Long-distance V/Line services still waiting for myki while $1.7bn tap-and-go upgrade prioritises metro system

Metro commuters will soon touch on with smartphones and credit cards — but travellers at these V/Line stations are still stuck using paper tickets while the government refuses to say when they’ll get an upgrade.

The first stage of the new myki rollout will exclude 37 regional train stations, meaning these commuters will be stuck with paper tickets and QR code e-tickets. Picture: Victoria’s Big Build

Regional transport hubs at Shepparton, Warrnambool and Swan Hill are among the 37 stations excluded from the first stage of the rollout of new myki readers for tap-and-go travel.

While metro commuters will finally be able to touch on with their smartphones and credit cards next year, travellers across the regional network will still be waiting for access to myki itself, two decades after contracts were signed for the problem-plagued plastic card.

The Herald Sun can reveal the Allan government is refusing to say when enhanced readers will be installed at long-distance V/Line railway stations as part of a long-awaited $1.7bn upgrade to the touch-on technology.

Commuters at 37 train stations across Victoria’s rail network still cannot use myki cards to travel. Picture: Brendan Beckett

The new myki readers being rolled out across the rail system for tap-and-go travel. Picture: Reddit

It means thousands of regional commuters travelling from these stations will be stuck with outdated paper tickets or eTickets sent to their phones that are not compatible with myki readers.

The stations excluded from the initial rollout of the myki upgrade include those from Dingee to Swan Hill, Elmore to Echuca, Beaufort to Ararat, Crewick to Maryborough, Winchelsea to Warrnambool, Nagambie to Shepparton, Avenel to Albury and Rosedale to Bairnsdale.

These stations were all meant to be serviced by myki when the ticketing system was first announced in 2005 as a replacement to Metcard. But after huge cost blowouts, delays and significant user issues with the system, the Baillieu government called for a review of myki and ultimately decided to cut long-distance V/Line services from the rollout in 2011.

Metal stands and supporting infrastructure for myki readers had already been installed at the regional stations before the project scope was changed — and fourteen years later are still not able to be used by commuters.

V/Line spent $1.9m on a new e-ticketing system for commuters who still cannot use myki on their train lines. Picture: Supplied

While commuters continued to wait for myki, the Allan government last year opted to launch a completely separate $1.94m eTicketing system to send regional commuters their tickets to their phone. That multimillion-dollar contract is due to expire in May, 2026.

While it’s a step forward from the 90s-era paper tickets, Nationals MP for Murray Plains Peter Walsh couldn’t believe his residents still couldn’t use myki cards.

“I just don’t understand why, after all these years, we are still waiting for the same services supplied to people in Melbourne. It’s just plain wrong and unfair,” he said.

“We had been promised Myki early on and have been repeatedly told it is coming. Well, we are years down the track now and the best the Allan Labor government can come up with is yet another assurance it will happen — but with no fixed date.

“In other words, nothing to see here, move on. Another empty promise to make us think something will happen, and we all know how much that promise is worth.”

MP Peter Walsh with a useless metal stand installed years ago for myki readers that were never delivered at Kerang train station. Picture: Supplied

Meanwhile, member for Shepparton Kim O’Keefe said the myki rollout was just another example of the Allan government ignoring the region’s pressing transport needs.

“With no timeline in sight for passengers to be able to use their Myki cards on long-haul distances on the V/Line network, this is just another example of the Allan Labor Government can’t manage projects and Victorians are paying the price,” she said.

“Quite frankly it’s embarrassing that paper tickets are still being used on regional lines such as the Shepparton line in 2025.”

Shadow minister for public transport Matthew Guy called public transport ticketing “a continuing giant balls up by the state government”.

“If the state government can’t coordinate the basics, such as train tickets, no wonder they can’t manage billion dollar transport budgets either,” he said.

Regional commuters have been given no timeline on when they will be able to use myki cards, phones, smartwatches and credit cards to tap onto public transport. Picture: Grace Frost

The Department of Transport (DTP) is currently installing more than 20,000 new myki readers at myki-serviced train stations across the state as part of the $1.7bn project being rolled out by ticketing-operator Conduent. These will be switched on for contactless payment early next year.

The Department said it would after that install new readers at V/Line stations that are currently serviced by paper tickets and eTickets.

“We’re currently installing new myki readers across the myki rail network and the rollout is progressing well, with all readers expected to be installed before the end of the year,” a DTP spokesperson said.

“We’ve introduced e-Ticketing for V/Line long distance services with passengers now able to choose to display their ticket on their smartphone or print them at home.”

Originally published as Long-distance V/Line services still waiting for myki while $1.7bn tap-and-go upgrade prioritises metro system