Ballarat line

This article is about the V/Line services. For the physical railway, see Ararat railway line and Mildura railway line.

The Ballarat line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves 13 stations towards its terminus in Ballarat's western suburb of Wendouree via Melton and Bacchus Marsh. Services are operated primarily using V/Line VLocity diesel multiple unit sets in either 3- or 6-car configurations.

Ballarat
VLocity VL81 arriving into Ballarat
Overview
Service type	Passenger service
Status	Operating
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Current operator(s)	V/Line
Former operator(s)	Victorian Railways
Ridership	4.68 million (2022–23)[1]
Website	V/Line Ballarat on Twitter
Route
Termini	Southern Cross Melton Bacchus Marsh Wendouree [2]
Stops	13
Distance travelled	123 km (76 mi)[3]
Service frequency	Weekday services between Southern Cross and Melton run approx. every 20 minutes Weekday services between Southern Cross and Wendouree run approx. every 40 minutes Extra services to Southern Cross originate from Bacchus Marsh during the weekday morning peak Weekend services run approx. once an hour between Southern Cross and Wendouree [2]
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy
Technical
Rolling stock	VLocity[4]
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph) maximum[5]
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map Legend km0 Zone 000.0 Ararat V/line rail service 000.0 The Overland to Adelaide 205.8 Ararat 17 159.8 Beaufort 12 118.1 Wendouree 8 000.0 Maryborough V/Line rail service 182.5 Maryborough 14 168.3 Talbot 13 151.1 Clunes 11 132.9 Creswick 9 113.8 Ballarat 8 79.5 Ballan 4 52.9 Bacchus Marsh 2 41.3 Melton 2 34.3 Cobblebank 2 30.2 Rockbank 2 21.2 Caroline Springs 2 17.9 Deer Park 2 15.1 Ardeer 2 12.3 Sunshine 2 1 5.6 Footscray 1 0.0 Southern Cross 1 This diagram: view talk edit

Ararat
VLocity VL80 arriving into Ararat
Overview
Service type	Long-distance (paper ticket) service
Status	Operating
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Route
Termini	Southern Cross Ararat
Stops	15
Distance travelled	211 km (131 mi)[6]
Average journey time	2h 30min (approx)[7]
Service frequency	4 weekday return services, 2 weekend return services[7]
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy
Technical
Rolling stock	VLocity[4]
Route map Legend h:mm 0:00 0.0 km Southern Cross Zone 1 0:08 5.6 km Footscray Zone 1 0:13 12.3 km Sunshine Zone 1/2 0:16 15.1 km Ardeer Zone 2 0:19 17.9 km Deer Park Zone 2 0:23 21.2 km Caroline Springs Zone 2 0:29 30.2 km Rockbank Zone 2 0:33 34.4 km Cobblebank Zone 2 0:36 41.3 km Melton Zone 2 0:47 52.9 km Bacchus Marsh Zone 2 1:05 79.5 km Ballan Zone 4 1:28 113.8 km Ballarat Zone 8 Maryborough V/Line rail service 1:35 118.1 km Wendouree Zone 8 1:58 159.8 km Beaufort Zone 12 2:28 205.8 km Ararat Zone 17 The Overland Standard timetabled journey from Southern Cross

