Editing Cranbourne line (section)

{{Short description|Passenger rail service in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia}}
{{about|the Metro Trains Melbourne service|the physical railway itself|South Gippsland railway line}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox rail service
| name            = Cranbourne
| color           = {{rcr|Melbourne|Cranbourne}}
| logo            = {{ric|Melbourne|Cranbourne|size=100px}}
|image=High Capacity Metro Train arriving at Hughesdale station — July 2022.jpg|image_size=250px|image_alt=High Capacity Metro Train arriving at elevated Hughesdale station, Melbourne.|caption=A Cranbourne line [[High Capacity Metro Train]] arriving at [[Hughesdale railway station|Hughesdale station]].| type            = [[Commuter rail]]
| status          = Operational
| system          = [[Railways in Melbourne|Melbourne railway network]]
| locale          = [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], Australia
| predecessor     = {{Plainlist|
* Tooradin (1888–1890)
* Loch (1890–1891)
* Leongatha (1891–1892)
* Port Albert (1892–1987)
* Welshpool (1987–1990)
* Toora (1990–1992)
* Koo Wee Rup (1992–1993)
}}
| first           = {{Start date and age|1888|10|1|df=y}} as South Gippsland line
| last            = <!--{{End date and age|yyyy|mm|dd|df=y}}-->
| successor       = 
| operator        = [[Metro Trains Melbourne|Metro Trains]]
| formeroperator  = {{Plainlist|
* [[Victorian Railways|Victorian Railways (VR)]] (1888–1974)
* VR as VicRail (1974–1983)
* [[State Transport Authority (Victoria)|STA (V/Line)]] (1983–1989)
* [[Public Transport Corporation|PTC (V/Line)]] (1989–1995)
* [[Public Transport Corporation|PTC (The Met)]] (1995–1998)
* [[M-Train|Bayside Trains]] (1998–2000)
* [[M-Train|M>Train]] (2000–2004)
* [[Connex Melbourne]] (2004–2009)
}}
| ridership       = 
| ridership2      = 
| website         = 
| start           = {{rwsa|Flinders Street}}
| stops           = 24 (including [[City Loop]] stations)
| end             = {{rwsa|Cranbourne}}
| distance        = {{Convert|43.920|km|abbr=on}}
| journeytime     = 59 minutes (not via City Loop)<!-- not including loop as only inbound trains run via loop -->
| frequency       = {{blist|10–16 minutes weekdays peak|20 minutes weekdays off-peak and weekend daytime|30 minutes weekend nights|60 minutes [[Night Network (Melbourne)|early weekend mornings]]|Double frequency daytime between Flinders Street and Dandenong in combination with [[Pakenham railway line|Pakenham line]]|Shuttle-only operation at nighttime between Dandenong and Cranbourne}}
| line_used       = {{ubl|[[Orbost railway line|Orbost]]|[[South Gippsland railway line|Port Albert]]}}
| class           = 
| seating         = 
| baggage         = 
| otherfacilities = 
| stock           = [[High Capacity Metro Train|HCMT]]
| gauge           = {{Track gauge|1600 mm}}
| el              = 1500 [[Volt|V]] [[Direct current|DC]] [[Overhead line|overhead]]
| owners          = [[VicTrack]]
| routenumber     = 
| maintenance     = 
| map             = {{Cranbourne Metro Service|inline=yes}}
| map_state       = collapsed
}}
The '''Cranbourne line''' is a [[commuter rail]]way line in the city of [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], Australia.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Cranbourne Line |url=https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/ |access-date=19 January 2023 |website=Public Transport Victoria |language=en-GB}}</ref> Operated by [[Metro Trains Melbourne]], it is the city's second longest metropolitan railway line at {{convert|44|km}}. The line runs from [[Flinders Street railway station|Flinders Street station]] in central Melbourne to [[Cranbourne railway station|Cranbourne station]] in the south-east, serving 24 stations via the [[City Loop]], [[South Yarra railway station|South Yarra]], [[Caulfield railway station|Caulfield]], [[Oakleigh railway station|Oakleigh]], and [[Dandenong railway station|Dandenong]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 September 2017 |title=Metro's paper timetables mess |url=https://www.danielbowen.com/2017/09/04/metro-paper-timetable-issues/ |access-date=9 December 2022 |website=Daniel Bowen}}</ref> The line operates for approximately 20 hours a day (from approximately 4:00 am to around midnight) with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hour, [[headway]]s of up to 5 to 15 minutes are operated with services every 15–20 minutes during off-peak hours.<ref name="auto"/> Trains on the Cranbourne line run with a seven-car formation operated by [[High Capacity Metro Train]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=High Capacity Metro Trains Project, Victoria, Australia |url=https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/high-capacity-metro-trains-project-victoria/ |access-date=9 December 2022 |website=Railway Technology}}</ref>

The line originally opened in 1888 branching off from the [[Gippsland railway line|Gippsland line]] at Dandenong as the [[South Gippsland railway line|South Gippsland line]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=25 December 2022 |title=The railway that brought an end to the pioneering days |url=https://www.leongathahistory.org.au/the-railway-that-brought-an-end-to-the-pioneering-days/ |access-date=25 December 2022 |website=Leongatha & District Heritage Society |archive-date=25 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225072511/https://www.leongathahistory.org.au/the-railway-that-brought-an-end-to-the-pioneering-days/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Services operated as far as Port Albert, with extensive branch lines featuring on the non-electrified network. The line(s) were built to serve the regional townships of [[Cranbourne, Victoria|Cranbourne]], [[Koo Wee Rup]], and [[Leongatha]], amongst others. The line was closed in 1993 after a decline in usage, however, the line was reopened and electrified to Cranbourne in 1995 as part of the "Building Better Cities" program.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Millar |first=Royce |date=19 May 2006 |title=Election promise runs off the rails |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/election-promise-runs-off-the-rails-20060519-ge2cel.html |access-date=28 December 2022 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite book |author=Lyndsay Neilson |editor-first1=John |editor-last1=Butcher |title=Appendix 1: Funding Allocation, Victorian Area Strategies |url=http://epress.anu.edu.au/anzsog/auc/mobile_devices/ch08s15.html#d0e3496 |access-date=1 November 2010 |work=The 'Building Better Cities' program 1991–96: a nation-building initiative of the Commonwealth Government |year=2008 |publisher=epress.anu.edu.au|doi=10.22459/AUC.04.2008 |isbn=9781921313776 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Significant growth has occurred since its reopening, with proposals to extend the line two stations to Clyde receiving support amongst other works on the corridor.<ref name=":11" />

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Cranbourne line, significant improvements and upgrades have been made. A $1 billion upgrade of the corridor between Dandenong and Cranbourne is currently under construction, with improvements including the removal of all level crossings, rebuilding stations, and the duplication of {{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of track.<ref name=":4" /> Other works taking place have included the replacement of [[Railroad tie|sleepers]], the introduction of new signalling technology, the introduction of new rolling stock, and other works associated with the Metro Tunnel project.<ref name=":22" /> These projects have improved the quality and safety of the line, and will be completed by the opening of the [[Metro Tunnel]] in 2025.<ref name=":43" />