It is the second most-used regional rail service in Victoria (behind the Geelong line), carrying 4.68 million passengers in the 2022-23 financial year.[1]
In 2004, services to Ararat were reintroduced under then-PremierSteve Bracks' Linking Victoria program. Bracks' government additionally announced its intention to rename the line to "Eureka" in commemoration of the Eureka uprising's 150th anniversary. This renaming was to take effect at the same time as the renaming of Spencer Street Station to Southern Cross Station in 2005,[10] however this move was never carried out.[11]
The line saw a significant package of upgrades during the Regional Fast Rail project. Several parts of the line were rerailed, and new deviations and bridges were built to ease grades, enabling trains to run at speeds up to 160 km/h. V/Line VLocitydiesel multiple unit trains, built as part of the project, started running to Ballarat in 2005.
In 2008, Wendouree Station was built to relieve overcrowding after passenger numbers grew significantly following the completion of the project. The station opened in 2009.[12][13]
Introduction of Maryborough services
As part of the Victorian Transport Plan, the State Government announced passenger rail services on the Mildura line would be reintroduced up to Maryborough, with services beginning in 2010.[14][15] The service is timetabled to operate as a shuttle between Ballarat Station and Maryborough Station. Currently, two return services are operated every day.
The main benefit of the project was for the Geelong line service, which used to run along the same tracks as Metro's Werribee line, resulting in significant congestion. Ballarat and especially Bendigo services benefited less, only being separated from Metro's Sunbury line service between Sunshine and Southern Cross. While the project was overall well-received for increasing service reliability, the choice to bypass North Melbourne was especially criticised.[16]
The line received another significant package of works as part of the Regional Rail Revival project, beginning in early 2018 with major construction completed in 2021.[21] The project, with a budget of $518 million, saw the duplication of 17 kilometres (11 mi) of track between Deer Park and Melton; a new station constructed at Cobblebank; upgrades to Rockbank, Bacchus Marsh and Ballan stations; a new stabling facility built in Maddingley, and a new crossing loop at Millbrook.[22][23] These works enabled substantially more services to run, particularly in the duplicated section up to Melton.[24][25] The new loop at Millbrook allowed for the closure of the Bungaree loop, originally a part of the main line before a deviation was built away from it as part of the previous Regional Fast Rail project.[26]
Services
The current V/Line timetable has weekday services operating approximately every 20 minutes between Melton and Southern Cross; and every 40 minutes between Wendouree and Southern Cross.[2]
Per the current timetable, the first service on the line to Southern Cross is timetabled for 04:13, and it is the only train to originate from Ballarat rather than Wendouree, Bacchus Marsh or Melton. The second train each morning originates from Wendouree at 05:18 and runs express from Melton to Sunshine, the only other service to also run express from Melton to Sunshine is another Wendouree-originated service at 15:44. The third train each weekday morning originates from Bacchus Marsh at 05:28 and stops all stations; the fourth service is a Melton-originated service at 06:16 service, which also stops all stations.
Each weekday morning, five additional services to Southern Cross are timetabled to originate from Bacchus Marsh, at 06:19, 06:47, 07:18, 07:26, and 08:08; these services run express through Rockbank and Deer Park, as do the Melton-originated services at 07:20 and 08:03. Trains originating from Wendouree timetabled between 05:56 to 07:39 inclusive run express through Melton, Cobblebank, Caroline Springs, and Ardeer. Trains stop all stations the rest of the day, except the aforementioned 15:44 service originating from Wendouree which runs express from Melton to Sunshine.
Approximately half of all services running from Southern Cross terminate at Melton. Trains running from Southern Cross to Melton, Bacchus Marsh, and Wendouree typically stop all stations, except during the afternoon and evening peak. To Wendouree, the 15:58 service runs express from Sunshine to Melton, while services timetabled between 16:17 and 18:18 inclusive run express through Ardeer, Caroline Springs, Cobblebank, and Melton. Only one service, at 16:19, is timetabled to terminate directly at Bacchus Marsh, however, the 16:41, 17:21, and 18:04 services timetabled to terminate at Melton wait there for approximately 9 minutes before continuing to Bacchus Marsh and terminating. The four Bacchus Marsh-bound services run express through Deer Park and Rockbank. All services terminating at Melton, other than the aforementioned three which continue to Bacchus Marsh, stop all stations.
On weekends, service frequency between Southern Cross and Wendouree is reduced to approximately one train per hour, with all trains running the full route to Wendouree and stopping all stations.
Five return services per weekday, and three per weekend, extend from Wendouree to Ararat.[7] Two return services are operated as a shuttle from Ballarat to Maryborough every day.[27]
Rolling stock
Almost all services use the V/Line VLocitydiesel multiple unit train, running in sets of either 3 or 6 cars. According to the Network Service Plan released on November 19th, 2023,[28][29] five weekday services use the V/Line N class locomotive with H type carriages: two morning peak services originating from Bacchus Marsh, two evening services terminating at Bacchus Marsh, and one evening service terminating at Melton. They are not used on weekends.[30][31]
Infrastructure
The rail line is double track between Southern Cross and Melton. The rest of the line is single track, with the following crossing loops presently in use:
Rowsley loop, between Bacchus Marsh and the Bank Box loop[32]
Bank Box loop, between the Rowsley loop and Ballan[33]
Millbrook loop, between Ballan and Ballarat
The line is able to run up to 160 km/h between Southern Cross and Wendouree, with speeds reduced to 115 km/h on some sections towards Ararat. The section of the Mildura line used by the Maryborough service is between 80 - 100 km/h.[34][better source needed]
The V/Line service previously used the original line via Bungaree as a long crossing loop between Ballan and Ballarat until December 2020. The loop was used in conjunction with the new deviation built in 2005 as part of the Regional Fast Rail project.[35][26]
Gallery
Serviceton railway station, the original terminus of the line before it was truncated to Ararat
Passengers leaving a train at Ararat, 2008
Cobblebank railway station opened in 2019
Steam train at Ballarat, operated by non-profit preservation group Steamrail Victoria
