930 Bolangum Whole
2/2/1931 Peechelba East Whole Peechelba East known as Peechelba until 1948.
29/5/1931 Stony Crossing Murrabit – Stony Crossing
1/6/1931 Queenscliff Whole Summer excursion trains ran between 1931 and the closure of the line in 1976. Drysdale – Queenscliff reopened for tourist use.
8/6/1931 Waubra Whole
15/6/1931 Navarre Whole
13/7/1931 Mortlake Whole Terang Racecourse platform operated until 5/2/1957
13/7/1931 Timboon Whole
3/8/1931 Yallourn Whole
29/4/1935 Orbost Bairnsdale-Orbost
30/7/1935 Koroit-Hamilton Whole
30/7/1935 Yarram Yarram – Woodside
13/1/1939 Powelltown Whole No evidence that passenger services recommenced after Black Friday bushfires.
30/5/1939 Outtrim Whole
5/6/1939 Morkalla Whole
By 1/1/1941 Port Welshpool Whole Exact date of closure unknown. Horse tram service.
By 1941 Carpolac Goroke-Carpolac A passenger service operated on a trial basis 19/5/1941 – 19/6/1941. (Argus 13/5/41  p.9) N.B. it is unclear if passenger services operated to Carpolac at line opening in 1927. By 1928 services only extended to Mortat, and there is also no information to show when the service to Mortat ended.
6/1/1941 Maldon Whole Including services to Shelbourne
8/4/1941 Redesdale Whole
8/4/1941 Wedderburn Whole
8/4/1941 Yanac Whole
14/4/1941 Bungaree Racecourse Whole
7/7/1941 Yaapeet Rainbow – Yaapeet
6/8/1941 Strzelecki Yannathan – Triholm Closed with line due to unstable bridge. Advertisement in the Argus (13/8/41 p.12) implies a car goods still to run between Koo Wee Rup and Yannathan. Last passenger train to Triholm would have been 6/8/41. (N.B. Proposal to close section of line in April 1941 was postponed.)
1/10/1941 Strzelecki Koo Wee Rup – Yannathan Advertisement in the Argus (27/9/41 p.17) states goods train Koo Wee Rup – Yannathan (rather than car goods) commencing 8/10/1941, so presumably last car goods 1/10/1941.
20/10/1941 Lal Lal Racecourse Whole
19/11/1941 Stony Crossing Kerang – Murrabit
20/1/1942 Heathcote Heathcote-Bendigo
3/2/1942 Mt Gambier Whole No information on date of withdrawal of SAR service
14/3/1944 Thorpdale Whole
1/4/1944 Walhalla Erica – Walhalla
29/10/1945 Alexandra Whole
8/7/1946 Cudgewa Tallangatta-Cudgewa
1/7/1947 Tatong Whole
By November 1947 Yackandandah Beechworth – Yackandandah Withdrawal of passenger service occurred between May and November 1947.
1/7/1948 Burrumbeet Racecourse Whole
9/8/1948 Colbinabbin Rushworth-Colbinabbin
13/10/1948 Irrewarra-Newtown Whole Cressy continued to be served by Geringhap-Maroona services
15/1/1951 Dunolly-Inglewood Whole
20/8/1951 Balmoral East Natimuk-Balmoral
March-November 1951 Patchewollock Hopetoun-Patchewollock Exact date of closure unknown
14/1/1952 Geringhap-Maroona Whole
30/4/1952 Forrest Whole
29/5/1952 Bright Everton-Bright
12/8/1952 Coleraine Whole
12/8/1952 Daylesford North Creswick-Daylesford
12/8/1952 Girgarre Whole
12/8/1952 Picola Whole Reopened 20/4/1954. Closed 31/7/1954
15/9/1952 Kulwin Kulwin-Sea Lake
10/4/1953 Yackandandah Everton – Beechworth
10/4/1953 Bright Bowser – Everton
29/4/1953 Katamatite Whole
30/4/1953 Oaklands Yarrawonga-Oaklands
20/6/1953 Red Hill Whole
30/1/1954 Yaapeet Dimboola – Rainbow
30/4/1954 Gembrook Whole (Upper Fern Tree Gully – Gembrook) Reopened 1962 to Belgrave for suburban system, beyond Belgrave in stages for PBR.
24/6/1954 Walhalla Moe – Erica
3/9/1954 Swan Hill Piangil – Yungera
9/12/1954 Crowes Crowes-Ferguson
13/1/1955 Crowes Colac-Ferguson
10/3/1955 Balmoral Hamilton-Balmoral
14/1/1956 Colbinabin East Murchison-Rushworth
31/7/1956 Casterton Whole Initial closure in 1949 (no exact date). Reopened 15/3/1954.
11/8/1956 Lancefield Clarkefield-Lancefield
4/5/1957 Ararat-Maryborough Whole
21/11/1959 Whittlesea Whole Closed beyond Lalor. Reopened in stages as far as South Morang.
30/9/1961 Cudgewa Wodonga-Tallangatta
13/4/1962 Wahgunyah Whole
20/4/1965 Carpolac Horsham-Goroke
30/6/1965 Heathcote Heathcote Junction-Heathcote
1/8/1965 Warburton Whole
1/7/1967 Mildura Mildura-Merbein
6/5/1968 Portland Portland-Portland North Relocation of terminus
7/9/1968 Mirboo North Whole
1/11/1968 Pinnaroo Whole No information on date of withdrawal of SAR service
8/11/1975 Tocumwal Strathmerton-Tocumwal
10/11/1975 Balranald Whole
July 1976 Patchewollock Murtoa-Hopetoun
16/12/1976 Koondrook Whole
17/12/1976 Skipton Ballarat – Linton
24/12/1976 Swan Hill Piangil –Swan Hill
7/5/1977 Kulwin Korong Vale – Sea Lake
27/5/1977 Mansfield Whole
7/7/1977 Maffra Traralgon-Maffra No date yet for withdrawal of services between Maffra and Stratford (sometime between 1928 and 1954).
9/7/1977 Castlemaine-Maryborough Whole
25/8/1977 Cohuna Whole
10/9/1977 Port Fairy Warrnambool-Port

Fairy
23/9/1977 Daylesford Carlsruhe-Daylesford
4/12/1977 Wonthaggi Whole
3/6/1978 Robinvale Whole
November 1978 Geelong-Ballarat Whole Exact date of service withdrawal unknown.
11/1/1979 Deniliquin Whole
11/1/1979 Echuca Bendigo-Echuca Reopened 6/9/1996
13/10/1979 Oaklands Benalla-Yarrawonga
9/12/1980 Healesville Whole
2/3/1981 Toolamba-Echuca Whole
6/6/1981 Yarram Leongatha – Yarram
15/6/1981 Mornington Whole Moorooduc- Mornington subsequently reopened for tourist use.
22/6/1981 Stony Point Frankston-Stony Point Reopened 16/9/1984
12/9/1981 Portland Ararat – Portland
24/7/1993 Yarram Dandenong -Leongatha Dandenong – Cranbourne reopened for suburban use 24/3/1995. Leongatha – Nyora used for tourist used (now closed)
20/8/1993 Orbost Sale-Bairnsdale Reopened 3/5/2004.
21/8/1993 Tocumwal Shepparton – Strathmerton Initial closure 24/4/1981. Reopened 14/8/1983.
21/8/1993 Cobram Whole Initial closure 24/4/1981. Reopened 14/8/1983.
5/9/1993 Mildura Ballarat-Mildura Ballarat – Maryborough service reopened 25/7/2010.
27/3/1994 Serviceton Ballarat – Ararat Reopened 10/7/2004