Editing Cranbourne line (section)

=== Route ===
{{For-text|information about about the actual track|[[South Gippsland railway line]]}}
{{Cranbourne Line|float=right|collapse=yes}}{{maplink
|frame=yes
|frame-lat=-37.9607
|frame-long=145.1730
|frame-width=400
|frame-height=300
|frame-align=right
|text=Interactive map of the Cranbourne line in south-eastern Melbourne.
|zoom=10

|type=line
|id=Q5181939
|stroke-colour=#16B4E8
|stroke-width=5
|title=Cranbourne line
}}The Cranbourne line forms a relatively linear route from the Melbourne CBD to its terminus in Cranbourne. The line is {{convert|44|km|mi}} long and predominantly double-tracked; however, between Flinders Street station and Richmond, the track is widened to 12 tracks, narrowing to 6 tracks between Richmond and South Yarra before again narrowing to 4 tracks between South Yarra and Caulfield.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carey |first=Adam |date=4 June 2015 |title=Multimillion-dollar Richmond railway station revamp in limbo |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/multimilliondollar-richmond-railway-station-revamp-in-limbo-20150604-ghgyos.html |access-date=12 December 2022 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref> After Caulfield station, the track again narrows to two tracks, which remain for the rest of the route. The only underground section of the Cranbourne line is in the [[City Loop]], where the service stops at 3 underground stations and operates in a counter-clockwise direction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guide to navigating the City Loop {{!}} Public Transport Users Association (Victoria, Australia) |url=https://www.ptua.org.au/tips/loop/ |access-date=12 December 2022 |language=en-AU}}</ref> Exiting the city, the Cranbourne line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal [[Earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]] for most of the line. However, between [[South Yarra railway station|South Yarra]] and [[Malvern railway station, Melbourne|Malvern]], the rail corridor has been lowered into a [[Cutting (transportation)|cutting]] to [[Level Crossing Removal Project|eliminate level crossings]], and between Malvern and [[Caulfield railway station|Caulfield]], the corridor it has been raised on an [[Embankment (transportation)|embankment]] for the same reason.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Marcus |date=10 May 2021 |title=Level crossing removals in 1920s Melbourne |url=https://wongm.com/2021/05/melbourne-1920s-level-crossing-removals/ |access-date=12 December 2022 |website=Waking up in Geelong |language=en-US}}</ref> After Caulfield, the line formerly had numerous level crossings; all have now been abolished between Caulfield and Dandenong as part of an elevated rail project, as well as some older bridges [[Overpass|over]] and [[Underpass|under]] roads.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 February 2016 |title=Sky train project for Melbourne's busiest rail line gets go-ahead |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-07/melbourne-sky-train-gets-go-ahead-cranbourne-pakenham-line/7146446 |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> The remaining crossing will be fully removed by 2025.

The line follows the same alignment as the Pakenham line along the [[Gippsland railway line|Gippsland line]], with the two services splitting onto different routes at [[Dandenong railway station|Dandenong]]. The Cranbourne line turns south and branches on to the [[South Gippsland railway line|South Gippsland line]], while the [[Pakenham railway line|Pakenham line]] continues along the Gippsland line.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Network Maps |url=https://www.metrotrains.com.au/maps/ |access-date=27 December 2022 |website=www.metrotrains.com.au |language=en-US}}</ref> Most of the rail line goes through [[Urban agglomeration|built-up]] suburbs and some industrial areas, but after Dandenong, the line gets into a mix of both open fields and suburbia.<ref name=":1" /> This outer portion of the line is one of Melbourne's main growth corridors, which is rapidly replacing farmland with housing and commercial developments, adding additional passengers to the line each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quicker Commutes, Better Connectivity – Liberals And Nationals To Extend Railway Line Through Melbourne's Growing South-east |url=https://vic.liberal.org.au/news/2022-10-05-quicker-commutes-better-connectivity-liberals |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=vic.liberal.org.au}}</ref>