Too many guests, not enough trains: Waiting for final delivery of new V/Line trains
A surge in passenger numbers has heaped pressure on Victoria’s regional rail network but the wait for additional trains is set to tighten the squeeze.
Victoria
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More trains for Victoria’s regional rail lines are still on order as the network struggles to cope with increasing passenger numbers.
The $10 fare cap attracted travellers to take more than 22 million trips in the first year, but overcrowding on V/Line services is a common problem with the squeeze now also being felt on weekends.
More regular services especially on popular shorter routes such as Geelong or Ballarat to Melbourne will only be possible when new VLocity trains come on line, with some expected later this year.
The wait comes as a major report by rail and town planning advocacy groups calls for the state to adopt a three-stage plan to improve rail services and enable the regions to prosper.
The report, Growing Victoria’s Regions, by the Rail Futures Institute and the Town and Country Planning Association said an improved rail network would maintain Melbourne’s liveability and also enable regional centres to thrive.
Rail Futures Institute president John Hearsch said the first aim should be to have a enhanced passengers services in place by 2030.
One first step would be having weekend services on the Geelong and Ballarat lines every 20 minutes instead of 40 minutes now which is deterring some visitors travelling to Melbourne for sport, shows or shopping.
Other issues plaguing the network include:
* The three-carriage VLocity train model was inflexible, Mr Hearsch said, and that it made adding capacity difficult.
* Buses are replacing trains between Warrnambool and Geelong until August 25 as track duplication works are carried out between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds.
* Constant line closures ]also disrupted freight services which have to resort to heavy vehicle road transport, adding pressure to regional roads.
* Trying to get on to packed trains was still a problem at Melbourne suburban stations that were on the V/Line network, such as Wyndham Vale, Tarneit and Melton.
The final order of VLocity is expected late in 2026 but some are due within weeks.
Transport planners should already be looking at new technologies as the VLocity diesel railcars would not be sustainable in decades to come, Mr Hearsch said.
“Diesel trains have an average life span of 35 to 40 years so the ones they are building now would still be in service in the 2060s. Running diesel trains that many years out is not going to stack up in terms of environment considerations.
“And bear in mind each of these three carriages have two engines, so when you have a six-car train you have 12 engines and they’re putting out a lot of diesel emissions.’’
A Victorian government spokesman said almost 200 extra weekend regional rail services were being delivered.
“We are making it cheaper for Victorians to travel around the state with the regional fare cap, which has saved passengers $50 million in the first year of reduced fares.”
“V/Line is running more services than ever before to meet this demand and continuing to roll out modern VLocity trains, with 118 already in service and construction now underway on a further 23 trains, following our $601m investment last year.”
Other improvements include the rollout of nine-carriage VLocity trains on the Wyndham Vale Line two years ago, increasing peak-period capacity by up to 50 per cent.
The Melton Line will also be upgraded to accommodate similar services.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the weekend crush was now commonplace.
“Capacity is just not meeting demand,’’ he said.
“And we have this issue of long-distance (regional) trains trying to meet suburban demand.’’
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