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 v t e Ballarat V/Line rail service 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 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 continues as Maryborough V/Line rail service 1:31 118.1 km Wendouree Zone 8 continues as Ararat V/Line rail service Standard timetabled journey from Southern Cross

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 v t e Ararat V/Line rail service 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; 14 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 v t e Maryborough V/Line rail service 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: Serviceton 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] The service is timetabled to operate as a shuttle between Ballarat Station and Maryborough Station. Currently, two return services are operated every day.

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 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 VLocity diesel 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:

• Parwan loop, between Melton and Bacchus Marsh
• 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

Line guide

v t e Ararat line
Legend
0 km Southern Cross 1.7 km North Melbourne CityLink North East line towards Seymour Port Fairy line towards Geelong 4.9 km Footscray Sunbury Line service 12.3 km Sunshine Deniliquin line Kororoit Creek 15.1 km Ardeer 16 km Nobel/ICI factory (closed) Western Ring Road 17.8 km Deer Park Western Freeway Regional Rail Link towards Geelong 21 km Deer Park Boral Siding 21.3 km Caroline Springs 27.8 km RMSP No.64 (closed) 30.2 km Rockbank 31.2 km Cockbills Siding (closed) 34.4 km Cobblebank 34.6 km RMSP No.65 (closed) 41.3 km Melton Melton Viaduct 42.6 km Staughton Siding (closed) 45.7 km Parwan Loop 47.1 km Parwan (closed) 49.9 km Bacchus Marsh works siding (closed) 50.9 km Bacchus Marsh 51.4 km Maddingley Brown Coal Sidings 53.9 km Maddingley Racecourse[36] 55 km Rowsley Loop 55 km Rowsley (closed) 51.4 km Dog Trap Gully Siding 64.8 km Bank Box Loop 65.2 km Bank Box (closed) 72.4 km Ingliston (closed) 79.5 km Ballan 81.7 km RMSP No.71 (closed) 83.7 km Bradshaw/RMSP No.77 2nd (closed) 86.2 km Llandeilo (closed) 86.5 km RMSP No.77 1st (closed) 87.3 km Portland Flat Road adjacent heritage bridge & abandoned track 91.2 km Gordon (closed) (Station preserved by ARHS) 92.1 km RMSP No.40 (closed) 93.3 km RMSP No.72 (closed) 93.6 km Bungaree East Junction 92.4 km Millbrook (closed) 98.6 km G. Holden's Siding (closed) Moorabool River (west branch) 98.9 km Wallace (closed) Lal Lal Creek 100.4 km Bungaree Loop (abolished) 105.9 km Bungaree Racecourse measured via Bungaree 102.9 km Bungaree (closed) 103.8 km RMSP No.73 (closed) 101.8 km Bungaree West Junction (106.8 km via North Line & Bungaree)[37] 103.6 km Dunnstown (closed) Geelong-Ballarat line 107.2 km Warrenheip (closed) (148.8km via North Geelong) 111.3 km RMSP No.74 (closed)[38] 112.5 km Buninyong line (closed) 113.1 km Ballarat East (closed) 113.8 km Ballarat 115.1 km North Ballarat (closed) Mildura line 116.6 km White's Siding (closed) 117.4 km Wendouree (original site) 118.1 km Wendouree Linton Junction and Skipton line (closed) Ballarat Cattle Yards line Newtown and Ballarat-Colac lines 120.3 km Dowling (closed)[39] Via post-RFR Ballan line 129.3 km Windermere (closed) Western Freeway 134.6 km Burrumbeet (closed) 151.9 km Trawalla (closed) 159.8 km Beaufort 172.2 km Middle Creek (closed)[40] 182.6 km Buangor (closed) 193.1 km Dobie (closed)[41] Avoca line to Maryborough & Western standard gauge line via Maroona, Gheringhap & Geelong to Melbourne 205.8 km Ararat End of Ararat V/Line service Former extension to Serviceton Converted to standard gauge in 1995 Pyrenees Loop 214.6 km Armstrong 223.1 km Great Western Great Western Loop 236.4 km Stawell Grampians line 244.0 km Deep Lead Deep Lead Loop 256.5 km Glenorchy 267.0 km Wal Wal Lubeck Loop 276.6 km Lubeck Bolangum line 294.7 km Murtoa Patchewollock line Murtoa Loop Horsham Bypass (proposed) 304.0 km Jung 314.0 km Dooen 322.0 km Horsham Carpolac and Balmoral lines 338.5 km Pimpinio Pimpinio Loop 347.8 km Wail 356.9 km Dimboola Yaapeet line Dimboola Loop 375.2 km Gerang Gerung 381.2 km Kiata Salisbury Loop 385.2 km Salisbury 395.3 km Nhill 405.2 km Tarranginnie Diapur Loop 412.2 km Diapur 423.9 km Miram Kaniva Loop 433.5 km Kaniva 443.2 km Lillimur Leeor Loop 456.8 km Serviceton 463.8 km State border to Adelaide 465.0 km Wolseley