Maryborough
VLocity VL38 at Maryborough
Overview
Service type	Long-distance (paper ticket) service
Status	Operational
Locale	Victoria, Australia
First service	24 July 2010; 15 years ago (2010-07-24)[8]
Current operator(s)	V/Line
Former operator(s)	Victorian Railways (to Mildura)
Route
Termini	Ballarat Maryborough
Stops	5
Distance travelled	68.7 km (42.7 mi)
Average journey time	52 minutes
Service frequency	Two return services per day
Line(s) used	Mildura
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy
Disabled access	Yes
Technical
Rolling stock	VLocity[4]
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map Legend h:mm 0:00 0.0 km Southern Cross Zone 1 0:07 5.6 km Footscray Zone 1 0:12 12.3 km Sunshine Zone 1/2 0:16 15.1 km Ardeer Zone 2 0:18 17.9 km Deer Park Zone 2 0:23 21.2 km Caroline Springs Zone 2 0:28 30.2 km Rockbank Zone 2 34.3 km Cobblebank Zone 2 0:33 41.3 km Melton Zone 2 0:45 52.9 km Bacchus Marsh Zone 2 1:02 79.5 km Ballan Zone 4 1:24 113.8 km Ballarat Zone 8 Ararat V/Line rail service 1:44 132.9 km Creswick Zone 9 1:56 151.1 km Clunes Zone 11 2:08 168.3 km Talbot Zone 13 2:22 182.5 km Maryborough Zone 14 Some timetabled journey to Southern Cross. Most services run between Ballarat and Maryborough only.

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]

The Ararat line extends further west from Wendouree to Ararat, while the Maryborough line is operated primarily as a shuttle from Ballarat along the Mildura line to Maryborough.

History

Main article: Ararat railway line § History

20th century

V/Line operated services along the original Serviceton railway line as far as Horsham and Dimboola. Several stations, including Gordon and Warrenheip, were closed in 1981 as part of the New Deal reforms to Victoria's country rail services. Services to Mildura, which ran via Ballarat, ended in 1993.

In 1994, all services beyond Ballarat were withdrawn to allow for conversion of the line between Ararat and Serviceton from broad gauge to standard gauge. The now-standard gauge track was connected to other former-broad gauge lines to become the Western standard gauge railway line.^[9]

21st century

In 2004, services to Ararat were reintroduced under then-Premier Steve 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]

Regional Fast Rail

Main article: Regional Fast Rail project

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 VLocity diesel 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]

Regional Rail Link

Main article: Regional Rail Link project

In 2008 the Regional Rail Link project was announced, consisting of a new pair of tracks exclusively for V/Line services, avoiding the need to share tracks with Metro's electrified suburban services. The tracks begin west of Werribee, following an alignment up to Deer Park, then running into two new platforms at Southern Cross, completely bypassing Tottenham, West Footscray, Middle Footscray, South Kensington, and North Melbourne; but still stopping at Sunshine and Footscray at two platforms dedicated to V/Line services.

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]

Caroline Springs Station

Construction of Caroline Springs Station, between Deer Park and Rockbank, commenced in 2015. The station opened in 2017 to serve new housing developments in the area.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Regional Rail Revival

Main article: Regional Rail Revival

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 passing 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]

Level Crossing Removal Project

In 2022 and 2023, three level crossings were removed in Deer Park and Ardeer to make the line level crossing-free between Deer Park and Southern Cross.^[27][28][29] An additional four level crossings are currently being removed in Melton and Truganina, with Melton Station being rebuilt.^[30]

Future

Main article: Ararat railway line § Future

Several upgrades are planned for the future. 9-car VLocity trains will be introduced up to Melton by 2027.^[31] Electrification of the line up to Melton is planned to occur after a package of upgrades to Sunshine Station begin in 2026; these works additionally include partial quadruplication to separate the future electrified Melton service from the regional service.^[32][33]

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. On weekends, services are operated every 40 minutes, with all trains running the full route to/from Wendouree and stopping all stations.^[34]

Five return services per weekday, and three per weekend, extend from Wendouree to Ararat.^[7] Two return services run between Southern Cross and Maryborough every day.^[35]

Rolling stock

All regular passenger services on the line are operated with V/Line VLocity diesel multiple unit trains, running in sets of either 3 or 6 cars. As of the Network Service Plan released on 13 April 2025, the classic N class locomotives have been completely retired from regular passenger services on the line.^[36][37][38]

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:

• Parwan loop, between Melton and Bacchus Marsh
• Rowsley loop, between Bacchus Marsh and the Bank Box loop^[39]
• Bank Box loop, between the Rowsley loop and Ballan^[40]
• 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.^{[41][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.^[42][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

