VIC Melbourne - Traralgon Early Access

VIC Melbourne - Traralgon Early Access

The Gippsland line is a 370km rail line connecting the city of Melbourne and Orbost, a rural town in Victoria’s Southeast. The line opened in stages between 1877 and 1916, with a large amount of traffic being for lumber and coal. In the mid 1950’s the line was electrified out to Traralgon due to the large amount of brown coal that was expected in the area. The line to Orbost was closed in 1987, as well as the electrification between Warragul and Traralgon, and by 2001 it only went as far as Pakenham. The only remains of this system are the 200-metre heritage listed section of the system. The section between Sale and Bairnsdale was closed in 1994, however this was again reopened in 2004. In 2005 the up track was upgraded as part of the Regional Fast Rail Project, allowing V/Line’s trains to run at 160km/h. The line is nowhere near what it used to be. V/Line still operates regular passenger services, as well as Qube Logistics’ Maryvale freight train. During late 2022 Qube’s Dandenong cement service ceased operations, with that being the only other freight service to use the line. Pacific National ran the Maryvale service until 2013, as well as a Log train to Bairnsdale which ended in 2008.

This recreation of the Traralgon line has been set in the Early 2010’s, before the construction of the Skyrail, and during a time when Pacific National still had a large amount of freight operations. The main line to Traralgon is around 160 kilometres in length, with the branches to Cranbourne and Maryvale included. The line travels through the green and bushy Latrobe Valley in Victoria’s Southeast. There are many gradients along the line, notably at Herne’s Oak and Longwarry.

There is a hidden layer which contains the overhead wiring for the section between Pakenham and Traralgon, however this isn’t prototypical.

This route is largely incomplete, especially in the suburban areas. In the rural areas there is a large amount of trackside detail, and the sections near Longwarry and Herne’s Oak are mostly complete. If you wish to make your own modifications then feel free to do so, just don’t be stupid about it. I would prefer for these to not be redistributed. There may be missing dependencies, however to my knowledge these aren't significant.

I would like to thank ‘Peter_E’ for supplying me with the TransDEM map for this route. Without this DEM the project would not be possible.

With all of that said, I hope you are able to enjoy this recreation of the Traralgon line as much as I have enjoyed building it!

VIC Melbourne - Traralgon Early Access