Editing Cranbourne line (section)

== History ==

=== 19th century ===
{{Main|South Gippsland railway line}}

In 1888, the Cranbourne line (then known as the [[South Gippsland railway line]]) began operations, splitting off from the [[Gippsland railway line|main line to Gippsland]] at [[Dandenong railway station|Dandenong]] with an extension to [[Cranbourne railway station|Cranbourne]].<ref name=":1122"/> The line was progressively extended to [[Koo Wee Rup railway station|Koo Wee Rup]], [[Nyora railway station|Nyora]], and [[Loch railway station|Loch]] in 1890, [[Korumburra railway station|Korumburra]] and [[Leongatha railway station|Leongatha]] in 1891, and [[Welshpool railway station, Victoria|Welshpool]], [[Alberton railway station, Victoria|Alberton]], and [[Port Albert railway station|Port Albert]] in 1892.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leongatha {{!}} Victorian Places |url=https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/leongatha |access-date=25 December 2022 |website=www.victorianplaces.com.au}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> From its opening until 2022, the Cranbourne line was fully single tracked from Dandenong to its terminus, and was only electrified upon its reopening in the 1990s.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Victoria’s Big Build |date=13 February 2022 |title=Cranbourne Line duplicated, Greens Road crossing removed and new station open |url=https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/news/level-crossing-removal-project/cranbourne-line-duplicated-greens-road-removed-station-open |access-date=31 December 2022 |website=Victoria’s Big Build |language=en}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===

==== Regional services ====
{{Main|South Gippsland railway line}}
[[File:South-Gippsland-line.png|thumb|A map of the [[South Gippsland railway line]] in the 20th century]]
Throughout the early to mid 20th century, the South Gippsland railway line continued to open additional branch lines, including to [[Woodside railway line|Woodside]], [[Barry Beach railway line|Barry Beach]], [[Welshpool Jetty railway line|Welshpool Jetty]], [[Outtrim railway line|Outtrim]], [[Wonthaggi railway line|Wonthaggi]], and [[Strzelecki railway line|Strzelecki]].<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Great Southern Rail Trail |url=https://www.gsrt.com.au/history |access-date=25 December 2022 |website=greatsouthernrt |language=en}}</ref> All of these branch lines ceased their operations between the mid and late 20th century due to a decrease in patronage.<ref name=":14" /> On 6 June 1981, passenger services ceased operation to [[Yarram railway station|Yarram]]. In 1984, the line re-opened with services to [[Leongatha railway station|Leongatha]], until its second closure on 24 June 1993.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Barry Beach railway line|Barry Beach freight service]] ceased operations in 1992, with the line beyond Leongatha booked out of service on 30 June 1992, thus, effectively ending all traffic on the line beyond Leongatha.<ref name=":16">{{Victorian Rail-Newsrail|title=Works|month=10|year=1992|page=330}}</ref> V/Line passenger services continued to Cranbourne till its electrification, with freight operations continuing into the late 1990s with freight services to the [[AGM Siding|Koala siding]].<ref name=":16" />

==== Metropolitan services ====
[[File:Dandenong Station.jpg|thumb|Dandenong station was rebuilt as part of the "Building Better Cities" program]]
In 1995, the [[Australian Government]] launched the "Building Better Cities" program, designed to redevelop Australian cities with better communities and infrastructure.<ref name=":3" /> The $27 million project included a rebuilt [[Dandenong railway station|Dandenong station]], a new station in [[Cranbourne North]] ([[Merinda Park railway station|Merinda Park station]]), the introduction of three position signalling, and electrification of the signal tracked corridor.<ref name="ttt2">{{cite book |last=Fiddian |first=Mark |title=Trains, Tracks, Travelers. A history of the Victorian Railways |publisher=South Eastern Independent Newspapers |year=1997 |isbn=1-875475-12-5 |page=154}}</ref> These works resulted in the re-opening of a section of the South Gippsland line to passengers which became known as the Cranbourne Line.<ref name=":3" />

