History
The Cranbourne line opened in December 1886 as part of the section to Tooradin. This was the first section of the South Gippsland Railway, with passenger services to Leongatha withdrawn on 24 July 1993. The last train ran on 24 July 1993 with P class locomotive hauling an FSH set to Leongatha and back to Melbourne.
In November 1993, Train Order Working replaced Electric Staff safeworking to Cranbourne, then on 24 March 1995, the electrification and power signalling on the Cranbourne line was commissioned. Funded as part of the Federal Government ‘Building Better Cities’ program, the $27 million project included an upgraded Dandenong station and a new Merinda Park station at Cranbourne North (the line had previously been electrified for a short distance to the Commonwealth Engineering siding).
The last regular train running though and beyond Cranbourne was on 16 January 1998, when the AGM Siding (near Nyora) to Spotswood station sand train ceased operation.
In 2008, work started on the construction of six train stabling sidings at Cranbourne station at a cost of $37 million, to enable more trains to run on the line at peak times without duplicating the line, which was completed in November the same year, along with a major upgrade of the station and the extension of platform 2.
On 3 November 2012, a truck travelling along Abbotts Road, in Dandenong South, was hit by a Cranbourne-bound train at about 11:40am. The accident caused the train to jack-knife, causing severe damage to the train, as well as the track and overhead infrastructure. One passenger died at the scene of the accident, having suffered a heart attack, while at least 13 others, including the train driver, were injured. Police are currently investigating the accident. Due to severe damage to both the track and overhead infrastructure, the Cranbourne line remained closed from the accident onwards until first service on 12 November
Read more about this topic: Cranbourne Railway Line
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