Heads up trainspotters - time is running out to check out engines on the Bungaree rail loop.
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The 13-odd kilometre stretch of track was one of the first built to connect Ballarat to Melbourne directly.
In the distant past, trains used to travel via North Geelong - this line was completed well before the direct line between Ballarat and Melbourne.
READ MORE: Final push to complete Ballarat Line Upgrade
As part of the massive Ballarat Line Upgrade - a $500-plus project which involved rebuilding stations and adding more track closer to Melbourne - the line will finally close in December.
A new passing loop, at Millbrook, has been built, and will be connected to the existing line as part of the construction blitz beginning December 28.
The decommissioning of the Bungaree loop, which travels from just outside Dunnstown through Millbrook, Bungaree, and Wallace, finishing near Gordon, will also remove five level crossings, the state government has said.
Track, signage and infrastructure such as boom gates and lights all removed from these crossing sites in January.
That's good news, according to the Rail Futures Institute's John Hearsch.
"It's generally a good thing to be getting rid of level crossings where you can," he said.
"It was only a few years before the Regional Fast Rail Project (the line built in 2006), they spent an awful lot of money putting in the active protection on those level crossings, the boom barriers and flashing lights - they could have avoided all that expenditure if they'd done what's being done now."
He said passengers will definitely notice a change when people begin regularly commuting again.
"One of the real benefits is that it does shorten the trip," he said.
"The loop line was usually used for non-peak direction trains, which is fair enough, it gives the other trains priority.
"I think it's a significant thing, it is going after all these years."
While the population is growing in the district, Mr Hearsch said it was unlikely the historic stations on the loop would need to be reopened - it's understood some are now privately owned.
"People will find their way to the nearest station, they'll drive or use bus connections, or use good cycling facilities if they are provided," he said.
"Country people always travel some distance to get to their station."
Regional Rail Revival director Mark Havryluk said the new passing loops, at Millbrook and Ballan, will mean "more reliable services".
"(It gives) more options for trains to pass each other and allowing services to recover faster from delays," he said in a statement.
"The Bungaree passing loop will no longer be required and will be decommissioned - as local communities and motorists in Dunnstown, Bungaree, Wallace and Millbrook benefit from improved safety once we remove five level crossings in this area."
But what will happen to the line once it does close?
According to the state government, the remaining track along the 12.9km loop will not be removed as part of the project, and will be handed back to VicTrack, who will be responsible for facilitating any future use of the track and land.
But in the future, it could find new life as a scenic rail trail, Mr Hearsch said.
"It does go through some pretty historic places, like Wallace and Millbrook - they're all towns with some history, and would be of interest, and it's only a short distance from the Melbourne end of that loop to Gordon, another historic town," he said.
"All the rail materials, a lot can be reused, they'd have a value, there's not much point just leaving them there to rust away.
"The rest of the ballast could be graded and become quite easily converted to a rail trail, that's what we'd suggest would be an appropriate use.
"It also could add value to the community, and generally speaking, we've got a lot of rail trails in Victoria now, and where they've been provided, they have been a boost for local tourism.
"Anything like that involves some cost, but because it's a well-built railway formation, it's not going to involve a lot of maintenance, probably just vegetation control."
Moorabool Shire Council chief executive Derek Madden said council had no had any discussions about the future of the loop to date, but "we are keen to examine future opportunities from a tourism perspective".
"Establishing a rail trail could have great benefits for tourism in the area, and could be supported by accommodation and hospitality opportunities," he said in a statement.
IN THE NEWS
The Ballarat rail line will be closed from December 28 until the end of January while crews carry out commissioning, critical safety testing and driver training to integrate the new tracks, station platforms and passing loops with the existing network.
This final stage of the Ballarat Line Upgrade will allow the introduction of more services along the line, including extra peak services, and trains every 40 minutes off-peak, according to the state government.
Following the commissioning, the second platforms at Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Wendouree stations, and track duplication between Bacchus Marsh Station and Maddingley stabling will also be used by trains, while passengers will be able to use the new platforms as well as the pedestrian overpass at Wendouree Station for the first time.
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