Name: Mornington Railside Trail
Rating: 3

Rail Trail
On Road
Potential RT
Other Trail
Former Railway

A work in progress, this 4km rail trail is expected to extend to Mornington as a railside path in the next few years as part of the Peninsula Trails project.

Why visit the Mornington Railside Trail?

Trail Partially open

View Map

You can catch glimpses of the tree-lined railway corridor on the way from Baxter
Walk or ride next to the disused tracks from the Mornington Peninsula Fwy to Moorooduc Station, where you can learn about the history of the Mornington branch line
The Mt Eliza Regional Park next to Moorooduc Station is a great place to explore
You can catch a Mornington Tourist Railway train, which runs for 6km from Moorooduc

Nearby Attractions

Mornington Tourist Railway’s restored K163 steam locomotive
Port Phillip’s rainbow-coloured bathing boxes
Mothers and Mills beaches, which are connected by a scenic walking path
The Briars wildlife sanctuary and historic homestead
Devilbend Natural Features Reserve
Frankston to Baxter Trail (as far as Golf Links Rd)
Sages Cottage

Trail Guide

Last updated: 12 December 2024

The Mornington Railside Trail currently links Baxter with Moorooduc and will soon reach Mornington, where it will connect with other new and existing trails to a variety of parks, historical areas and towns on the northern Mornington Peninsula

Access Points

Baxter: The Baxter Central carpark, near the railway station, on Baxter-Tooradin Rd (C781)
Moorooduc: Mt Eliza Regional Park on Moorooduc Hwy has car parking, play equipment and toilets. There’s also some on-street parking in Eramosa Rd West and at The Coolstores shopping centre
Tanti Park: Access and facilities to be decided
Mornington: Access and facilities to be decided

For public transport options go to ‘GET AROUND’ below

Section Guides

Baxter to Moorooduc (4km)

From the Baxter Central car park turn right along Baxter-Tooradin Rd on the shared path. In some places you may need to use the two-way service road.
Before you reach the Mornington Peninsula Fwy, turn left across Baxter-Tooradin Rd onto the Peninsula Link Trail access path. If there is heavy traffic or you have children, head north on the other access path, then south on the Peninsula Link Trail
At Frankston-Flinders Rd you cross to the other side of the freeway
You’ll catch a glimpse of the tree-lined railway corridor as you pass the freeway bridge over the Barakee Reserve Outfall Drain.
After looping around the roadhouse, you’ll spot part of the railway underpass on your left, which was built for the tourist railway to extend its service to Baxter. Then you’ll cross the railway embankment and tracks.
Soon you’re on the tree-lined railway easement to Moorooduc, travelling next to the disused line
This is a pleasant 2km stretch with lots of shade. There are pedestrian traffic lights at the Moorooduc Hwy. The trail currently ends in the railyard, with Mt Eliza Regional Park to your right.
Baxter has a wide range of shops, including two bakeries. Moorooduc has a cafe and restaurant in The Coolstores Shopping Centre near the corner of Eramosa Rd West.

Moorooduc to Mornington Station (6km)

This section is out for community consultation

This component is part of the Peninsula Trails project being undertaken by Mornington Peninsula Shire, with state and federal backing, to fill gaps in the area’s shared paths and create a network of 170km of trails for walkers, runners and riders to explore the area. With the blessing of the Mornington Railway Preservation Society, which operates its tourist trains on this section, it will pass through the bush near Mount Eliza Regional Park.
After crossing Wooralla Dr, it will run through open pasture, before entering newer subdivisions around Tanti Park, where there is an old station site.
The section will end at the “new” Mornington Station, which was built near the corner of Yuilles and Watts roads for the tourist railway after the remainder of the corridor had been sold.
It will provide safer travel to local schools, shopping centres, sports precincts, the Mornington Botanical Rose Garden and Melbourne’s wider trail network via the Peninsula Link Trail

Mornington Station to Mills Beach (2km)

This section is out for community consultation

The potential exists for an extension of the shared path to Mornington’s main shopping area and Port Phillip Bay, but there are obstacles. The rail corridor behind The Bays Hospital remains clear but the Mornington Central shopping centre was built on the site of the original railyard. There’s a plaque and station board outside the main entrance to the centre in Railway Gr.
The trail may involve a shimmy route along quieter streets to Mills Beach
Mornington has a surprisingly large range of shopping, dining and accommodation options

