Description
The Hurstbridge line traverses the rolling hills of Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs, at times cutting across hills and valleys, resulting in a somewhat windy and hilly line. It includes the only three tunnels on the suburban electrified system other than the underground city loop, although none of the three tunnels are particularly long or deep.
The first section from Flinders Street station to Victoria Park was actually built later than the rest of the line, which was originally connected to the rest of the suburban system via the now-closed "Inner Circle" line. There is evidence that the line was originally intended to be connected via this route, but geography and existing suburbs made it a problematic situation. The section uses two tunnels to cut under a low ridge just east of Melbourne, and most of the rest is built on an embankment that carries the line above numerous main roads and suburban side streets.
After Clifton Hill the line roughly parallels the north bank of the Yarra River, cutting across a number of watercourses flowing into the Yarra, and the ridges between them. At Heidelberg is the third tunnel. The line then encounters steeper grades until Eltham, after which it follows the valley of Diamond Creek, with easier grades but a windier route, with some curves having speed limits as low as 40 km/h (25 mph). This line boasts four of the largest bridges on the suburban network—twin bridges over the Merri Creek between Clifton Hill and Westgarth, another on the up side of Darebin, crossing Darebin Creek, and the wooden trestle across the Diamond Creek just on the up side of Eltham. At 195 m in length, this bridge is allegedly the longest wooden trestle bridge with a curve still in use on a revenue railway in the southern hemisphere, and is the only wooden bridge still in use on a revenue railway in Melbourne.
Apart from the first section of the line, it has numerous level crossings, plus a number of crossings between Diamond Creek and Hurstbridge with private driveways (and two with little-used public roads) that feature only Passive Protection (no operating lights or bells). The line also crosses a number of roads using bridges. The area traversed by the line is mostly built-up suburbs in the inner area, thinning out after Greensborough, and much of the outer end of the line is surrounded by patches of bush and paddocks.
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