Closed apart from 1.5 km Castlemaine to Maldon Junction
Connecting lines
Mildura Line at Maryborough and Bendigo Line at Castlemaine
Stations
6
Service
Type
Cross Country
History
Opened
7 July 1874
Completed
7 July 1874
Closed
17 December 2004 (Moolort - Maldon Junction)
Technical
Line length
54.653 km (33.96 mi)
Number of tracks
Single track
Route map
Victorian-rail-map-2007.png
The Moolort Line is a cross-country line which connects Maryborough and Castlemaine. The last passenger rail service operated between Castlemaine and Maryborough on 31 July 1977,[1] and most of the line (between Moolort and Maldon Junction) has been out of use since 2004. The Victorian Goldfields Railway operates on around 1.5 km of the line between Castlemaine and Maldon Junction, then continues on to Maldon using the Shelbourne line. Ballast trains used to run from Moolort to Maryborough, but the railway line is now closed from Maldon Junction (which is in Castlemaine) right through to Maryborough. Some level crossings have been asphalted over, however the rails are in effect still below.
One of the policies of the Victorian Coalition government elected in November 2010 was to undertake a study into reintroducing passenger services between Ballarat and Bendigo, which would include running between Maryborough and Castlemaine. A media release in 2011 stated that a review was under way,[2] but nothing further has been heard about the plan.
There has been significant discussion on the re-opening of this rail line for passenger services[3]
Maryborough, where Moolort line previously connected to the Victorian Broad Gauge Network
Line is unservicable at McClure St Level Crossing, Maryborough
