Geelong travellers will have access to more train services from mid-April, with extended services on the Geelong line and more weekend trains to Warrnambool.
Premier Jacinta Allen and Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams announced the new services last week, with the Geelong and Warrnambool additions part of 50 new or extended services across the state.
From April 14, four new weekend services will run to Warrnambool, for a total of five daily return options on Saturdays and Sundays.
Two Geelong trains will also have their trips extended to Waurn Ponds Station every weekday morning, providing more options for commuters and day trippers alike.
Member for Geelong Christine Couzens said the community had made it clear this is what they wanted.
“It is important that we run more services to support passengers on the Geelong Line, with a train around every 10 to 15 minutes in the peaks and every 20 minutes during the day on weekdays and weekends,” Ms Couzens said.
“As you may know, the Geelong Line is the busiest on the V/Line network, with more than 800 scheduled services running each week to get passengers where they need to go.
“In December, almost 90 new and extended weekend services were added to the Geelong Line with trains now operating every 20 minutes on weekends.”
In March 2023 the state government slashed regional train ticket prices, capping daily expenditure to $10.60 per day, or $5.30 for concession.
Ms Couzens said the combination of cheap fares and more services meant public transport options for people in Geelong were better than ever.
“The regional fare cap has proved extremely popular with the Geelong community, it is affordable for everyone to jump on a train, visit other regions or take a trip to Melbourne,” she said.
“There have been almost 40 million trips taken on the V/Line network since we introduced it almost two years ago, saving passengers more than $114 million in that time.
“I know that the Geelong community rely on our train services, and I will continue to advocate for new services as needed.”
