After slashing the cost of a V/Line ticket through the regional fare cap, the Allan Labor Government is now boosting train frequency on the Ballarat, Ararat, Warrnambool and Bendigo lines - delivering 50 new or extended weekend services.
Premier Jacinta Allan joined Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams in Ballarat today to announce a new V/Line timetable that will make weekend shopping, dining and trips to the footy easier for passengers on some of Victoria's busiest regional train lines.
From 13 April, Ballarat Line passengers will benefit from 33 extra services, with trains running every 40 minutes on weekends between 8:00am and 9:00pm for the first time.
Most weekend bus services that connect to trains on the Ballarat Line will also now run every 40 minutes - a significant boost to the frequency of bus services.
On the Ararat Line, two new return services will be added on Saturdays and Sundays, including a 9:15pm Saturday service from Southern Cross to get passengers home from AFL twilight matches or an evening in Melbourne.
Five new weekend services will be added to the Bendigo Line, including late-night trains from Melbourne to Bendigo so passengers can enjoy the city nightlife. Five popular weekend services on the Bendigo Line will also be expanded from three to six-carriage VLocity trains, meaning more capacity across the weekend for locals and visitors.
From 14 April, there will be four extra weekend services on the Warrnambool Line - with new return services on Saturdays and Sundays adding to the extra services rolled out late last year. This means Warrnambool passengers will have five daily weekend return services, with the line more popular than ever thanks to the regional fare cap.
For the first time, passengers on the Warrnambool Line will also have access to modern and reliable VLocity trains on all weekend and weekday services.
Two Geelong Line trains will also be extended through to Waurn Ponds Station every weekday morning, giving passengers in Waurn Ponds more travel options.
This means almost 150 of the 200 extra weekend services promised by this Labor Government at the 2022 election have now been delivered.
Almost 40 million train and coach trips have been taken on the V/Line network, and more than
$114 million saved by passengers, since the fare cap was introduced in March 2023.
As stated by Premier Jacinta Allan
"We made regional travel more affordable for Victorian families through the regional fare cap and now we're delivering more services to four regional rail lines."
As stated by Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams
"More regional Victorians are choosing to take public transport than ever before thanks to our cheaper fares policy - so we're catering to this extra demand with more trains, more often."
