Geelong rail line patronage due to double by 2031 to 16 million trips annually

Patronage on the Geelong line is due to double by 2031 in a startling reminder of the need for fast rail and other rail infrastructure improvements.

Patronage on the Geelong line is due to double by 2031 an investigation by Australasian Railway Association, that highlights the region’s need for fast rail, reveals.

Looking at V/Line’s 2019/2020 corporate plan, the ARA has says that V/Line predicted

patronage on the Geelong corridor will exceed 16 million per annum by 2031, which will account for about 41 per cent of regional rail travel.

It comes as about 93 per cent of Geelong respondents to a ARA survey of 600 residents across Victoria, NSW and Queensland said fast rail would make moving to the region more attractive for others.

While 79 per cent of Geelong respondents say they’d choose rail to travel to the Melbourne via rail if travel times were the same or less than their current mode of transport.

ARA chief executive Caroline Wilkie said plans for Geelong fast rail proved how faster rail could change how society lives and works, and would support the post pandemic recovery.

Planned fast rail is essential to cater for 16 million rail trips by 2031

“Fast rail will make that a reality for Geelong and unlock new opportunities for regional development and tourism as the state recovers from COVID-19,” Ms Wilkie said.

“Geelong is just the beginning, with regional Victoria will continue to benefit if the significant rail investment the state has seen in recent years continues.”

“One in five Melbourne residents surveyed (22 per cent) were likely to consider relocating to the regions after COVID-19.”

The state government has revealed construction of Geelong fast rail to Melbourne via Werribee was due to start in 2023.

It follows a $4bn commitment to the project equally split between Spring St and Canberra.

“It has to be done right. It is just a little bit longer for us to put an end date on this. But we will certainly be underway in 2023. 2022 we will be out to market,” Premier Daniel Andrews said in November.

When completed services from Geelong to Melbourne via Werribee will take about 50 minutes but a timeline for the delivery of faster services it not yet know.

Ms Wilkie said: “Two thirds (63 per cent) of survey participants told us they would be more likely to move to a regional area if travel times to the city were less than an hour. A third (35 per cent) of Melbourne respondents said faster rail connections would make them more likely to consider a move out of the city.”

Other findings from the ARA’s Faster Rail Report: Bringing Australia’s rail network up to speed report, due to be released on Tuesday, include:

• 66 per cent of Geelong line passengers are commuters, travelling for work or education;

• The Greater Geelong population is due to grow by 64 per cent growth by 2041; and

• New fast rail lines should be built “in the next five to 10 years.”

The report also found growth in regional rail could support growth areas such as Geelong by

connecting it to jobs and services.
“Along the Geelong corridor there is potential to encourage land use uplift at new stations such as Cobblebank and support continued growth at Tarneit, Wyndham Vale and Waurn Ponds,” the report reads.

“A whole of network approach can provide better access to jobs and opportunities

for regional communities and in metropolitan Melbourne.”

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Originally published as Geelong rail line patronage due to double by 2031 to 16 million trips annually