Freight services continued on part of the South Gippsland line till 1998, when services from the [[AGM Siding|Koala Siding]] were suspended.<ref name="sand2">{{Victorian Rail-Newsrail|title=Farewell – The Sand Train|month=2|year=1998|pages=71–76}}</ref> With these changes, the line became unused beyond Cranbourne.<ref name="sand2" /> The exception was a [[Heritage railway|tourist railway]] operation, which commenced operation between [[Nyora railway station|Nyora]] and [[Leongatha railway station|Leongatha]], and later became known as the [[South Gippsland Railway]] till its closure in January 2016.<ref name="SGSTClose">{{cite news |date=19 January 2016 |title=Off the rails – South Gippsland Tourist Rail disbands |work=South Gippsland Sentinel Times |url=http://sgst.com.au/2016/01/off-the-rails-south-gippsland-tourist-rail-disbands/ |access-date=19 September 2016 |archive-date=16 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216221048/http://sgst.com.au/2016/01/off-the-rails-south-gippsland-tourist-rail-disbands/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Lynbrook station platform 1.jpg|thumb|Lynbrook station, opened in 2012]]

=== 21st century ===
{{Main|Cranbourne railway line#future}}
In 2008, a package of works were unveiled to upgrade the Cranbourne line to improve frequencies and the quality of service. A new siding was constructed at Cranbourne, with a capacity of 6 trains, in order to increase frequencies without having to duplicate the line.<ref>{{cite web |title=Media Release: CRANBOURNE STATION TRAIN STABLING PROJECT ON TRACK |url=http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/955cbeae7df9460dca256c8c00152d2b/16a31250939e85d6ca257410007a9d5b!OpenDocument |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722063902/http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/955cbeae7df9460dca256c8c00152d2b/16a31250939e85d6ca257410007a9d5b%21OpenDocument |archive-date=22 July 2008 |access-date=24 April 2008 |work=Minister for Public Transport Media Release |publisher=dpc.vic.gov.au}}</ref> In addition to the new siding, the $37 million project also brought a major upgrade to [[Cranbourne railway station|Cranbourne station]], which included the construction of an enclosed waiting room, new platform shelters, new toilet facilities, formalised paved pedestrian access, an upgraded bus interchange, and increased security.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bichel |first=Lia |date=13 November 2008 |title=$37m train transformation |url=https://cranbournenews.starcommunity.com.au/news/2008-11-13/37m-train-transformation/ |access-date=19 January 2023 |website=Cranbourne Star News |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2012, [[Lynbrook railway station|Lynbrook station]] opened after two years of construction works. The station serves the suburbs of [[Lynbrook, Victoria|Lynbrook]] and [[Lyndhurst, Victoria|Lyndhurst]], with the station featuring accessible platforms, car parking facilities, and bus stops.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |date=22 March 2012 |title=New 22 April timetable boosts Metro train trips by 353 a week – Premier of Victoria |url=https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/3342-new-22-april-timetable-boosts-metro-train-trips-by-353-a-week.html |access-date=25 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322085655/https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/3342-new-22-april-timetable-boosts-metro-train-trips-by-353-a-week.html |archive-date=22 March 2012 }}</ref> In 2014, the level crossing at [[State (Bell/Springvale) Highway|Springvale Road]], Springvale, was removed by lowering the railway into a trench. Prior to this, the level crossing was considered the most dangerous in [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carey |first=Adam |date=22 April 2014 |title=Split-level luxury arrives at Springvale station, at $159 million |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/splitlevel-luxury-arrives-at-springvale-station-at-159-million-20140422-372dt.html |access-date=30 December 2022 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref> The removal consisted of a {{convert|1.6|km||abbr=on}} trench and the construction of a new premium station at [[Springvale railway station|Springvale]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Springvale Level Crossing Removal - Mcconnell Dowell |url=https://www.mcconnelldowell.com/projects/springvale-level-crossing |access-date=31 December 2022 |website=www.mcconnelldowell.com}}</ref>

In September 2019, [[Qube Holdings]] commenced operating a daily service on a short section of the line, hauling containerised cement to the [[Kimberly-Clark]] siding at [[Dandenong South]].<ref name=":7">{{Victorian Rail-Newsrail|title=Qube Dandenong Cement (9571/9572)|month=1|year=2020|page=25}}</ref>