Bendigo
VLocity train at Bendigo
Overview
Service type	Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Victoria, Australia
Current operator(s)	V/Line
Ridership	1.19 million (2021-22)[1]
Route
Termini	Epsom/Eaglehawk Southern Cross
Stops	14
Distance travelled	172.1 km (106.9 mi)
Average journey time	2 hours
Service frequency	12–43 minutes weekdays peak 60 minutes weekdays off-peak (limited services at Malmsbury, Macedon, Riddells Creek and Clarkefield in the afternoon) 60 minutes weekends Some services provided by Echuca services
Line(s) used	Deniliquin
On-board services
Class(es)	Economy
Disabled access	Yes
Catering facilities	No
Technical
Rolling stock	VLocity
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	160km/h
Track owner(s)	VicTrack

The Bendigo V/Line rail service is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves passengers between state capital Melbourne, Victoria and the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria.

It is the third most-used regional rail service in Victoria (behind the Ballarat and Geelong services) carrying 1.19 million passengers in the 2021-22 financial year.^[2]

History

The Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company built the line between Melbourne to Bendigo, finishing the fully double track line in 1862.^[3] Throughout the early twentieth century, many branch lines were built along the length of the Bendigo line, but by the time V/Line took over Victorian regional passenger services in 1983, the only passengers services still using the Bendigo line corridor were the Swan Hill and Bendigo intercity services. Eventually though, a twice weekly passenger service to Echuca from Melbourne and Bendigo was reinstated in 1996.^[4]

Under the Regional Fast Rail Project in 2006, the Bendigo line underwent major track upgrades that would allow for Velocity trains to run at speeds of 160km/h between Sunbury and Bendigo. However, between Kyneton and Bendigo the line was singled in order to allow for better clearance past heritage structures, although some double sections were retained in order to create long passing loops. The crossing loops were provided with bidirectional signalling, but only one track of the loop was upgraded for high-speed running.^[5]

With the Sunbury line's electrification project completed in 2012, Bendigo line trains no longer called at Diggers Rest.^[6] In 2014, Epsom station was constructed to serve Bendigo's Northeastern suburbs, it was at first serviced four times daily by extending some services that terminated at Bendigo.^[7] On 27 June 2016, three more daily Bendigo V/Line services were also extended to the station of Eaglehawk, on the Swan Hill line. ^[8] The advent of the Bendigo Metro Rail Project has significantly increased the frequency of trains to Epsom, Eaglehawk as well as Kangaroo Flat stations.^[9]

On 16 July 2014, V/Line trains between Melbourne and Bendigo ceased stopping at North Melbourne Station as part of the Regional Rail Link project.

Over time, the service frequencies on both the Echuca and Swan Hill lines have increased up to two train services a day, with V/Line coach services also providing a relatively frequent service to these cities. ^[10]

In 2020, the Victorian Government announced a proposal to build the new Raywood, Goornong and Huntly railway stations as part of the Regional Rail Revival project.

Service pattern

Currently, V/Line runs at-least hourly passenger services along the Bendigo line, with additional frequency during peak hours. This frequency is normally inclusive of the trains that run from Swan Hill and Echuca via Bendigo to Melbourne. Additional peak hour services originate and terminate at Kyneton. Most trains terminate at Bendigo, but 7 weekday services continue onto Epsom, and a further 5 onto Eaglehawk. Service frequency between Kyneton and Bendigo is limited due to sections of single track.

All passenger train services that terminate within Greater Bendigo (which includes Epsom and Eaglehawk) are run by VLocity DMUs, while some late night services to Bendigo are run by V/Line road coaches.

V/Line also operates two daily services to the city of Swan Hill and three daily services to the city of Echuca via Bendigo. These services are further supplemented by numerous V/Line road coach services which fill the gaps within the schedule. These services though tend to run as limited expresses in between Bendigo and Melbourne.

Abbreviations here are for the table below, not formally used.

  Local (LC)

All stop service between Southern Cross and Bendigo.

  Commuter Express (CE)

Peak hours only, two down services in the morning and one up services in the afternoon.

  Semi Express (SE)

Evening peak hour only from Southern Cross to Bendigo.

  Limited Express (LE)

Trains to/from Swan Hill operate as a limited express on the Bendigo Line.

Legend:

Station	Image	Distance (km)	LC	CE	SE	LE	Train Connections	Other Connections	Location
Southern Cross		0.0	●	●	●	●	24 Train connections  Alamein line   Albury line   Ararat line   Ballarat line   Belgrave line   Craigieburn line   Cranbourne line   Flemington Racecourse line   Geelong line   Gippsland line   Glen Waverley line   Hurstbridge line   Lilydale line   Maryborough line   Mernda line   NSW TrainLink Southern   Seymour line   Shepparton line   Sunbury line   The Overland   Upfield line   Warrnambool line   Werribee line   Williamstown line		Melbourne
Footscray		4.9	●	●	●	●	8 Train connections  Ararat line   Ballarat line   Geelong line   Maryborough line   Sunbury line   Warrnambool line   Werribee line   Williamstown line
Watergardens		24.3	｜	↑	｜	●	1 Train connection  Sunbury line
Sunbury		39.5	●	｜	｜	｜	1 Train connection  Sunbury line
Clarkefield		50.4	●	｜	｜	｜			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Riddels Creek		58.9	●	｜	｜	｜			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Gisborne		66.2	●	↑	●	●			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Macedon		71.8	●	｜	｜	｜			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Woodend		80.1	●	｜	●	▲			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Kyneton		93.6	●	｜	●	●			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Malmsbury		104.2	●	｜	｜	↓			Shire of Macedon Ranges
Castlemaine		127.3	●	●	●	●	1 Train connection  Maldon line		Shire of Macedon Ranges
Kangaroo Flat		159.4	●	●	●	●			City of Greater Bendigo
Bendigo		164.2	●	●	●	●			City of Greater Bendigo
↓ Through-service to/from ↓ Epsom and Echuca via the Deniliquin line. Eaglehawk and Swan Hill via the Piangil Line

Infrastructure

The line to Bendigo was fully double track prior to the Regional Fast Rail project in 2006. Now the line is double track until Kyneton, and is single-track with passing loops until Kangaroo Flat. The track is double between Kangaroo Flat and Bendigo, but single thereafter until Eaglehawk and Epsom.

References

External links

• www.vline.com.au
• Official Timetable Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Statistics and detailed schematic map at the vicsig enthusiast website