Railways and Tramways of Australia
Victoria
Most railway lines in Victoria are broad gauge. The lines operated by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) are standard gauge, while V/Line freight railways from Murtoa to Hopetoun and from Dimboola to Yaapeet are also standard gauge. A total of 1055 km of rail freight lines in the north-west of Victoria are being upgraded and converted from broad gauge to standard gauge as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project. Some heritage and tourist railways use other gauges: the Bellarine Railway from Queenscliff to Drysdale is narrow gauge; the Puffing Billy Railway from Belgrave to Gembrook and the Walhalla Goldfields Railway from Walhalla to Thomson use the 762 mm (2 feet, 6 inch) Victorian narrow gauge; and some small heritage railways use 610 mm (2 feet) gauge. Melbourne has Australia’s largest heavy urban (excluding interurban) passenger railway network, comprising 462 route kilometres. The Melbourne tramway network is standard gauge, and is maintained and operated by Yarra Trams.
Links to maps of the major railway lines in Victoria, and tramways in Melbourne, are below.
Australian Rail Maps: Victoria
Australian Rail Maps: Melbourne
Public Transport Victoria: Melbourne and regional map links
Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
In Victoria the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) manages and maintains 1332 of track, consisting of:
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Melbourne to the New South Wales–Victoria border near Wodonga
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Melbourne via North Shore (near Geelong) to the Victoria–South Australia border near Serviceton
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Maroona to Portland
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Benalla to the New South Wales–Victoria border at Yarrawonga, which extends to Oaklands in New South Wales.
Metro (Metro Trains Melbourne)
Metro (Metro Trains Melbourne) operates passenger train services throughout the Melbourne suburban area. It is also responsible for suburban railway infrastructure, which includes 219 stations. Almost all the suburban network is electrified; the only non-electrified line is from Frankston to Stony Point.
V/Line
In addition to being a passenger service operator, V/Line also provides access to and maintains 3520 kilometres of rail track used by passenger and freight rail services. This includes most of the regional railway lines and infrastructure in Victoria, with the exception of the lines managed by ARTC.
VicTrack
VicTrack is the owner of most of Victoria’s railway land, infrastructure and much of its rolling stock. Most of these assets are leased to Victoria’s railway and tramway operators through Public Transport Victoria (PTV). The operators are responsible for managing the assets and providing public transport services. In Victoria, Metro (Metro Trains Melbourne) is responsible for suburban infrastructure for passenger services, V/Line is responsible for regional infrastructure for freight and passenger services, and the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is responsible for infrastructure on the interstate lines. VicTrack provides transport infrastructure for Victoria, including building new stations, station upgrades, bridges and other assets.
Yarra Trams
Melbourne has the largest operating tramway network in the world, consisting of 250 kilometres of double track. The network has 25 routes, including the City Circle loop route, and there are over 1700 tram stops. It is electrified throughout, using 600 volts DC. Tram services operate for 20 hours each day. There are eight operational tram depots: Brunswick, Camberwell, Essendon, Glenhuntly, Kew, Malvern, Preston and Southbank. An additional two depots at East Preston and North Fitzroy are dedicated to tram storage. Tramway workshops are located at Preston and are run by UGL (United Group Limited).