V/Line passenger trains on Bungaree Loop (Ballarat line); soon to be closed

In this video we see various V/Line Vlocity trains on Bungaree Loop, a soon to be decommissioned section of the Ballarat line located west of Melbourne. Bungaree Loop passes through the small towns of Wallace and Bungaree in the Victorian high country. Its primarily an agricultural area so we see some tractors working the fields, some sheep and cows.

Bungaree Loop originally opened in 1879 as a branch line from Ballarat to Gordon. In 1889 it formed part of the original alignment of the Melbourne - Ballarat line. However it was a fairly indirect alignment, chosen to utilise flatter terrain instead of building a direct alignment through the area which would have involved building sizeable bridges over the Moorabool River and Lal Lal Creek.

As part of the Regional Fast Rail project the new direct alignment was constructed through the the town of Millbrook. Known as the Bungaree Deviation, the new line opened in 2005 and allowed for travel time savings of around 5 minutes for trains between Melbourne and Ballarat. Together Bungaree Loop and the new deviation effectively function as one big crossing loop, allowing trains to pass one another while on the move.

However as part of the $517 million Ballarat line upgrade project a new crossing loop is being constructed on the deviation (known as the Millbrook loop). When completed Bungaree Loop will be made redundant and close down permanently. The new crossing loop is almost completed and will be commissioned in the coming months.

Apologies for the clicking noises in the audio caused by the camerawork. This is one of those videos that I would have preferred to film with the newer camera, but it's still out being repaired and I don't think I'll get another chance to film this video after I get it back.

Date: August 2019

Subscribe to ThebusofdoomFSX: https://www.youtube.com/user/Thebusof...

Facebook:   / thebusofdooms-transport-videos-27510006958...