Line guide

v t e Ararat line
Legend
km Adelaide–Wolseley line to Adelaide 465.0 Wolseley 463.8 Victoria South Australia state border 456.8 Serviceton Leeor loop 443.2 Lillimur 433.5 Kaniva Kaniva loop 423.9 Miram 412.2 Diapur Diapur loop 405.2 Tarranginnie 395.3 Nhill 385.2 Salisbury Salisbury loop 381.2 Kiata 375.2 Gerang Gerung Dimboola loop Yaapeet line 356.9 Dimboola proposed Horsham Bypass 347.8 Wail Pimpinio loop 338.5 Pimpinio Carpolac line & Balmoral line 322.0 Horsham 314.0 Dooen 304.0 Jung Horsham Bypass (proposed) Murtoa loop Patchewollock line 294.7 Murtoa Bolangum line 276.6 Lubeck Lubeck loop 267.0 Wal Wal 256.5 Glenorchy Deep Lead loop 244.0 Deep Lead Grampians line 236.4 Stawell Great Western loop 223.1 Great Western 214.6 Armstrong Pyrenees loop former extension to Serviceton [a] 205.8 Ararat[b] Avoca line to Maryborough Western SG line to Melbourne 193.1 Dobie[43] 182.6 Buangor 172.2 Middle Creek[44] 159.8 Beaufort 151.9 Trawalla 134.6 Burrumbeet Western Freeway 129.3 Windermere 120.3 Dowling[45] via post-RFR Ballan line Newtown line & Ballarat-Colac line Ballarat Cattle Yards line Skipton line Linton Junction 118.1 Wendouree 117.4 Wendouree (original site) 116.6 White's siding Mildura line 115.1 North Ballarat 113.8 Ballarat 113.1 Ballarat East 112.5 Buninyong line 111.3 RMSP No.74[46] 107.2 148.8 Warrenheip via North Geelong Geelong-Ballarat line 103.6 Dunnstown 101.8 106.8 Bungaree West Junction[47] via North Line & Bungaree 103.8 RMSP No.73 102.9 Bungaree 105.9 Bungaree Racecourse measured via Bungaree 100.4 Bungaree loop Lal Lal Creek 98.9 Wallace Moorabool River (west branch) 98.6 G. Holden's siding 92.4 Millbrook 93.6 Bungaree East Junction 93.3 RMSP No.72 92.1 RMSP No.40 91.2 Gordon[c] adjacent heritage bridge & abandoned line 87.3 Portland Flat Road 86.5 RMSP No.77 (1st) 86.2 Llandeilo 83.7 Bradshaw/ RMSP No.77 (2nd) 81.7 RMSP No.71 79.5 Ballan 72.4 Ingliston 65.2 Bank Box 64.8 Bank Box loop Dog Trap Gully siding 55.0 Rowsley 55.0 Rowsley loop 53.9 Maddingley Racecourse [48] 51.4 Maddingley Brown Coal sidings 50.9 Bacchus Marsh 49.9 Bacchus Marsh works siding 47.1 Parwan 45.7 Parwan loop 42.6 Staughton siding Melton Viaduct 41.3 Melton 34.6 RMSP No.65 34.4 Cobblebank 31.2 Cockbills siding 30.2 Rockbank 27.8 RMSP No.64 21.3 Caroline Springs 21.0 Deer Park Boral siding Regional Rail Link to Geelong Western Freeway 17.8 Deer Park Western Ring Road 16.0 Nobel/ICI factory 15.1 Ardeer Kororoit Creek Deniliquin line 12.3 Sunshine Sunbury Line service 4.9 Footscray Port Fairy line to Geelong North East line to Seymour CityLink 1.7 North Melbourne 0.0 Southern Cross km broad gauge standard gauge
Notes
The Melbourne–Ararat half is used for the Ararat V/Line rail service; the standard gauge half forms only part of the Western standard gauge railway line. Converted to standard gauge in 1995. End of Ararat V/Line service. Station preserved by the Australian Railway Historical Society.