Albion–Jacana railway line

Albion - Jacana
Overview
Type	V/Line passenger service
System	Freight, NSW TrainLink XPT
Stations	None
Operation
Opened	1929
Number of tracks	Double track, broad and standard gauge
Route map Melbourne-freight-network-map.png

The Albion–Jacana line is a railway line in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Linking Albion station on the Sunbury line to Broadmeadows station on the Craigieburn line, it is a primarily used by freight trains with no overhead wires, passenger stations or platforms.

History

The line was opened on 1 July 1929 to allow freight trains to avoid the steeper grades and busy suburban traffic on the Broadmeadows line via Essendon.^[1] Initially consisting of two broad gauge tracks, in 1962 the track on the eastern side was converted to standard gauge as part of the Melbourne to Sydney gauge standardisation project.

Melbourne Airport Rail Link

The Albion–Jacana railway line is a major section of the present preferred option for the proposed rail link to Melbourne Airport running via Sunshine station to the Melbourne City Centre. The extra land required to build the link was confirmed as being reserved by the State Government in 2002.^[2]

In March 2013, the State Government confirmed that the Albion-Jacana corridor would be part of the proposed Melbourne Airport Rail Link.^[3]

Description

Built as a double track railway, two major steel viaducts were required to cross the Maribyrnong River and Moonee Ponds Creek valleys. The Maribyrnong River Viaduct is 54.5 metres (178.8 ft) above the riverbed at its highest point and is the second tallest bridge in Victoria^[4] after the West Gate Bridge.

Today the track on the eastern side is standard gauge and part of the North East standard gauge line with two crossing loops.^[5] The parallel broad gauge also has two crossing loops, each located before rejoining the main lines, and has a 20 km/h speed limit due to the poor track condition.^[6]

V/Line Albury and NSW TrainLink XPT passenger services operate on the standard gauge line.

Standard gauge in blue, broad gauge in red. Distances on the line are measured via Albion.

Albion–Jacana line
Legend
Sunbury line North East SG 14.7 km Albion Loop 16.2 km McIntyre Loop & Sidings Maribyrnong River Viaduct 22.2 km Tullamarine Loop Moonee Ponds Creek 26.8 km Jacana Loop Craigieburn line 16.9 km Broadmeadows North East railway

References

1. "VR History". www.victorianrailways.net. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
2. "Melbourne Airport Rail Link Not Viable Now" (Press release). Minister for Transport. 18 January 2002. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
3. "Route chosen for Melbourne airport link". Perth Now. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
4. "The Railway Top 20!" (PDF). History Victoria. www.historyvictoria.org.au. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
5. "ARTC Network in Victoria" (PDF). ARTC - Access Seeker Network Configuration and Description. www.artc.com.au. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
6. "VICSIG - Infrastructure - Line Data Albion - Broadmeadows line". vicsig.net. Retrieved 2008-03-30.

External links

• 1979 Signalling diagram: Albion to Broadmeadows