Homebush railway station, Victoria


Homebush railway station is a former station on the Avoca railway line in Victoria, Australia. It served the gold-mining town of Homebush.

History

The first section of line was opened as a branch from Maryborough to Avoca in October 1874. The line originally ran for 24 kilometres in length but was later was extended to 62.8 kilometers in November 1890 to Ararat. Once completed, it formed a through route between two main lines. In 1888 the fares to Melbourne were 20s and 13s.
There was a Post Office at the Homebush station which opened in 1914 and was closed in 1919.
In July 1959 the line between Avoca and Ararat was closed.
In October 1966 the line was reopened, and in 1996 it was converted to standard gauge, along with the main Melbourne–Adelaide railway. The Avoca–Ararat section of the line has been unused for a number of years, and Pacific National used it to store over 100 surplus grain wagons until many of them were reactivated to carry the 2011–2012 harvest.
The Avoca line reopened in 2018 after a complete rebuild as part of the Murray Basin Rail Project, which also extended the reach of the standard gauge network in Victoria.