List of named trains in Victoria
The Victorian Railways and their successor organistions operated numerous named passenger services, both officially and informally.
Some services were named to highlight their prestige and level of service. Others acquired names simply because they followed a particular roster or timetable. These latter names were often informal at first, and in some cases were later adopted by the Railways.
Melbourne suburban region
The Melbourne Suburban Region of the Victorian Railways network was defined as all stations from the city centre to Dandenong, Gembrook, Glen Waverley, Healesville, Hurstbridge, Mornington, Port Melbourne, Red Hill, Sandringham, Somerton, St Albans, St Kilda, Stony Point, Warburton, Werribee, Whittlesea and Williamstown.Suburban Rambler
This name was allocated to tours that started in the city and ran to three or four random destinations in the suburban area.The Boat Train
The Boat Train was a short-lived experiment that used a set of Tait trains, specially painted, on shuttle runs between Flinders Street Station and Port Melbourne to meet ships arriving from overseas.Western and South Western region
The Western and South Western Region of the Victorian Railways network was defined as all stations on the Down side of Sunshine towards Ballarat, and the Down side of Werribee. These two mainlines ran through Ballarat to Adelaide, and through Geelong to Port Fairy respectively. The region also included the branches from these lines to Avoca via either Ararat or Maryborough, Balmoral, Bolangum, Buninyong, Carpolac, Casterton, Coleraine, Crowes via Beech Forrest, Daylesford via Newlyn, Forrest, Fyansford, Grampians, Inglewood via Llanelly, Maroona via Gheringhap, Millewa South, Morkalla, Mortlake, Mount Gambier via Rennick, Panitya, Patchewollock, Portland, Queenscliff, Redan, Skipton, Timboon, Waubra, Wensleydale, Yaapeet, Yanac and Yelta.Fruit Flyer
The Fruit Flyer was a fast overnight freight train operated by the Victorian Railways to bring fruit produce from the Mildura district to the Melbourne Markets. It first ran on 13 October 1958.It departed Mildura at 17:00, loading at Irymple, Red Cliffs, Carwarp and Hattah before running express to Dynon Freight Terminal arriving at 03:00. To allow it to operate at the line speed of 110 km/h, the wagons were fitted with bogies similar to those fitted on passenger carriages.
It initially operated three times weekly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, but within a few weeks this had increased to four times. By 1961 it was running six times a week, Sunday to Friday.
Geelong Flier
The Geelong Flier was a named Australian passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways, running from Melbourne to Geelong and return, which began running in 1926. As the first officially-named flagship service of the Victorian Railways, the train took pride of place on the timetable, and operated with the best available locomotives and rolling stock. In 1927, the outbound journey was extended to Port Fairy and the name was shortened to The Flier.School Train
This name was given to various trains around the state at different times, all on rosters explicitly designed to take children in the regional areas to and from schools. Some operated with railmotors, others with older passenger carriages such as the PL series.The Overland
The Overland, is an Australian passenger train service between Melbourne and Adelaide. It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express, and has been called the Melbourne Express by South Australians. It was given its current name in 1926. Now operated by private company Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions, the train completes two return trips a week covering 828 kilometres between the state capitals. Originally an overnight train, it now operates during the day.The Vinelander
The Vinelander was operated by the Victorian Railways and later V/Line between Melbourne and Mildura from 1972 to 1993. Operating overnight along the Mildura line, it included motorail and sleeping car facilities.The Westcoaster
The Westcoaster was a passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways, running from the state capital, Melbourne, to the regional city of Warrnambool, with buffet facilities available beyond Geelong. The name was first used in 1988. Between 1993 and 2004, the private operator, West Coast Railway, used the name on its services to and from Warrnambool. After the demise of WCR, the name fell out of use.The Ghan
In November 1998, one of the Ghan services from Darwin to Adelaide was extended to Melbourne. The extension was withdrawn in November 2002.North-Eastern region
The North-Eastern Region of the Victorian Railways' network was defined as all stations on the Down side of Somerton. This was primarily the mainline to Albury and Sydney and the secondary route via Shepparton to Tocumwal, and their branches to Alexandra, Bendigo via Heathcote, Bright, Cobram, Colbinabbin, Cudgewa, Echuca via Kyabram, Girgarre, Katamatite, Mansfield, Oaklands, Peechelba East, Picola, Tatong, Wahgunyah, Whitfield and Yackandandah.Intercapital Daylight
The Intercapital Daylight ran between Melbourne and Albury from 1955 to 1962, connecting with a standard gauge service of the same name and operated by the New South Wales Government Railways to Sydney. After the standard gauge line was extended to Melbourne the train ran the whole length from Melbourne to Sydney.School Train
This name was given to various trains around the state at different times, all on rosters explicitly designed to take children in the regional areas to and from schools. Some operated with railmotors, others with older passenger carriages such as the PL series.Between Kyabram and Echuca, the run was operated by a 153 hp Walker railmotor hauling three trailer cars, only possible because the line was practically flat. It left Kyabram at 7:37am each school day and made about 30 stops at both stations and level crossings enroute to pick up around 200 students, many of whom left their bicycles unguarded at the pickup point for the day. Students were segregated by gender, and second preference was given to allocating separate carriages for each school. The complete consist had to be sent to Bendigo Workshops for repairs every school holiday period.
