Bacchus Marsh commuters will miss out on nine-car trains after a Melton line upgrade reshuffle, with the changes disappointing Moorabool mayor Paul Tatchell.
As reported by Star Weekly, in 2022, the state government pledged $650 million to upgrade the Melton train line, including a complete rebuild of Melton station, removing four level crossings and upgrading platforms to allow longer trains to run.
This also included upgraded platforms at Bacchus Marsh, Cobblebank, Rockbank, Caroline Springs, Deer Park and Ardeer stations to allow for longer nine-car trains.
On August 29, the state government announced the project will be fast-tracked to be completed in 2027, with changes meaning platforms will only be extended at Deer Park, Caroline Springs, Rockbank and Cobblebank stations – with Bacchus Marsh and Ardeer dropped from the list.
A new stabling yard will be built in Cobblebank instead of upgrading the existing yard in Maddingley.
Star Weekly understands the government decided an upgraded Maddingley stabling yard that could facilitate nine-car services to Bacchus Marsh would be redundant under future Melton Line electrification – as another stabling facility would have to be built at Cobblebank.
According to the government, having the stabling yard at Cobblebank will allow trains to run straight from Melton to the city while also addressing the need for train stabling closer to Melton as part of Melton Line electrification.
Bacchus Marsh will continue to be serviced by Wendouree and Ballarat six-car trains, which according to the government, will have greater capacity with Melton passengers accessing the longer nine-car services.
V/Line will continue to use the Maddingley stabling yard to run VLocity services on the Ballarat corridor.
Cr Tatchell said there is an “ongoing dispute” about the 60-minute Ballarat to Melbourne line and the service to Ballan and Bacchus Marsh stations among others.
“I’d see the change [with] the stabling [yard] as a red herring to distract away from the real problem. Let’s face it, Melton hasn’t become electrified yet,” he said.
“This whole rail system between Melbourne and Ballarat, including Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, and Melton, was never done properly in the first place … we have the slowest fast train in the world … how much quicker is it than the old one? That’s because the crossings weren’t done properly.”
A government spokesperson said the fast-tracked upgrade will boost the line’s capacity by 50 per cent and allow longer trains to stop at the busiest stations.
“We will kick off works to rebuild Sunshine Station early next year which is the first step towards electrifying the Melton Line – and unlocking more services, more often for Melbourne’s west,” the spokesperson said.
“We’ve more than doubled services on the Ballarat Line, with more than 550 services running per week.“
