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The number of times long-haul train travellers have been unable to find a seat has doubled to more than 2000 per day since the Andrews government slashed the price of V/Line tickets.

The fares were capped at $9.20 a day in late March, bringing them in line with Myki charges for metropolitan travellers. Previously passengers had to pay $27.60 for a weekday return journey from Geelong to Melbourne, while a return ticket to Swan Hill was $92.

There has been a huge spike in the number of V/Line tickets being sold since daily travel was capped at $9.20. Credit: Eddie Jim

The cheaper tickets were a key promise for Labor and the Coalition during last year’s state election campaign as the major parties sought to woo regional voters amid the cost-of-living crisis.

V/Line data shows there were an additional 1.5 million trips taken on the service between April 1 and June 30 compared with the same period in 2022 – up about 45 per cent.

But 4 per cent of travellers were forced to stand for some or all of their journey during that time due to overcrowding – compared with only 2 per cent a year earlier. That means there were as many as 64,000 standing journeys last month, and 68,000 and 60,000 in May and April respectively.

The increase in demand and reduced availability of seats has prompted questions about why the government did not delay the fare cap until more permanent services could be added to V/Line’s timetable.

And while V/Line says some additional special services have been added since the price cut and more are coming, it has admitted to teething problems.

“The comfort and safety of passengers is our No.1 priority and we have been regularly making adjustments, including adding extra services and carriages where we can, and having coaches on standby to help support network demand,” said acting V/Line chief executive Warwick Horsley.

Vern Hilditch, executive principal of Wodonga Senior Secondary College, said he was aware of incidents where teachers in northeast Victoria had booked V/Line seats weeks in advance for school excursions, only to step onto the train and find many of those seats already occupied.

As a result, some students had to stand or sit on the floor of the carriage for much of the three-hour journey.

“That’s been an issue raised by some staff and the community to me,” Hilditch said.

“If we’re sending an excursion from Wodonga to Melbourne, I have to weigh up the safety and the risk to students and staff.

“I’m caught between a relatively cheap train fare or hiring the bus which, of course, is incredibly expensive.”

Hilditch said teachers needed to be able to seat their students together on transport for supervision purposes.

He expected there would be more opportunities for students to visit Melbourne for career expos and to see institutions such as the National Gallery of Victoria if V/Line’s seating issues could be resolved.

“We’d love to see the cheaper fares continue,” he said. “It’s just that the system has to be improved. Either more carriages or more services.”

Public Transport Users Association regional spokesman Paul Westcott said overcrowding was happening increasingly on weekends.

He said the association had received complaints from passengers who had been forced to stand for the entire journey from Ballarat into the city.

Almost 200 permanent weekend services will be added to V/Line’s timetable from next year.Credit: Justin McManus

“You didn’t have to be Nostradamus to predict it,” he said. “We are getting increasing complaints from passengers about overcrowded services.”

When Liberal MP Bill Tilley raised the issue in parliament in May regarding passengers on the Albury line, Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll encouraged commuters who had to stand to “use the hand holds available”.

Opposition public transport spokesman Richard Riordan labelled this response “tone deaf” given regional train trips often went on for much longer than metropolitan services.

“We deserve much better,” he said. “Passengers being forced to stand on train carriages for hours on end wouldn’t be acceptable anywhere else, so why is it just another day on the V/Line here in Victoria?”

Riordan called on the state government to ensure V/Line implemented a better booking service and ensured passengers were kept safe at all times.

Horsley said there had been more than 100 additional special services each month since the introduction of cheaper fares.

He said almost 200 permanent weekend services would be added to V/Line’s timetable from next year.

“The regional fare cap is continuing to be extremely popular with Victorians, with around 5 million trips taken on the V/Line network and more than $15 million saved by passengers since the start of the cap,” he said.

Carroll said he stood by the timing of the fare cap given the rising cost of living, and pointed to recent budget papers that flagged the delivery of 23 new VLocity trains.

“We introduced fairer fares as soon as we could – capping regional fares at the same rates as metro fares – to reduce cost of living pressures and boost regional tourism.”

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