Upfield Line
The Upfield Line was originally built as the line to Coburg with a later extension to Somerton where a connection was provided to the main line to Wodonga. After a decline in services the line was closed beyond Fawkner but passenger services were later reintroduced as far as Upfield in the early 20th century.
The line was famous for having a large number of level crossings with many hand operated and mechanically interlocked gates existing into the 1990s and accordingly the line became quite expensive to run. Rumours of the closure of this line or its potential conversion to light rail had circulated under the Labor Governments of the 1980s. Services had deteriorated to quite an extent with no trains running during the evenings or on Sundays. Patronage was relatively low on this line which was also due to a parallel tram route along Sydney Road.
It was not until the Kennett Government was elected in the early 1990s that the future of the Upfield Railway was secured with the Government agreeing to fund the upgrading of the signalling and level crossings. Since this time passenger services have been extended to operate during the evenings and on Sundays.
The line closed for a short period during the construction of the CityLink toll road project with shuttle services operated by 3 car Hitachi trains running captive to the line between Upfield and Flemington Bridge.
Electrification of the line extends only a short distance to train stabling yards located immediately on the DOWN side of Upfield Station. The section of track between Upfield and the junction with the main line to Sydney at Somerton has now fallen out of use. This track had been used to access a number of industrial sidings including the Ford Motor company. Part of this track was constructed in a gauntlet fashion to allow standard gauge access from the north.
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