Pakenham railway line
| Pakenham | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Type | Melbourne suburban service | ||
| System | Metro Trains Melbourne, V/Line and freight to Gippsland | ||
| Connecting lines | Sandringham, Frankston, and Cranbourne lines | ||
| Former connections | Rosstown Railway, Outer Circle, and Spring Vale Cemetery lines | ||
| Stations | 29 (via Loop) | ||
| Services | Usually runs express between South Yarra and Caulfield in the day and stops all at night | ||
| Operation | |||
| Commenced | 1877 | ||
| Completed | 1879 | ||
| Rolling stock | Comeng, Siemens | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 56.9 km (35.4 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | Quadruplicated to Caufield, remainder double track | ||
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The Pakenham railway line in Melbourne, Australia is the suburban electrified portion of the railway to Bairnsdale in eastern Gippsland. In addition to suburban electric trains, it carries diesel passenger trains and freight trains to Gippsland.
The Pakenham line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal earthworks for most of the line. However between South Yarra and Malvern the line has been lowered into a cutting to eliminate level crossings, and between Malvern and Caulfield it has been raised on an embankment for the same reason. After Caulfield, the line has numerous level crossings, as well as some bridges over and under roads. The government in 2015 commenced a project to eliminate 50 level crossings on the railway network, including nine between Caulfield and Dandenong, expected to be completed within eight years. These are expected to improve road traffic congestion in the area, especially in peak traffic times, and enable an increase in train numbers.The line encounters some gentle hills between Narre Warren and Beaconsfield which require some more extensive earthworks to negotiate.
Most of the line goes through built-up suburbs and some industrial areas, but after Dandenong, it gets into more open countryside, passing by open fields and farms, particularly after Beaconsfield. This outer portion of the line is one of Melbourne's main growth corridors, which is rapidly replacing farmland with houses and adding many new passengers to the line each year.
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Wikipedia