A major investment is underway to improve public transport across regional Victoria, delivering more frequent and longer train services to better serve local communities.
The 2025/26 state budget allocates $52 million to increase train frequency on the Traralgon line to every 40 minutes. Additional peak services will be added on the Seymour line, and longer trains will run on more weekend services along the Bendigo line.
On the Bendigo line, six-car trains will be introduced on weekends to ease crowding on busy services, with timetable details currently being finalized.
The Seymour line will see new peak-time services in both the morning and afternoon, offering commuters more options for travel to and from work.
These enhancements are made possible by the near completion of the Gippsland Line Upgrade, which includes station improvements, track duplications, and a new bridge over the Avon River in Stratford. The upgrade also supports the operation of modern, accessible VLocity trains to Bairnsdale.
During the Gippsland Line Upgrade construction, replacement coaches will operate on the Traralgon and Bairnsdale lines from 14 June to 13 August to facilitate works including installation of new signalling systems and platform upgrades.
Once completed, the new signalling system will allow trains to run more frequently and reliably. Testing and infrastructure installation are ongoing along the 70-kilometre rail corridor between Drouin and Traralgon.
These improvements form part of a wider effort to enhance regional rail services statewide, building on more than 2,100 additional weekly services introduced across regional and metropolitan networks since 2015.
The Department of Transport and Planning is currently developing a new timetable for the Gippsland Line, with further details on service times to be announced.