The Victorian State Government has completed the construction of a new train stabling yard in Waurn Ponds this month.
Six train stabling tracks have been installed, which will be used to house V/Locity trains overnight.
The stabling yard will also provide the storage capacity to support the extra services made possible by other major upgrades to the line.
These upgrades include the already-completed Waurn Ponds Station upgrade, the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication, signalling upgrades along the line, and the removal of the Fyans Street and Surf Coast Highway level crossings.
Major constructions, such as final cable installation and asphalting of the staff car park, took place during November when signalling upgrades meant train services between Geelong and Warrnambool were replaced with coaches.
More than 1.65 kilometres of track were installed as part of the project, as were 2,700 sleepers, 25 kilometres of signalling cabling and a 4-kilometre pressure sewer system.
The stabling yards are part of a long-running series of projects worth over $1 billion to improve services on the busy Geelong line, which are being delivered by Rail Projects Victoria through the $4 billion Regional Rail Revival program.
The Waurn Ponds Station upgrade, which began in mid-2020 and was completed in May 2022, has seen the extension of 20 peak and shoulder peak services to the station each week.
Member for South Barwon Darren Cheeseman thanked the community for its support of the rail improvement projects.
“The new train stabling will play an important role in supporting our upgrades to the Geelong Line delivering more frequent and reliable services along Victoria’s busiest regional rail corridor,” he said.
“The train stabling, along with the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication, will enable more trains on the busy Geelong Line for these growing communities.”
Major construction on the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication began in November 2022 and will allow five trains to run per hour during peak times for Marshall and Waurn Ponds stations.
The South Geelong to Waurn Ponds duplication is set to be completed in late 2024.
