New V/Line timetable will see extra weekend services on Geelong line

The state government has announced a new V/Line timetable, with additional weekend services on the Geelong line expected later this year.

A new V/Line timetable is expected to deliver a range of new travel options for regional passengers.

A new V/Line timetable is expected to deliver a range of new travel options for Geelong passengers, headlined by an increase in weekend services.

The timetable, which will come into effect on December 1, will see 68 new weekend services on the Geelong line.

Additionally, 20 existing services will be extended from Wyndham Vale to Waurn Ponds.

Geelong MP Christine Couzens said on Tuesday that the changes meant trains would run on the Geelong line every 20 minutes between 8am and 9pm on weekends.

Lara MP Ella George said the additional options would provide greater accessibility and convenience.

A new V/Line timetable set to come into play is expected to deliver a range of new travel options for regional passengers.

More services will be extended to South Geelong, Marshall and Waurn Ponds stations on weekdays, aided by the completion of the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds duplication in August this year.

The new services follow the completion of stage two of the Geelong line upgrade, which delivered new platforms at Marshall and South Geelong stations, along with track and signalling upgrades between Geelong and Waurn Ponds.

The Geelong line is the busiest regional line in Victoria, carrying more than 8.1m passengers during the 2022-23 financial year – more than the Ballarat, Bendigo and Seymour lines combined.

Passengers on the Warrnambool line will benefit from the introduction of a fourth service on the weekend, while the more modern VLocity trains will operate on the line for the first time from November 1.

VLocity trains first travelled on the Geelong in 2006.

They are more accessible, produce less carbon, and are faster and more reliable than the older models in V/Line’s stable.

The state government announced in April that a record number of people were travelling on V/Line services, thanks largely the introduction of a regional fare cap.

The cap, which came into effect in March last year, allows regional commuters to pay a maximum of $10.60.

Prior to the cap being introduced, a return ticket to Geelong would cost $27.60.

Originally published as New V/Line timetable will see extra weekend services on Geelong line