The first inter-capital link between Melbourne and South Australia was completed in 1887 when the Victorian Railways line was extended to Serviceton on the state border.
[1] Known as the Serviceton line, it passed westward from Melbourne through Geelong, Ballarat, Ararat, Stawell, Horsham and Dimboola.
By the 1990s, with Adelaide to Melbourne the only interstate link not converted, various proposals were made for gauge conversion.
The line via Geelong was converted in 1995 with funding from the Federal Government's One Nation infrastructure program.
[4] The main traffic on the line is Melbourne – Adelaide interstate freight, with trains operated by Pacific National and SCT Logistics.