Melbourne Broad Gauge Freight Trains

Below is a listing of trains sighted taking the viaduct between Southern Cross Station and Flinders Street Station. Trains, as they pass through this area, will (where possible) be recorded in the table below. The times indicate when they pass through, not when they arrive. Sometimes the trains sit in this area waiting for a path in either direction!

Service	Frequency	Description
9343/9348 QUBE Apex Gravel Service	Tue - Fri	Runs from Kilmore East Quarry to Westall Cement Plant. Usually around midnight on the down and then a 10am up through South Yarra/Richmond/Flinders St. Note that if the morning time is around 4am then it's actually the 9350 service... but I've put them both in the same column.
9571/9572 QUBE Cement Service	Mon & Thu/Fri	Runs from Tottenham(?) to Dandenong. New Service. Very random runner... sometimes mondays instead of tuesdays and sometimes fridays instead of thursdays.
9475/9476 QUBE Maryvale Paper Train	Daily	Runs from Appleton Dock to the Maryvale Paper Plant. Takes paper to be recycled out to plant and returns empty? Heads out at 8pm at night and returns around 2pm the next day. Every so often you'll find the train heading out at around 4am in the morning. This is actually the 9473 service, but I've put it in the same column as the evening down. Note that it means it actually ran the next morning!
955* PacNat Long Island Steel Train	Daily (excl Friday)	Runs from the northernmost road of South Dynon to the Long Island Steel Plant in Frankston. The midday runner 9553 usually DOES NOT run on Fridays unless there's a weekend shutdown and they need to shift more steel beforehand. 9557 (1pm) and 9559 (7pm) are also only as-required! The actual service pairing is as follows: 9555-9552, 9553-9556, 9557-9558, 9559-9550
708, 9*2 Possible Metro Train Transfer	Totally Ad-Hoc	Currently serviced by SSR, this might be the HCMT Metro Train Transfer path from Newport to Pakenham. It's totally random and the train running this path may not actually be a transfer! Please note that I've merged services 7080, 7082, 7084, 7086 and 7088, 9502, 9902 into once cell. Spoil trains and driver training runs will also fall into this path.

2022 NOTE: QUBE has taken over the PacNat Steel Services.. the numbers have changed. They've been piped into the PacNat slots and are showing below. Once they've stabilised, I'll explain them further.

Please note that this is an automated service based on sightings from another location. It wont be 100% foolproof but, with careful consideration of the numbers and days, one should be able to get a good idea as to what is visible and when. Also note that services might show up out-of-order. For example, the Apex gravel ran in a much later slot on 30/31st January 2020.

Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
October 2024
Thu 31st			0550 VL356			1120 VL351
Wed 30th		0419 G515	0550 VL356		1041 G515	1132 VL351		1348 VL353			2002 VL356	2036 VL357		2308 VL351
Tue 29th			0411 VL356			1115 VL351					2005 VL356			2341 VL351
Mon 28th		0426 G515	0424 VL356			1130 VL351		1354 VL353			2001 VL356	2028 VL357		2244 VL351
Sun 27th			0536 VL356			1200 VL351					1925 VL356			2301 VL351
Sat 26th											1950 VL356			2336 VL351
Fri 25th		0020 G515	0553 VL360		1242 G515	1120 VL351		1349 VL353			2002 VL360	2025 VL357
Thu 24th			0551 VL356			1126 VL351					2001 VL356			2320 VL351
Wed 23rd			0610 VL356			1128 VL351		1418 VL353			2001 VL356	0444 VL357		2309 VL351
Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
Tue 22nd			0510 VL356			1100 VL351					2017 G512			2328 VL351
Mon 21st					1038 G515		1404 VL351	1354 VL353				2032 VL357	2110 VL356	2324 VL351
Sun 20th	No trains recorded
Sat 19th	No trains recorded
Fri 18th			0600 VL356			1200 VL351		1417 VL353			2018 VL356	1951 VL357
Thu 17th			0552 VL360		1037 G515	1148 VL351					2010 VL360			2327 VL351
Wed 16th			0552 VL360			1146 VL351		1347 VL353			2001 VL360	2014 VL357		2320 VL351
Tue 15th			0654 VL360			1136 VL351					2003 VL360			2312 VL351
Mon 14th			0447 VL360			1120 VL351		1348 VL353			2012 VL360	2031 VL357		2350 VL351
Sun 13th			0432 VL360			1214 VL351					2300 VL360			2259 VL351
Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
Sat 12th			0445 VL360			1202 VL351					1928 VL360			2305 VL351
Fri 11th			0553 VL360			1128 G515		1358 VL353			2007 VL360	2023 VL357		2328 G515
Thu 10th							1308 G515						2110 VL360	2354 G515
Wed 9th					1121 G532		1306 VL351	1403 VL353			2002 G515	0317 VL357
Tue 8th							1315 VL351				2005 G515
Mon 7th			0551 G515			1119 VL351		1347 VL353			2005 G515
Sun 6th			0652 VL356			1124 G515					1818 G515			0001 VL351
Sat 5th			0347 VL356			1156 VL351					1922 VL356			0006 VL351
Fri 4th			0550 VL356			1121 VL351		1350 VL353			2008 VL356	2115 VL357		2253 VL351
Thu 3rd			0553 VL356			1106 VL351					2010 VL356			2259 VL351
Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
Wed 2nd			0551 VL356			1105 VL351		1411 VL353			2329 VL356	2058 VL357 VL353		2329 VL351
Tue 1st			0410 VL356			1128 VL351					2006 VL356			2310 VL351
September 2024
Mon 30th			0331 VL356				1326 VL351	1354 G512				2048 VL357	2115 VL356	2321 VL351
Sun 29th			0337 VL356			1116 VL351					1920 VL356			2245 VL351
Sat 28th			0435 VL356			1203 VL351					2230 VL356			2230 VL351
Fri 27th			0348 VL356			1115 VL351					1748 VL356			2226 VL351
Thu 26th			0602 VL356			1126 VL351		1350 G512				2038 G512		2255 VL351
Wed 25th			0552 VL356			1110 VL351		1346 G512			2024 VL356	2036 G512		2326 VL351
Tue 24th			0553 VL356			1135 VL351		1347 G512			2002 VL356	2037 G512		2326 VL351
Mon 23rd			0550 VL356			1114 VL351		1351 G512			2013 VL356	2026 G512		2328 VL351
Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
Sun 22nd			0533 VL356			1214 VL351					1922 VL356			2315 VL351
Sat 21st			0618 VL356			1142 VL351					1920 VL356			2315 VL351
Fri 20th			0426 VL356			1126 VL351		1352 VL353			2007 VL356	2022 G512		2253 VL351
Thu 19th			0550 VL356			1141 VL351					2200 VL356			2344 VL351
Wed 18th			0551 VL356			1126 VL351		1349 VL353			2003 VL356	2102 VL357		2326 VL351
Tue 17th			0551 VL356			1157 VL351					2004 VL356			2328 VL351
Mon 16th			0552 G515			1133 VL356		1347 VL353			2004 G515	2021 VL357		2316 VL351
Sun 15th						1258 VL356					1920 G515			2218 VL356
Sat 14th			0618 VL360			1129 VL356					1926 VL360			2230 VL356
Fri 13th			0552 VL360			1144 VL356		1347 VL353			2013 VL360	2029 VL357		2308 VL356
Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
Thu 12th							1318 VL356						2127 VL360	0009 VL356
Wed 11th							1358 VL356	1350 VL353			2000 VL360	0338 VL357
Tue 10th							1330 VL356				2010 VL360
Mon 9th							1312 VL356	1354 VL353			2001 VL360	0356 VL357
Sun 8th			0610 VL360			1210 VL356					1943 VL360
Sat 7th						1201 VL356					1919 VL360			2256 VL356
Fri 6th			0552 VL360				1329 VL356	1349 VL353				2048 VL357	2120 VL360	2324 VL356
Thu 5th			0554 G512			1100 G512					2006 G512			2324 VL356
Wed 4th			0552 G512			1135 G512		1358 VL353			2002 G512	2045 VL357		2244 G512
Tue 3rd			0552 G512			1200 G512					2018 G512	2037 VL357		2318 G512
Date	9550	9348	9552	9571	9343	9553	9557	9476	9572	9559	9556	9475	9558	9555	7088
Mon 2nd											2004 G512			2330 G512
Sun 1st			0556 G512			1126 G512					2008 G512			2308 G512
August 2024
Sat 31st			0528 G512			1136 VL356					1745 G512			2355 G512

Comments (11) Trackbacks (0) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

Royden
November 28th, 2019 - 08:27

Great Work Steven. Would it be possible to include the HCMT transfers as well?

( REPLY )
- stevenh
  November 28th, 2019 - 08:43
  
  Morning,
  Very good question. Due to the infrequency, there wont be much data… but I can try keep an eye out for them.
  Steven
  
  ( REPLY )
  - Royden
    November 28th, 2019 - 08:49
    
    Ok Thanks. Would be great to know when they are coming through!!
    
    ( REPLY )
    - stevenh
      April 2nd, 2020 - 08:28
      
      I’ve added, based on the historical data, what I think are the transfers.
      I just missed one last night!
      
      ( REPLY )
      - Royden
        April 2nd, 2020 - 18:54
        
        Hello Steven
        Thank you for including this data into the table!!
        Would it be possible to change the destination on the possible metro transfers to include Pakenham as well, just to get the correct information.
        Thanks
        Royden
        
        ( REPLY )
        
        stevenh
        April 2nd, 2020 - 23:30
        
        Ah ha… of course. No point having incorrect information!
        
        ( REPLY )
      - Royden
        April 2nd, 2020 - 19:08
        
        Hello Steven
        Thank you for adding the HCMT transfer data into the table!!
        Royden
        
        ( REPLY )
Royden
November 28th, 2019 - 09:13

Hello Steven,
Can i ask how you receive this data for these trains?
Thanks
Royden

( REPLY )
- stevenh
  December 2nd, 2019 - 14:13
  
  A mixture of sightings from Facebook and other locations.
  
  ( REPLY )
chicane
August 13th, 2020 - 15:14

Great site and record of freight trains, i live near Richmond Station and you have demystified the freight train movements i hear at various times during the day. Cheers

( REPLY )
- stevenh
  August 13th, 2020 - 17:11
  
  chicane,
  Very happy to help!
  
  ( REPLY )