The Newport-Sunshine line is a railway line in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Linking Newport station on the Werribee line to Sunshine station on the Sydenham line, it is a primarily freight only line with no overhead wires, passenger stations or platforms.
History
The line was opened on September 24, 1887 to permit freight trains from the western and northern areas of Victoria to access the then important port at Williamstown. 4.29 feet (1.31 m) in length,1 it is also known as the Brooklyn Loop line, for the intermediate signal box on the line. Initially it was not possible for trains to run from Brooklyn into Melbourne via Tottenham, with the connection not added until the 1960s.
Between Newport and Brooklyn the line was provided with bidirectional double track lines.2 By the 1930s a number of private sidings were opened off the line to serve adjacent industries. Today the majority of them have closed. In 1995 the East Line was converted to dual gauge as part of the standardisation of the Melbourne-Adelaide railway.3
Line guide
From inner Melbourne access to the line is via the South Kensington-West Footscray freight line under Footscray station. The main line runs as dual gauge from Tottenham Junction on the North East standard gauge line, crosses the suburban Sydenham line on a bridge, until it reaches Brooklyn where a single broad gauge from Sunshine station joins. From here parallel broad and dual gauge tracks run to Newport, where they merge and run behind Newport station, with the broad gauge joining the Werribee line and the standard gauge continuing as the Western standard gauge line alongside.
Standard and dual gauge in blue, broad gauge in red.
References
External links
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