The new timetable for the trains – to be introduced from August 28 – will cut travel times from Melbourne by seven to 27 minutes, with the changes made possible by the north east line upgrade and rollout of faster VLocity trains.
All six daily services will have shorter journey times, with early morning passengers enjoying savings of almost 20 minutes, and those travelling on the evening 6.02pm service from Southern Cross Station arriving home to Albury close to half-an-hour earlier than before.
State Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said the Victorian Government had invested in the new VLocity trains as part of a $340 million investment for 18 new trains including six standard-gauge trains for the Albury line.
“Through the north east line upgrade, and our investment in six new long haul VLocity trains, we’re delivering better public transport for regional Victoria, Ms Symes said.
The VLocity is the newest and fastest train in the V/Line fleet and has improved features including mobile signal boosters for better phone coverage and better accessibility for people with prams or mobility aids.
State Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan said the trains were designed and built especially for the Albury line based on feedback from local passenger representatives and feature bespoke catering facilities as well as extra luggage space and bike storage.
“We’re giving passengers on the Albury line what we promised – new trains and faster, more comfortable services,” Ms Allan said.
“We are delivering a fast, reliable and more modern VLocity train service to more people in regional Victoria.
The start of the new timetable follows the end of essential maintenance work by the ARTC during August to further improve long term track reliability and will see all services on the Albury line run by VLocity trains.
The new trains will soon commence stabling overnight at Albury Station after improvements funded by the Federal and Victorian Governments were completed, enabling all services on the line to run as VLocity trains.
New timetables and more information will be available from 29 July 2022 at ptv.vic.gov.au, vline.com.au and PTV’s journey planner app.
