The Andrews Labor Government will introduce 80 new weekly regional train services and open the new Caroline Springs Station in Melbourne’s west in January next year.
Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan today announced the new V/Line timetable, which includes a huge boost to services across the V/Line network.
Eighteen new services will be introduced on the Geelong line – regional Victoria’s busiest commuter corridor – and the Bendigo, Ballarat and Traralgon lines will each get 10 extra services every week.
Maryborough will get its first new service since the former Labor Government re-opened the line in 2010, and a Seymour train will also be extended to Shepparton each weekday to provide an extra service for local passengers.
The Warrnambool line will get its first new services in more than a decade, with 10 new weekday services and the extension of a Geelong service to and from Warrnambool on Sundays. These trains will be bolstered by new coach services to and from Portland, which will connect with all the new weekday Warrnambool trains.
At the same time, Victoria’s newest station at Caroline Springs will open, providing direct train access to one of Victoria’s fastest growing communities for the first time.
The 80 new regional train services are the first of more than 170 announced as part of the 2016-17 Victorian Budget, and are on top of the 340 new services the Labor Government introduced last year.
The Victorian Budget included $1.3 billion for better regional public transport, including $198 million to rebuild V/Line, $280 million for new carriages and $518 million to improve services to Melbourne’s West and Ballarat.
The new train timetables will be available for download from 28 November at ptv.vic.gov.au. Timetable updates, including new bus and coach services, will be added to PTV’s Journey Planner and PTV App from 5 January 2017.
Another timetable change is scheduled for mid-next year, which will introduce even more regional services.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan
“We’re introducing 80 new train services each week to get people in regional Victoria home safer and sooner.”
“The new services build on the more than 340 services we added last year, and the $1.3 billion we invested in the this year’s Budget to improve regional public transport.”
“Caroline Springs Station will provide train services to the doorstep of this booming community in Melbourne’s west for the first time.”
“New services and train stations make a real difference, better connecting people to jobs, education and each other. We’re putting people first.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020