In 1879, a narrow gauge line opened from
Beachport (
Rivoli Bay North) through
Millicent to
Mount Gambier. In 1887, the
Mount Gambier railway line was constructed to
Naracoorte (connecting to the
Kingston-Naracoorte railway line) and
Wolseley, where it joined the
Adelaide-Wolseley line. On 28 November 1917, a
broad gauge line opened from Mount Gambier to
Heywood near
Portland. In the 1950s, the narrow gauge lines were converted to broad gauge. Mount Gambier had an extensive goods yard and a locomotive depot with a
roundhouse. Ownership of the station and the railway lines was transferred to
Australian National in 1978. The station closed on 31 December 1990 when the
Bluebird railcar passenger service, known as the Blue Lake, ceased operating, along with every intrastate passenger services in South Australia but the lines were still used by freight. When the
Adelaide-Melbourne railway line was converted to standard gauge, the Mount Gambier, Heywood and Millicent lines remained as broad gauge, consequentially becoming isolated and were closed to remaining freight services on 12 April 1995. In the late 1990s to mid 2000s, the
Limestone Coast Railway, operated tourist services on the abandoned lines from Mount Gambier to
Penola,
Coonawarra,
Tantanoola,
Millicent and Rennick with
Redhen railcars. However, due to increased insurance costs, the service ceased 1 July 2006, with the last service being a train to Tantanoola on 28 June 2006. In 2013, the old yard was lifted and covered with grass. The station building was then operated by radio station Lime FM. In 2015, after over a year of work, the Railway Lands was completely transformed into a public community space. 20,000 square metres of turf covered the entire former-industrial site. The grand opening in November saw thousands of residents come together to utilise the area. A "back to nature" playground, wheelchair-accessible barbecues, a pond with a creek, native plants, a labyrinth, plus many more features for the community to use. Mount Gambier City Council plan to use the area for a number of annual events, but encourage local community groups to also activate the area. This, in turn, permanently disconnects the Heywood line from the Millicent and Naracoorte lines except for a two track easement through to give right of way for any future standardisation. In 2018, the roundhouse was demolished after being damaged by fire in 2014. Timber from the roundhouse was reused at a different roundhouse in
Peterborough during its restoration from 2021 to 2022. In 2020, the station building was restored to original condition by the City of Mount Gambier Council. ==Services==