Cranbourne line
The Cranbourne line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's second longest metropolitan railway line at. The line runs from Town Hall Station in central Melbourne to Cranbourne station in the south-east, serving 19 stations via Anzac, Caulfield, Oakleigh, and Dandenong. The line operates for approximately 20 hours a day with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hour, headways of up to 5 to 15 minutes are operated with services every 15–20 minutes during off-peak hours. Trains on the Cranbourne line run with a seven-car formation operated by High Capacity Metro Trains.
The line originally opened in 1888 branching off from the Gippsland line at Dandenong as the South Gippsland line. Services operated as far as Port Albert, with extensive branch lines featuring on the non-electrified network. The line were built to serve the regional townships of Cranbourne, Koo Wee Rup, and Leongatha, amongst others. The line was closed in 1993 after a decline in usage, however, the line was reopened and electrified to Cranbourne in 1995 as part of the "Building Better Cities" program. Significant growth has occurred since its reopening, with proposals to extend the line two stations to Clyde receiving support amongst other works on the corridor.
Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Cranbourne line, significant improvements and upgrades have been made. A $1 billion upgrade of the corridor between Dandenong and Cranbourne is currently under construction, with improvements including the removal of all level crossings, rebuilding stations, and the duplication of of track. Other works taking place have included the replacement of sleepers, the introduction of new signalling technology, the introduction of new rolling stock, and other works associated with the Metro Tunnel project. These projects have improved the quality and safety of the line, and were completed by the opening of the Metro Tunnel in November 2025. On the 1st February 2026, the Cranbourne line was through routed with the Sunbury line, running through the Metro Tunnel via Town Hall station.
History
19th century
In 1888, the Cranbourne line began operations, splitting off from the main line to Gippsland at Dandenong with an extension to Cranbourne. The line was progressively extended to Koo Wee Rup, Nyora, and Loch in 1890, Korumburra and Leongatha in 1891, and Welshpool, Alberton, and Port Albert in 1892. 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.20th century
Regional services
Throughout the early to mid 20th century, the South Gippsland railway line continued to open additional branch lines, including to Woodside, Barry Beach, Welshpool Jetty, Outtrim, Wonthaggi, and Strzelecki. All of these branch lines ceased their operations between the mid and late 20th century due to a decrease in patronage. On 6 June 1981, passenger services ceased operation to Yarram. In 1984, the line re-opened with services to Leongatha, until its second closure on 24 June 1993. The 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. V/Line passenger services continued to Cranbourne till its electrification, with freight operations continuing into the late 1990s with freight services to the Koala siding.Metropolitan services
In 1995, the Australian Government launched the "Building Better Cities" program, designed to redevelop Australian cities with better communities and infrastructure. The $27 million project included a rebuilt Dandenong station, a new station in Cranbourne North, the introduction of three position signalling, and electrification of the signal tracked corridor. These works resulted in the re-opening of a section of the South Gippsland line to passengers which became known as the Cranbourne Line.Freight services continued on part of the South Gippsland line till 1998, when services from the Koala Siding were suspended. With these changes, the line became unused beyond Cranbourne. The exception was a tourist railway operation, which commenced operation between Nyora and Leongatha, and later became known as the South Gippsland Railway till its closure in January 2016.
21st century
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. In addition to the new siding, the $37 million project also brought a major upgrade to 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.In 2012, Lynbrook station opened after two years of construction works. The station serves the suburbs of Lynbrook and Lyndhurst, with the station featuring accessible platforms, car parking facilities, and bus stops. In 2014, the level crossing at 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. The removal consisted of a trench and the construction of a new premium station at Springvale.
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.
Future
Metro Tunnel
The 2012 Network Development Plan identified the need for a north–south tunnel connecting the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines to the Sunbury line. In 2017, the Metro Tunnel began construction, involving the construction of five new underground stations, twin tunnels, and other associated infrastructure improvements. Leaving the existing Cranbourne line alignment before South Yarra station, new stations will be built at Anzac, Town Hall, State Library, Parkville, and Arden, before continuing onto the Sunbury line. These works will be completed by 2025, and upon completion, will create a singular rail line from Cranbourne and Pakenham to Sunbury and Melbourne Airport.Melbourne Airport rail link
The Melbourne Airport rail link will involve the construction of a line from Sunshine to a new station at Melbourne Airport. Connected via the Metro Tunnel, services will operate from the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines through the tunnel before splitting off at Sunshine to either Sunbury or Melbourne Airport. Construction of the line will involve the renovation of Sunshine station to allow for additional platforms, construction of new track, and the addition of two new stations at Keilor East and Melbourne Airport. Construction started in 2022 with services expected to begin in 2029.Clyde extension
Services on the South Gippsland line were fully suspended in 1981 due to limited passenger numbers on the route. Since the closure, calls have been made to reopen the line to the suburb of Clyde. Reopening of the line to Clyde was first promised by the Australian Labor Party during the 1999 and 2002 state election campaigns, but were dumped before the 2006 election. In November 2003, a "Trainlink" bus service was introduced as an alternative, meeting each train at Cranbourne station and running on a largely one-way loop through Cranbourne East. The Bracks governments Victorian Transport Plan, released in 2008, listed the extensions and associated works as a "medium term" project, which was estimated to cost $200 million. Despite the political promise to revive the railway line for freight and passenger services by the Bracks-led Labor government in 1999, the project was abandoned in 2008 by his successor John Brumby.In 2013, as part of Public Transport Victoria's Network Development Plan for metropolitan rail, an extension of the Cranbourne line to Clyde was earmarked to begin in the "long-term", which would equate to at least over the next 20 years. In January 2018, City of Casey advised it would need almost $3 billion worth of rail and road infrastructure projects to continue development of the region, including the extension of the metropolitan train from Cranbourne to Clyde and the duplication of the line between Dandenong and Cranbourne. In the lead up to the 2018 state election, the incumbent Andrews government announced the Cranbourne Line Upgrade, a project involving the duplication of 8 km of track between Dandenong and Cranbourne, a rebuilt Merinda Park station, the construction of a new rail connection for the Port Rail Shuttle Network, and the removal of all remaining level crossings on the corridor. Andrews argued that this project was required if an extension to Clyde was to be constructed. Opposition leader Matthew Guy instead promised that he would extend the Cranbourne line to Clyde if he won the election.
Again in the lead up to the 2022 state election, the City of Casey increased its campaign for the extension of the rail line to Clyde, including the construction of 3 new stations. The City of Casey proposal involved the construction of stations at Cranbourne East, Casey Fields, and Clyde. This proposal was supported again by opposition leader Matthew Guy, minus the station at Casey Fields. The incumbent Andrews government made no commitments to the Clyde rail extension, instead continuing construction on the Cranbourne Line Upgrade. The 2022 state election resulted in another Labor victory, with the Andrews government pushing ahead with the Cranbourne Line Upgrade, with the extension to Clyde remaining stagnant ever since.