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Koo Wee Rup was a railway station on the South Gippsland line in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The station operated until the closure of the line between Cranbourne Station and Leongatha Station in July 1993. The station remains partly intact with the platform and goods shed (now privately owned) intact, however the track 1 km each way from the railway station platform location has been uplifted and replaced by a concrete pathway for bicycles and recreational use. Koo Wee Rup was also the last station before the Strzelecki line branched off from the main South Gippsland line. The establishment of the short cycling track from this location has effectively removed any likelihood that the railway could be rehabilitated to this fast growing population centre in the south east of Melbourne. This has also provided the option to extend the cycling track back to Cranbourne, which will challenge future rail transport options for people in Clyde, Cranbourne East and surrounding areas. ==Current Status== Between 1999 and 2008 there was constant speculation that the railway line beyond Cranbourne to Leongatha could re-open, as promised by the Victorian State Government, under a project named 'Bringing Trains Back to Victorians'. However, in May 2008, a scoping study carried out on behalf of the State Government found the costs of returning services high, at 72 million dollars. Therefore, plans to reopen the line were stopped, and the Government has pledged to spend 14.2 million dollars on improved V/Line coach services in the South Gippsland region instead. Further, there are plans in motion to turn the railway reservation into a Rail Trail between Cranbourne East and Nyora. Koo Wee Rup was going to be the first station reopened if the Leongatha Rail service returned in May 2008. Clyde and Tooradin didn't meet the required criteria for a passenger railway station. Electrification of the railway line beyond Cranbourne to Cranbourne East, Clyde and even as far as Koo Wee Rup has been speculated since the passenger rail service to Leongatha was originally planned to be reintroduced in 2004. ''Source: Communication from Minister Lynne Kosky, 3 June 2008, and the Victorian Department of Infrastructure'' Reopening the South Gippsland railway line as far as Leongatha is continuing to feature as a prominent issue for the region. 〔http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/forums-hears-calls-for-improved-regional-public-transport/6614812〕 A South Gippsland Shire Council Priority Projects documents released in June 2013 acknowledged that the return of rail as a major community priority where funding and support are sought from all forms of level government. 〔http://www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au/Files/PRIORITY_PROJECTS_2013.pdf〕 In early 2014, a report into the extensions of the Melbourne metropolitan rail system identified the population growth corridor from Cranbourne to Koo-Wee-Rup along the disused Leongatha line as a key planning priority. 〔http://www.mpa.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/PSP-54-Leongatha-Rail-Line-Peer-Review-Aurecon-Rev-1-FINAL-DRAFT-Appendix-2-10.pdf〕 The South and West Gippsland Transport Group, a public transportation and rail lobby group established in April 2011 that is closely associated with the South Gippsland Shire Council and local forms of government has continued to campaign for an integrated transport plan in the region, which includes rail at the forefront of the proposal. 〔http://www.swgt.org.au/index.html〕 Previously, the group was classified as the South Gippsland Transport Users Group and had amalgamated with numerous rail lobby groups in 1994 shortly after the rail passenger service to Leongatha was withdrawn in July 1993 and the line to Barry Beach and Yarram was formally closed in June 1992 and dismantled by December 1994. 〔http://www.swgt.org.au/documents/SWGT%20Article_Page%207%20Star%202%20May%202011.pdf〕 One notable milestone that this group achieved in the past was running a successful campaign that saw passenger rail services reinstated to Leongatha on December 9, 1984. 〔http://www.ptua.org.au/files/newsletters/1980s/PTUA-news-198501.pdf〕 Despite the political promise to revive the railway line for freight and passenger services by the Steve Bracks led Victorian state Labor government in 1999 being abandoned in 2008 by his successor John Brumby, a public community campaign involving the South and West Gippsland Transport Group is continuing to lobby and work collaboratively with key stakeholders and governments to reinstate rail services that focuses on improving transport accessibility in the region. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Koo Wee Rup railway station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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