The new Goornong Station officially opened on Sunday 12 December, with locals gathering on the platform to welcome the first train to stop in the town for more than 42 years.
Community members enjoyed free food and drinks supplied by local community groups and businesses including Huntly-Epsom Lions Club, Brew 2 U Mobile Coffee Van and Bendigo Ice Creamery, and games and live music. Hundreds of commemorative train tickets were also given out and proved a popular memento to mark the occasion.
Goornong Station features a single-sided platform on the south of the rail line with lighting, seating, and shelter. Signage, CCTV and a public address system are also included, along with a car park and a pedestrian crossing on the Midland Highway to improve local access.
It is the first of 3 stations being delivered as part of the Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade to give people in growing communities access to trains close to where they live. The delivery of Huntly Station is targeted for completion in mid-2022, and Raywood Station on the Swan Hill Line later next year.
The original station at Goornong opened on 19 September 1864, with the last scheduled passenger train stopping at Goornong on 11 January 1979 before the now-demolished station was closed in June the same year.
The Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade is part of the $4 billion Regional Rail Revival program, which is upgrading every regional passenger rail line in Victoria and creating 3000 jobs and local supplier opportunities.
Learn more about the Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade.