The Vinelander

The Vinelander was an Australian passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways and later V/Line between Melbourne and Mildura from August 1972 until September 1993. Operating overnight along the Mildura line, it included motorail and sleeping car facilities.

The Vinelander
Preserved Vinelander carriage at Newport Workshops in March 2014
Overview
Service typeOvernight sleeper train
StatusCeased
First service9 August 1972
Last service12 September 1993
Former operator(s)V/Line
Route
StartMelbourne
EndMildura
Distance travelled609 kilometres
Line(s) usedServiceton
Mildura

History
Sleeping facilities

A trial daylight service, the Mildura Sunlight was introduced by the Victorian Railways between Melbourne and Mildura 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][4] The name was the product of a naming competition held by the Victorian Railways, with steel sleeping cars formerly used on The Overland being used,[5] along with older wooded stock. A buffet car and bar was added to the train from 18 July 1977,[6] 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 21:20 and an arrival into Mildura at 08:05.[4]

The train was promoted as one of the Victorian Railways' premier trains, in 1974 Victorian Railways sponsored a race meeting of the Mildura Racing Club, with the winner receiving the Vinelander Plate.[4]

In 1984 a parallel road coach commenced operations. A day train named The Sunraysia commenced in 1987 but was withdrawn in 1990.[2]

By November 1986, The Vinelander was only operating two nights per week, with The Sunraysia daylight service running as a replacement on some other days. The price of the sleeping car service also rose; from $17 per berth in 1985, it had risen to $30 per berth by July 1986. Staff levels were also reduced, with one conductor to manage two carriages (prior to this it was a one-to-one ratio). This was seen by some as an attempt by V/Line management to cut back the service.[7][8]

The last Vinelander ran on 12 September 1993 after the cutbacks of the Kennett Government.[4] A service review was announced by the Bracks Government in 2000,[9] in part due to the independent politician Russell Savage enabling the formation of a minority Labor government after the 1999 Victorian state election.[10] The service never returned.

Withdrawal

The withdrawal of The Vinelander service in 1993 occurred under controversial circumstances. Two days before the service was scheduled to be axed, intending passengers were on the platform at Spencer Street station, ready to board the train to Mildura, when it was announced that it had been cancelled due to a landslide along the track. Despite the very short notice of the cancellation, buses were conveniently available as an alternative. Suspicions about the supposed landslide story were aroused when it was noted that it hadn't blocked the Melbourne-bound Vinelander that same evening.

A leaked document from the train controllers working that evening also aroused suspicion and an investigation revealed that the story about the landslide was a hoax.[11]

V/Line management failed to give any clear explanation for their actions and it is widely believed that the sudden cancellation of the final Vinelander service was done to avoid any protests, such as the one that had taken place earlier at Bairnsdale, when the withdrawal of the service occurred as planned a couple of days later.

References
  1. Lee, Robert (2007). The Railways of Victoria 1854-2004. Melbourne University Publishing. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-522-85134-2.
  2. "The Mildura Story The Battle of the Routes" (PDF). Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  3. "In Brief" Railway Gazette International September 1972 page 326
  4. Robin Bromby (2004). The Railway Age in Australia. Lothian Press. p. 99. ISBN 0-7344-0715-7.
  5. "Steel Sleeping Carriages - V&SAR Joint Stock". www.comrails.com. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  6. Vincent Adams Winter (1990). VR and VicRail: 1962 - 1983. p. 206. ISBN 0-9592069-3-0.
  7. "General News". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society. September 1986. p. 274.
  8. "Investment saves long distance train" Railway Gazette International May 1986 page 327
  9. "Minister Announces Mildura Passenger Rail Service Review". Media Release: Minister for Transport. www.legislation.vic.gov.au. 9 March 2000. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  10. "Russell Savage Statement Supporting A Minority Labor Government". australianpolitics.com. 18 October 1999. Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  11. "Brown's Transport Revolution Is Right On The Track". Tram Timetable. 1 October 1993. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
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