Vinelander
The Vinelander was a named passenger train that operated by the Victorian Railways between Melbourne and Mildura, Victoria, Australia from 1972 to 1993. Operating overnight along the Mildura line, it included motorail and sleeping car facilities.
Contents |
[edit] History
A trial daylight service between Melbourne and Mildura commenced, named the "Mildura Sunlight" commenced on 3 September 1957. Air-conditioned Z type carriage stock was used, running thrice weekly.[1]
Night trains replaced this from 1967, and a Motorail service was added in 1968.[2]
The Vinelander first ran on 9 August 1972 after intense local lobbying for an upgrade of the existing overnight train.[3] The name was the product of a naming completion held by the Victorian Railways, with steel sleeping cars formerly used on The Overland train being used,[4] along with older wooded stock. A buffet car and bar was added to the train from 18 July 1977[5], but drunken behaviour became an issue, with offending passengers being removed from the train at intermediate stations. The typical timetable of the 1970s had a Melbourne departure at 9.20 pm and an arrival into Mildura at 8.05 am.[3]
The train was promoted as one of the Victorian Railways' premier trains, in 1974 the VR sponsored a race meeting of the Mildura Racing Club, with the winner receiving the Vinelander Plate.[3]
In 1984 a parallel road coach commenced operations. A day train named the Sunraysia commenced in 1987 but was withdrawn in 1990.[2]
The last Vinelander ran on September 12, 1993 after the cutbacks of the State Liberal Kennett Government.[3] A service review was announced by the Bracks Government in 2000,[6] in part due to the independent politician Russell Savage enabling the formation of a minority Labor government in the 1999 Victorian state election.[7] The service has yet to be returned.
[edit] Withdrawal
The withdrawal of The Vinelander service occurred under very controversial circumstances.
The passengers were on the platform at Spencer Street station, ready to board their waiting train when it got announced that the train was cancelled due to a landslide.
The passengers were shown their way to buses which were convenienty ready to board despite the very short notice of the cancellation. The alleged landslide somehow didn't block the Melbourne bound Vinelander that same evening and various people started to 'smell a rat'.
A leaked document from the train controllers working that evening also aroused suspicion.
An investigation revealed that the story about the landslide was just an elaborate hoax [8]
Although V/Line management failed to give any straight answers for their actions, it is widely believed that this sudden cancellation and subsequent early withdrawal of this service was done to avoid any possible protesters when the planned withdrawal of the service was to have happened a couple of days later.
[edit] References
- ^ Lee, Robert (2007). The Railways of Victoria 1854-2004. Melbourne University Publishing Ltd. p. page 216. ISBN 9780522851342.
- ^ a b "The Mildura Story The Battle of the Routes". Royal Historical Society of Victoria. http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/pdf/Mildura.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ a b c d Robin Bromby (2004). The Railway Age in Australia. Lothian Press. p. page 99. ISBN 0 7344 0715 7.
- ^ "Steel Sleeping Carriages - V&SAR Joint Stock". www.comrails.com. http://www.comrails.com/sar_carriages/a0203_sj.html. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Vincent Adams Winter (1990). VR and VicRail: 1962 - 1983. p. page 206. ISBN 0 9582069 3 3.
- ^ "MINISTER ANNOUNCES MILDURA PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE REVIEW". Media Release: MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT. www.legislation.vic.gov.au. March 9, 2000. http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/MediaRelArc02.nsf/17ed9415cb17e3d34a25682500254734/e41833f1ff2e46144a25689d007c4a17!OpenDocument&Click=. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ "Russell Savage Statement Supporting A Minority Labor Government". australianpolitics.com. October 18, 1999. http://australianpolitics.com/states/vic/savage_statement.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ Link text, browns-transport-revolution-is-right-on-the-track.
[edit] External links
- Victoria's Latest Named Train, "The Vinelander", advertising poster from November 1972, Public Record Office Victoria.
