Portland railway line
| Portland railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | freight |
| Locale | Victoria, Australia |
| Termini |
Maroona Portland railway station |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1877 |
| Operator(s) | ARTC |
| Events | |
| Converted to Standard Gauge | 1995 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
| Old gauge | 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) |
| Operating speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
The Portland railway line is a railway line in south-western Victoria, Australia. It runs from the main Western standard gauge line at Maroona through Hamilton to the port town of Portland.
The line was built as 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) (broad gauge) from Ararat to Maroona, Hamilton, Heywood and Portland in 1877. It was converted to standard gauge in 1995.
Freight operator Pacific National indefinitely suspended all rail services to the town of Portland in 2004, impacting local companies including Portland Aluminium, transport company Kalari, and freight broker Anchor Logistics. Portland container traffic was conveyed between Maroona and Portland on grain services twice a week, but Pacific National said that due to the drought there were no trains to attach the loading to. On the route the price differential between rail and road is $12.97 per tonne in rail's favour. Pacific National closed their Portland operations in March 2008, with GrainCorp leasing a limited number of locomotives and rolling stock from them, but favour transporting grain to the Port of Geelong instead.
In July 2008 the Victorian Government announced a $15 million upgrade to the line, raising maximum speeds to 80 kilometres an hour as they were previously. Australian Rail Track Corporation signed a 50-year lease to manage the line and will start the upgrade within months. The line was finally transferred from V/Line to ARTC on 22 March 2009.
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