References

1. V/Line Corporation (25 September 2023). Annual Report 2022-23 (Report). Archived from the original on 5 March 2024.
2. "Train Schedule: Melbourne to Wendouree and Wendouree to Melbourne via Ballarat". VLine. 30 January 2024.
3. "Train Operating Data: Deer Park Junction to Ararat". Network service plan. V/Line Corporation. 25 October 2017. p. 4. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
4. "Passenger Schedules: South Western Down". Network service plan. V/Line Corporation. 10 December 2017. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
5. "Train Operating Data: Deer Park Junction to Ararat". Network service plan. V/Line Corporation. 25 October 2017. p. 1. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
6. "Train Operating Data: Deer Park Junction to Ararat". Network service plan. V/Line Corporation. 25 October 2017. p. 5. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
7. "Train Schedule: Melbourne to Ararat and Ararat to Melbourne via Ballarat". VLine. 7 November 2021.
8. "V/Line - Maryborough line launch".
9. "VictorianRailways.net – VR Timeline". Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
10. Eureka Rail Line to Open Exciting new era for Regional Rail Premier of Victoria 25 November 2004
11. More name changes:Ballarat this time PTUA News Volume 28 Issue 6 December 2004
12. Ballarat's new train station to officially open Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 12 June 2009
13. "Media Release: BALLARAT TO GET A SECOND TRAIN STATION". 3 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
14. Maryborough Rail Services Victorian Transport Plan
15. Passenger trains return to Maryborough Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine The Courier 25 July 2010
16. Planning (9 June 2023). "Regional Rail Link". Planning. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
17. New train station announced in Toolern precinct Archived 12 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine City of Melton 3 November 2017
18. New Train Station for Melbourne's Growing West Archived 21 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Public Transport 3 November 2017
19. Another station coming to Melbourne's west Archived 12 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Rail Express 6 November 2017
20. "Cobblebank Station To Open In Early December". Premier of Victoria. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
21. "Ballarat Line Upgrade website". Ballarat Line Upgrade. 24 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
22. Ray, Gary L. (1999). Ecological monitoring of a constructed intertidal flat at Jonesport, Me. Concord, MA: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.46635.
23. Pollock, Michael (27 April 2016). ""$518m commitment to Ballarat rail line"". The Ballarat Courier. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
24. Build, Victoria’s Big (18 September 2023). "Ballarat Line Upgrade". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
25. Pollock, Michael (27 April 2016). "$518m commitment to Ballarat rail line". The Ballarat Courier. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
26. "Last train travels over the Bungaree loop". Victoria's Big Build. 27 December 2020. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
27. "Trans Schedule: Melbourne – Maryborough via Castlemaine and Ballarat / Maryborough – Melbourne via Ballarat and Castlemaine". VLine. 28 May 2023.
28. "Network service plan". V/Line - Regional public transport for Victoria. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
29. "Network Services Plan Passenger Schedules - Western Weekday". VLine. 19 November 2023.
30. "Network Services Plan Passenger Schedules - Western Saturday". VLine. 19 November 2023.
31. "Network Services Plan Passenger Schedules - Western Sunday". VLine. 19 November 2023.
32. "Rowsley Crossing Loop – Public Transport Victoria". Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
33. "VICSIG". vicsig.net. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
34. Simbera (27 July 2020). "The Iron Road: Ten years of the Maryborough line". The Iron Road. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
35. Train Operating Data: Deer Park to Ararat Archived 27 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine V/Line 21 October 2014
36. Waugh, Andrew (2005) [1995-06-26]. "Victorian Signalling Histories: Bacchus Marsh" (PDF).
37. "VLine Bungee Signalling Diagram No: 18/13" (PDF). VLine. 26 July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2016.
38. Waugh, Andrew (24 September 1992). "Sunshine Ballarat Station Notes: SRS Tour" (PDF). p. 21.
39. The Golden Steam of Ballarat, King, D & Dooley, N, 1973
40. Maryborough-Avoca-Ararat railway: a brief history, Turton, K W, McLean, D C
41. Maryborough-Avoca-Ararat railway: a brief history, Turton, K W, McLean, D C

External links

• V/Line
• Discussion on the 2019/2020 upgrade of the Ballarat Line Railpage