The Victorian Government's Act No. 821, the Railway Construction Act 1884, authorised the construction of 59 new railway lines in the colony, plus additional infrastructure.
Organised by the Minister for Railways, Thomas Bent, and passed on 12 December 1884, it became notorious for the large number of railway lines it authorised, and was dubbed the "Octopus Act". It was accompanied by the Railway Loan Act, No. 760, which permitted the raising of a loan of £600,000 for construction of the various lines.
The act, "to authorize the Construction of certain Lines of Railway by the State and for other purposes", listed 51 "country lines", 8 "suburban lines", 4 short connections and bridges, and 2 "railway[s] or sidings", specifying 65 pieces of new infrastructure in total. It also provided for additional platforms, buildings, sidings, road approaches, drains, bridge widenings and modifications to existing infrastructure as necessary. It allowed for an average expenditure of £3,960 per mile for the country lines, and £14,294 per mile for the suburban lines.
The depression of the 1890s soon rendered many of these lines unviable.
Scheduled lines
Country lines
Avoca and Ararat Railway
Bacchus Marsh and Gordons Railway
Bacchus Marsh Junction and New-port Railway
Ballarat East and Buninyong Railway
Ballarat Cattle Yards Branch Railway
Ballarat Eacecourse and Springs Railway
Birregurra and Cape Otway Forest Railway
Camperdown and Curdie's River Railway
Camperdown to Terand and Warrnambool Railway
Coburg and Somerton Railway
Creswick and Daylesford Railway
Dandenong and Leongatha Railway
Dimboola and South Australian Border Railway
Fitzroy and Whittlesea Railway
Frankston and Crib Point Railway 15A: Mornington Railway
Frankston Cemetery Railway
Hamilton and Coleraine Railway
Heyfield and Bairns-dale Railway, Horsham and Natimuk Railway Inglewood and Dunolly Railway 20A. Kerang to Swan Hill Koroit and Belfast Railway Koroit Railway via Penshurst 22A. Hamilton and Penshurst Railway Koroit and Warrnambool Railway Kyneton and Redesdale Railway Lancefield and Kilmore Railway Leongatha and Port Albert Railway Lilydale and Healesville Railway (via Yarra Flats) Lubeck and Rupanyup Railway Maffra and Briagolong Railway Maldon and Laanecoorie Railway Moe and Narracan Railway Mount Moriac and Forest Railway Murchison and Rushworth Rail-way Murtoa and Warracknabeal Railway Myrtleford and Bright Railway Numurkah and Cobram Railway Numurkah and Nathalia Railway Ondit and Beeac Railway Ringwood and Ferntree Gully Railway Sale and Stratford Railway Scarsdale and Lintons Railway Shepparton and Dookie Railway St. James and Yarrawonga RAilway Tatura and Echuca Railway Terang and Mortlake Railway Wandong Heathcote and Sandhurst Railway Warragul and Neerim Railway Wedderburn Road and Wedderburn Railway Wodonga and Tallangatta Railway Yackandandah and Beechworth Railway Yea and Mansfield Railway; Alexandra Branch Railway
Suburban lines
Schedule numbers are as given.
52. Alphington and Heidelberg Railway
53. Brighton and Picnic Point Railway
54. Burnley to Junction with Outer Circle Railway
55. Fitzroy Branch Railway
56. Hawthorn and Kew Railway
57. Lal Lal Racecourse Railway
58. Outer Circle Railway, Oakleigh, via Camberwell to Richmond and Alphington Railway 59. Royal Park and Clifton Hill Railway
Additional infrastructure
Schedule numbers are as given, with authorised expenditure from Section 7 where given.
60. Murray-bridge (temporary) (£1,750) 61. Portland Pier 62. Murray-bridge (£25,000) 63. Flinders-street Viaduct (£73,000) 64. Windsor Siding 65. Ballarat siding
Section 4 provided for "Additional sidings etc. on existing lines".
Section 7 also authorised expenditure on the following works:
66. Duplication Hawthorn and Camberwell Line (£8,500) 67. Railway works (£800,000) Rolling-stock (£178,000) and permanent-way (£415,000)
Implementation
The task of implementing the act fell to Richard Speight, chief railway commissioner at the time, a role created by the Victorian Railways Commissioners Act of 1883.
Beneficiaries of the act included construction engineers such as Andrew O'Keefe, and politicians such as Thomas Bent himself, who reaped the rewards of commissioning construction in their own electorates.
Construction of the lines was complete by April 1890.