Re: [VIC] {RUMOUR} SGR to be sent packing?

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Sam Eades (seades@bigpond.net.au) wrote:
> A strong rumour from high up in Vic rail safety told me today that there
> will be a commercial pass service back to Leongatha in about 1 year. There
> is a clause in SGR's contract saying that if the line is required for
> commercial purposes that it must be vacated.

The Nyora - Leongatha line was not part of VicTrack when privatised. It is
leased from the Department of Infrastructure and is absolutely responsible
for the maintenance and safeworking of the line. Any modifications (e.g.
the down end main line points at Nyora) had to be made to (then) V/Line
standards.

The condition of the line has not slipped since it was abandoned by
V/Line. It still has a nominal speed limit of 80km/h, although SGR doesn't
operate at more than 60km/h (steam was limited to 50km/h) to reduce wear.
Not that you can get much faster with those curves! Compare this with the
line between Cranbourne and Nyora, down from 95km/h to 50km/h within a
year and 15km/h at the end.

While the SGR lease does contain termination clauses, it does not preclude
SGR granting access to any other operator for commercial operations. SGR,
as an accredited tourist railway, can't run a "public transport" service
itself.

In short, it is not necessary for SGR to vacate the line for a regular
passenger or freight service to resume.

Cheers
David