It runs east from the state capital Melbourne through Warragul, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon, Sale and terminating at Bairnsdale.

The dismantled section now comprises the East Gippsland Rail Trail, a shared bicycle, walking, and horseriding track.

This line was extended to Dandenong, Pakenham, Warragul, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon, Sale, Stratford and Bairnsdale between 1877 and 1879.

In the early days of the railway's operation, dedicated passenger trains ran, but they had ceased by the 1930s.

In 1954, the line from Dandenong to Traralgon was electrified, mainly because of the expected briquette traffic from the brown coal mines in the Latrobe Valley.

Over the next two years most of the line between Dandenong and Pakenham was duplicated and provided with power signalling, although the Narre Warren to Berwick section was not done until 1962.

Electrification was cut back to Warragul in 1987, with suburban-style trains providing the services from there to Melbourne.

This project also included removing the remaining electrification infrastructure from Pakenham East Depot to Traralgon, with the exception of a heritage-listed length in Bunyip.

The Maryvale paper siding also connects to the main line at Morwell and remains open today for regular freight traffic.

This saw the development of industry in towns such as Yallourn, Morwell, Traralgon, Moe, Warragul and Drouin.

The Gippsland railway remains a significant passenger corridor on the V/Line network, although its use for freight business has now declined to only one major customer, being Australian Paper's export traffic from its mill in Maryvale.