Ballarat to Ouyen

And the Murrayville/ Pinnaroo Line

This line section forms a part of the Yelta line, which runs from Ballarat to Mildura before terminating at Yelta. The line branches from the Western Line at North Ballarat Junction. We are only going as far as Ouyen for now, and then following the branch towards Pinnaroo in South Australia.

The line was opened between Ballarat and Maryborough by 1875, and extended to St Arnaud by 1878, Donald in 1882, and Ouyen by 1903. In 1912 the branch from Ouyen opened to Murrayville and reached the South Australian Border in 1915, connecting with the line to Pinnaroo and Tailem Bend.

The line to Mildura is still used for intermodal and grain services, and once hosted the Vinelander passenger Service. This overnight train ran between Melbourne and Mildura between 1972 and 1993, travelling via Geelong and Ballarat. Recently, a passenger service was restored to Maryborough, using V’locity Railmotors.