CONNECTING TRAILS

Harraps Creek Walkway (7km): Runs south from Mornington via Dallas Brooks Park and Mornington Botanical Rose Garden to The Briars Historic Homestead and park.
Frankston to Baxter Trail (7.5km): This is being extended 4.6km from north of Baxter (Golf Links Rd) to Somerville in early 2025 as part of the Peninsula Trails project. You’ll then be able to ride or walk from Melbourne to Moorooduc or Bittern on shared paths. The extension of the trail from Moorooduc to Mornington is the next scheduled part of Peninsula Trails.

Photo Gallery

V/Line Sprinter carefully avoids the Mornington Line (foreground) leaving Baxter [2023]

Peninsula Freeway construction over the railway line even left room for electrification [2023]

The tracks to Moorooduc cross the trail west of the peninsula freeway [2023]

Playground at Mt Eliza Regional Park, north of Moorooduc Railway Station [2023]

Ale Train at Moorooduc. Proposed path would be to the right [Yorsys Photography, 2017]

The route to Mornington has been subject to an environmental assessment [2023]

A number of snowgums have made a home for themselves along the rail corridor to town [2023]

Safe Link convenor Graeme Rocke near the site of the Mornington Station [2023]

The path may one day link up with the Bay Trail on the Mornington foreshore [2023]

Get Around

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Public Transport

V/Lines’ Stony Point service from Frankston will get you to Baxter but is not a frequent train as there is only one track and it has limited room for bikes. From there you’ll need to follow our SECTION GUIDE instructions.

Refer to the PTV web page for map and timetables, or the navigation app of your choice.

Do you know of a bike hire or transportation service on this rail trail that should appear here? If so, let us know at admin@railtrails.org.au.

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You can see the potential of this trail walking or riding along the Peninsula Link Trail to Moorooduc

Further Information

Information and Links

The Mornington Peninsula is already blessed with a wide range of tourist attractions, but the shire council, with support from the federal and state governments, is trying to make the area more accessible for walkers and cyclists by filling gaps in its trails to create a Peninsula Trail network of over 100km of high-standard shared paths. The first project is the glaring hole in the Frankston to Bittern Trail, which currently doesn’t make it through Baxter. Work on this 4.6km gap, from Golf Links Rd to Somerville, is due to start soon

The 6km Moorooduc to Mornington section, which would bring the Mornington Railside Trail to the end of the current tourist railway line, is the next project and subject to funding. For further information, see the Peninsula Trail document here: https://shape.mornpen.vic.gov.au/peninsula-trail

Contact Rail Trails Australia

To contact us about this rail trail, email vic@railtrails.org.au

Background Information

Traditional owners

We acknowledge the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the land and waterways on which this trail is being built.

Development and future of the rail trail

The construction of the Peninsula Link section of the Mornington Fwy saw a railside path built only as far as Moorooduc, leaving Mornington cyclists to find their own way along busy roads to Moorooduc before they could take advantage of the Peninsula Link Trail and the rest of the region’s extensive shared path network. Mornington Community Safe Link, with backing from the local Rotary club, began petitioning for the trail to make it the 6km into town along or near the rail corridor to link three shopping centres, five schools and two sports precincts. The Peninsula Trail project looks like finally making that happen.

Railway History

The Mornington line opened in 1889, branching off at Baxter from the Stony Point line. It closed in 1981 due to falling patronage. By that stage it was just serviced by a diesel-electric railmotor. The Mornington Railway Preservation Society was formed three years later and, in 1988, began running the K163 steam locomotive on the mainline network to raise funds. The restored loco had been rescued from a horrible death as the plaything of children on a plinth in Frankston. Three years later, the group leased the Mornington Line from Baxter to the Nepean Hwy level crossing in Mornington as the remainder of the line and original Mornington Station site had been sold. After eight years of work, including the construction of a modest station at Yuilles Rd, the society began running tourist services from Moorooduc. It retains a 24-hour-a-day lease on the corridor and hopes one day to extend its services to Baxter.

News

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