The government has said commuters between Shepparton and Melbourne can expect nine return services every weekday (an increase from five) and five return services every Saturday and Sunday “in the coming months”.
The Shepparton Line Upgrade, which was completed last year, was delivered to improve reliability and create capacity for more services.
The project saw three stations and stabling upgraded, enabling modern VLocity trains to run on the line, and upgraded signalling so more trains could run more often.
“We delivered the Shepparton Line Upgrade so we can run more trains and that’s exactly what we are delivering,” state Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said.
It was also announced that the Seymour line would also see trains every hour between 8am and 9pm on weekends.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said the new train services were three years overdue and that the announcement gave no confirmation of when the services would finally be operational.
She said it could mean the nine weekday services were still some time away.
“Jacinta Allan promised that nine weekday return services from Shepparton would be running by 2023, but without a timeline for when the services will commence, Shepparton residents won’t believe her until they see the new trains with their own eyes,” Ms Lovell said.
“The government needs to come clean and clarify exactly when the nine services will be running and when the extra weekend service will start — footy season is in full swing, and passengers are already struggling with overcrowded trains every weekend.”
The new services are among several to be covered by the budget’s $77.5 million investment, which includes more services closer to the city on the Belgrave, Lilydale, Glen Waverley, Alamein, Mernda, Hurstbridge, Werribee, Sandringham, Craigieburn and Upfield lines as well.
With the war in the Middle East driving up costs in Australia, the Victorian Government says more train services will help commuters save time and money.
On April 19, it announced its current free public transport offer would remain in place for an extra month, until the end of May.
Then, from June 1, public transport across Victoria will be half price until the end of the year.
The Victorian Budget 2026/27 has $673.6 million allocated to have 25 X’Trapolis 2.0 trains built locally by Alstom, in Ballarat.
The new trains are reportedly bigger, more comfortable and more efficient, and can each carry around 1225 passengers.
In total, 50 of the trains have been funded by the current Victorian Government, with the first 25 set to roll out on the Craigieburn, Upfield and Frankston line in the next few months.
The government says the investment supports 750 jobs across Victoria.
