Echuca railway station, Victoria

Echuca is a railway station on the Bendigo - Echuca - Deniliquin railway, located in the town of Echuca, Victoria, Australia. It is the terminus of the V/Line Echuca line passenger service, and is 249km (233km via Seymour) from Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. Freight sidings and a silo exist at this station, which is located on Sturt Street.

Platforms/Services

Platform 1: <font color="#FCB514">Echuca line</font> - terminating services; returning as intercity services to Southern Cross

History

The railway reached Echuca in 1864 and transformed the town into a major river port, with a famous wharf and substantial urban growth in the 1870s. In 1876 the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company opened their 71 km long private railway northwards to Deniliquin, New South Wales.

The brick station building at Echuca was provided on opening of the line, along with a double gable roofed brick goods shed, and three road locomotive depot. The station building was expanded in 1877, a large water tower being erected in the same year, and the iron footbridge was added in 1880. The concrete rail bridge over the Murray River to the north of the station opened in 1989, replacing a road and rail bridge opened in 1878.

A short branch line between Echuca and the port opened with the line, but was closed in 1971. $150,000 funding for the reconstruction of the line was provided in 2000, By 2002 work was underway, with the cost increased to $330,000. However by 2007 the branch was out of use and disconnected from the main line.

There are now 18 V/Line train services going to Bendigo since the 18th of February 2007. The train is only able to travel at 80km/h between Echuca and Bendigo, due to the poor track condition. Furthermore, the train is required to slow down at level crossings which increases travel time.