 The railway finally reached Echuca in 1864 and transformed the town into a major river port, with a famous wharf and substantial urban growth in the 1870s.In 1876 the Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company opened its private railway northwards to Barnes and Deniliquin, and the line at Echuca was extended across the Murray River into Moama to join the railway.This section was taken over by Victorian Railways in 1923, as part of the 1922 Border Railways Act.