Dust flies into the air as elements of Benalla's signal box A are pulled apart. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
Inland Rail’s 60-hour possession of the Beveridge to Albury (B2A) section of the project for works has been hailed a success, however many in Benalla were sad to see the town’s signal box removed.
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Inland Rail Delivery Director Beveridge to Albury Ed Walker said the project, with major construction partners, completed work across multiple sites and reopened the railway line on Monday evening, March 24.
“The B2A possession was an outstanding success. We completed the work safely within the 60-hour shutdown period and reopened the track to rail services on Monday evening,” Mr Walker said.
The roof of Benalla's signal box A collapses. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
“We only get two major track possessions a year, so they are critically important for the completion of the project.
“A lot of planning takes place, so we can complete a large volume of work in a short period and keep the disruption of the rail line to a minimum.
“We apologise for the disruptions, and thank local communities for their patience and understanding as we carry out the work.”
Benalla’s signal box A's roof is almost fully removed. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
During the possession, work was carried out at Wangaratta, Euroa, Benalla, Seymour, Wandong and Broadford.
The Benalla signal box was removed, with care taken to salvage key items such as the signal frame, and the railway station power supply was relocated.
At Wangaratta, the railway station pedestrian underpass was completed and opened to the public, and the nearby Docker St footbridge was dismantled.
A digger gets to work pulling Benalla's signal box A down. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
Photo by
NaomiSeccombe
When it became apparent a last-ditch attempt to save the signal box was unsuccessful, Better Benalla Rail, which had led an effort to keep it as part of its SOS campaign, posted the news to Facebook.
This led to several unhappy comments.
“I‘m sad about this. It’s a loss, not just of a building,” Sabine commented.
Benalla's signal box A was built in the 1870s, mothballed in 1999 and was removed in March 2025. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
“The signal box should never have been allowed to become so run down,” Catherine commented.
“We all tried so hard to keep it,” Netti commented.
“I don’t think they really listened. It’s heartbreaking,” Pat commented.
A digger gets started pulling Benlla's signal box A apart. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
During the work B2A Tranche two construction partners, John Holland confirmed:
2607m2 of soil was excavated.
886 linear metres of fencing and concrete barriers were installed.
800 metres of cable was commissioned.
110 metres of new rail was installed.
170 new sleepers were installed.
41 pieces of monitoring equipment were installed.
two boom gates and two flashing lights were installed.
six redundant power poles were removed.
Benalla's last remaining signal box being pulled apart. Photo: Julie A Harrison imagery.
Photo by
NaomiSeccombe
The work was undertaken when rail services were suspended from 7am Saturday, March 22 to 7pm Monday, March 24.
In Victoria, Inland Rail is upgrading 262km of existing track between Beveridge and Albury to provide sufficient height and width clearances to allow double-stacked freight trains to use the line.
Benalla’s Julie Harrison (Julie A Harrison imagery) was there to see Benalla’s last remaining signal box come down. She provided this gallery of the demolition.
