Railway tunnels in Victoria

The Australian state of Victoria has tunnels on its railway network and on private narrow gauge tramways.

The Deniliquin line was commenced by the private Melbourne, Mount Alexander & Murray River Railway Company, but when the company experienced financial difficulties it was taken over by the Victorian colonial government in 1856, with the Victorian Railways Department being formed to operate the new public railway system. The line opened in five stages from February 1859 to September 1864, and was at the time the largest engineering undertaking in the colony. More than 6,000 men were involved in construction of the Deniliquin line with the main contractors Cornish & Bruce undertaking the works. The line served a strategic economic need of serving the important goldfields of Castlemaine and Bendigo, and capturing for Melbourne the trade in wool and other goods from northern Victoria and the Riverina which were formerly shipped through South Australia via the Murray River. Two tunnels were built on the line. The Elphinstone Tunnel, long, was built in brick and bluestone as a double-track horseshoe profile tunnel, and was completed in 1860. The Big Hill Tunnel, located between Kangaroo Flat and Ravenswood, south of Bendigo. Like the Elpinstone Tunnel, it was double-tracked when built, but was singled as part of the Regional Fast Rail project.

Cheviot Tunnel

Cheviot tunnel was built for the extension of the Mansfield line from Yea and is located near Limestone, roughly halfway between Yea and Molesworth, where the line crosses the Black Range at McLoughlin's Gap. It was built in 1889, at a cost of £88,661/2/11, by contractors Kenny Bros as part of the Yea to Cathkin section, but construction was delayed by accidents.

Tarrawarra Tunnel

Tarrawarra Tunnel was built on the Healesville line, when the Lilydale-Melbourne railway was extended from Yarra Flats to Healesville. A 1 in 40 climb up to the 154.4-metre tunnel and a corresponding descent was required. The section of line through the tunnel opened on 1 March 1889.

South Geelong Tunnel

South Geelong tunnel was built as part of the extension of the Geelong line towards Colac and runs for a distance of 422 metres underneath the edge of the town centre, between McKillop and Ryrie Streets. Construction was commenced on 15 October 1874 by contractors Overend and Robb. It has a typical horseshoe shape and is built of bluestone and brick. The first train ran through the tunnel on 13 January 1876 and official services commenced on 4 February the same year. Its steep grade limited haulage loads and sometimes required assistance from a bank engine.

Branch line tunnels

Geelong Harbour Tunnel

The Geelong Harbour branch line ran from near the station to Cunningham Pier, being constructed by 1859 to assist in the transfer of goods from the port. A tunnel was constructed just south of the station, running under the main Melbourne Road and with a steep-sided bluestone embanked cutting. The line was closed in the 1980s.

Portland Harbour Tunnel

The similar Portland harbour tunnel was constructed in 1877 in Portland to link the main harbour with the railway, running under Bentink Street and emerging at the base of the shoreline cliffs. This line was later closed and a loop line constructed around the town to the new breakwater harbour.

Metropolitan lines

Hurstbridge Line tunnels

The Hurstbridge Line tunnels are three tunnels on the suburban Hurstbridge line. Two were built in 1901-2 when the direct line from East Melbourne to Victoria Park was constructed. They are located at Jolimont and [West Richmond railway station, Melbourne|Richmond railway station|West Richmond]; the first under Wellington Parade, and the second under Hoddle Street, with a short section of open cutting between them. The third tunnel, which opened in 1902, was part of the extension of the line from Heidelberg to Eltham. In 2018, the line between Heidelberg and Rosanna was duplicated, with a second tunnel bored adjacent to the original tunnel.

Bunbury Street Tunnel

The Bunbury Street tunnel in Footscray, on the Independent Goods Line runs under Bunbury Street, passing under the Williamstown platforms of Footscray station. The line was built in 1924 to alleviate congestion caused by country goods trains on the suburban network.

City Loop

The City Loop was constructed as four separate tunnels. One tunnel between North Melbourne and Flinders Street, another tunnel between Jolimont and Southern Cross, and two tunnels between Richmond and Southern Cross.
The tunnels roughly follow the alignment of Spring Street and La Trobe Street with underground stations at Parliament, Melbourne Central and Flagstaff. The tunnels and stations were constructed between 1971 and 1985.

Metro Tunnel

The Metro Tunnel runs for under Melbourne's CBD, connecting the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines with the Sunbury line. It consists of two parallel bored tunnels.

Narrow-gauge tunnels

The Bump Tunnel

The Bump tunnel was built on a narrow-gauge tramline near Powelltown, to gain access to timber for the sawmills of the district. The Powelltown Tramway ran from Yarra Junction to Powelltown between 1913 and 1945, and formed the collector for numerous timber tramways. One was the Bump Line, which was built in about 1913 with a steep section across the range at the head of the Little Yarra River, using a steam winch-hauled incline. This was replaced in July 1925 to with a 313 metre long tunnel which was about 2.8 m wide and 4.0 m high and took 13 months to dig. It was timber-lined and had a vent shaft in the middle through which smoke escaped. The tunnel was closed as a safety measure after World War II. Both entrances are still visible.

Geelong Cement Works Tunnel

The narrow-gauge Fyansford Cement Works Railway, which connected the Australian Portland Cement Co's cement works in Fyansford with its limestone quarry, had a 1300 metre long tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in Victoria.

Henry's Tunnels

Two tunnels were built on a timber tramway linking Henry's Sawmill with the Victorian Railways terminus at Forrest in 1902 and were in use by 1903. They remained in use until about 1927. Steam locomotives hauling logs from the Otway Forest to sawmills, had fold-down funnels to pass through the tunnels.

Table of tunnel lengths and dates

Tunnel Name	Date of Construction	Length in Metres	Tracks	Railway Line	Location
Big Hill Tunnel	1859–60	390	2->1	Deniliquin line	north portal:
Elphinstone Tunnel	1859–60	385	2->1	Deniliquin line	east portal: west portal:
Cheviot Tunnel	1889	201	1	Mansfield Alexandra Line	east portal: west portal:
Tarrawarra Tunnel	1888	154	1	Healesville line	east portal: west portal:
South Geelong Tunnel	1874	422	1	Colac line	north portal: south portal:
Heidelberg Tunnel	1902 & 2018	68	1->2	Hurstbridge line	midpoint:
Jolimont	1901	115	2	Hurstbridge line
West Richmond	1901	149	2	Hurstbridge line
Portland Harbour Tunnel	1870	40	1	Portland Harbour Railway
Geelong Harbour Tunnel	1859	100	1	Cunningham Pier Line
Bunbury Street Tunnel	1926-8	420	2 DG	Independent Goods Line	west portal: east portal:
Geelong Cement Works Tunnel	1928	1300	1	Private: Fyansford Cement Works Railway	west portal: east portal: approx.
The Bump Tunnel	1925	313	1	Private: Powelltown Tramway
Henry's Tunnels	1902	437 & 70	1	Private: Henry's Timber Tramway

Notes:

DG = Dual Gauge
2->1 = Originally 2 tracks, reduced to 1 track.