Upcoming Events
Welcome to the Victorian Goldfields Railway; the authentic steam heritage train linking the historic gold mining towns of Castlemaine and Maldon in Central Victoria.
Enjoy a family day out or treat yourself and travel in our elegant first class carriages as you travel through the central Victorian Goldfields.
Victorian Goldfields Railway
coronavirus COVID-19 update: 4th October 2020
When will we start running trains again?
We are committed to the health and wellbeing of the community as well as our volunteers, so are constantly monitoring updates on restrictions and directions from The Victorian Government.
We have also carried out our own risk assessments for when restrictions are lifted ensure we provide the safest experience possible when we reopen.
We will most likely recommence with a revised timetable, but we will let you know our times and operating days as soon as we have a start date for you.
We are really looking forward to running our Steam engine again and would love to see you for a fun, relaxed day out. Please keep an eye out for updates so you can be amongst the first to experience that extra bit of freedom on our lovely heritage carriages.
Please watch this website & our social media for updates.
How has the railway been utilising this shutdown?
We are using this shutdown to carry out major track rehabilitation - check out the works at: Civil Blog, focus on the construction of the new Castlemaine operational facility and moving swiftly ahead on the rebuilding of our faithful servant, steam locomotive K160 in conjunction with our partners Steamrail at Newport Workshops, Melbourne - check out the works at: Mechanical Blog
While we are managing to achieve great things during this trying time, all this work still comes at a cost. Currently we have no source of income and as such we are heavily relying on donations (tax deductible on amounts of $2.00) so please consider donating to our great railway to allow us to keep achieving great things - Donate Now
Thank you to those who have and continue to support us - it's allowing us to turn this otherwise devastating pandemic into a productive break of trains.
We look forward to seeing you on our trains as soon as it's possible.
- Normal Timetable is 10.30 and 2.45 departures from Maldon to Castlemaine return and 12.00 departure from Castlemaine to Maldon return with two hours in Maldon for lunch.
- Bookings are strongly advised to guarantee a seat, however tickets are generally available at stations on day of travel. - Book Online
You can book online up until two hours before travel and you need only show your smartphone receipt at booking window.
Train running dates:
As a result of Australian and Victorian Government's advice surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic, the decision has been made to suspend all advertised VGR passenger services from 23rd March until Further Notice - We are hopefully this will be around Mid to Late 2020, so please check back regularly for updates.
Once we receive approval to recommence operation, we will be instigating a special Timetable originating from Castlemaine Station to help ensure we can confirm to any remaining Covid-19 Restrictions, to provide a safe and socially distanced experience for all our passengers. - Please check back here regularly for Timetable Updates
Once all Covid-19 Restrictions are lifted (as far they effect our railway at least), we will begin making use of our fantastic new facilities at Castlemaine to begin running all of our services out of Castlemaine Station, taking our passengers to enjoy the Historic and Atmospheric Town of Maldon. - Please check back here regularly for Timetable Updates
- steam trains run Sundays and Wednesdays and some holiday Saturdays.
- choose from one of 2 return trips from Maldon to Castlemaine OR one return trip from Castlemaine to Maldon.
- trains connect with V/Line fast trains to and from Melbourne at Castlemaine station. View V/line timetables
- regular event trains run on many Saturdays. See Upcoming Events panel on this page for links to those. Note most event trains require pre booking.
- take the kids for a memorable day out
- watch the world go by from your family compartment
- open the windows
- spot the kangaroos
- listen to the engine huff and puff up the hills
- children aged 3 and under travel at no charge
- step back in time to an era of elegance and decadence
- ride in Edwardian splendour or art deco elegance
- purchase a drink from the fully equipped bar
- end viewing platform on our parlour car
- sorry we are unable to accommodate children aged 3 and under
- get up close and personal in the engine cab
- you can drive one of our heritage steam or diesel locomotives on your own private goods train
- live the dream!
- add to your bucket list
Our FAQ page will answer most of your queries:
Visit Page