Southern Aurora
The Southern Aurora ran overnight between Melbourne and Sydney between 1962 and 1986. It was jointly operated by the Victorian Railways and the New South Wales Government Railways.Spirit of Progress
The Spirit of Progress ran between Melbourne and Albury from 1937 to 1962, connecting with a standard gauge service to Sydney. After the standard gauge line was extended to Melbourne the train ran the whole length from Melbourne to Sydney, acting as a sweeper service to the new premier Southern Aurora service.Sydney/Melbourne Express
The Sydney and Melbourne Express trains ran from 1986 to 1993, replacing the Spirit of Progress and the Southern Aurora.Eastern region
The Eastern Region of the Victorian Railways' network was defined as all stations on the Down side of Dandenong. This included the lines to Gippsland to Orbost and the South Gippsland to Port Albert, and their branches to Briagolong, Coal Creek, Maffra, Mirboo North, Noojee, Outtrim, Strzelecki, Thorpdale, Walhalla, Wonthaggi, Woodside and Yallourn.Maryvale Paper Train
After several years of negotiations, V/Line Freight won the contract for transport of large quantities of containerised paper products from Maryvale, in the Gippsland region, for both Victorian and interstate customers. Trains would be split in the city with one portion unloaded at Footscray Road and the other at the Dynon terminal respectively; the latter loading was then transferred to National Rail freight trains running towards Sydney or Adelaide as required. The first service ran on 12 March 1996, using VQDW "Jumbo" container flat wagons which could each be loaded with two 40 ft containers. The initial contract was worth about $1.6 million per year for five years, with 160,000 tonnes of goods expected to run in the first year of which about two-thirds was domestic and the balance interstate.In 1999 the contract transferred to Freight Victoria, who were purchased by Pacific National in 2004. In 2013 the contract was handed over to Qube, partially because Pacific National was withdrawing most of its Victorian operations. At the time, Australian Paper was transporting less than 300,000 tonnes of freight yearly by rail, with the balance by road. To cater for an additional proposed 100,000 tonnes per year of loading, Qube invested in a fleet of 80 ft skeletal flat wagons, some of which were deployed on the Maryvale run.
As of 2019, the most common operation uses two of the four locomotives VL353, VL356 & VL360, G512 and G515, hauling the equivalent of around 30 40 ft containers on about twenty Jumbo-length wagons.
School Train
This name was given to various trains around the state at different times, all on rosters explicitly designed to take children in the regional areas to and from schools. Some operated with railmotors, others with older passenger carriages such as the PL series.The Gippslander
The Gippslander was a named passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways from Melbourne through the Gippsland region to Bairnsdale. Operating along the Gippsland line daily except Sundays it had buffet car facilities provided.The train was named in 1954 to celebrate the electrification of the main line as far Traralgon, but 66 years after the passenger service had commenced along the line. The train was originally hauled by an L class electric locomotive from Melbourne to Traralgon, where an R class steam locomotive took over for the journey to Sale, with the final leg to Bairnsdale hauled by a J class steam locomotive. Steam traction on the service was later replaced by T class diesel locomotives.
After the decommissioning of the overhead system in the 1980s a variety of diesel locomotives could be seen hauling the train. The Gippslander name continues in use today for V/Line intercity services along the line but no special facilities are provided.