The line was sold to the Victorian Railways in 1860. Following its sale, the line was progressively extended south-west, to Winchelsea in 1876, Colac in 1877, Camperdown in 1883, Terang in 1877, and lastly to Warrnambool, Dennington, and Port Fairy in 1890. The line is now closed beyond Warrnambool, with the last train leaving Port Fairy in September 1977.
There have long been calls to electrify the line, but plans were put on hold by the State Government in 2002, with diesel locomotives and railcars utilised instead.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, trains on the Geelong – Melbourne corridor were chronically late. As of March 2010, trains had officially run late for 44 consecutive months on the line. The poor performance of V/Line was well documented in the local Geelong press. Recurring issues on the line included poor communication, commuters worried about losing their jobs in Melbourne due to delays, and overcrowding.
The main benefit of the project was for the Geelong line service, which used to run along the same tracks as Metro's Werribee line, resulting in significant congestion. Ballarat and especially Bendigo services benefited less, only being separated from Metro's Sunbury line service between Sunshine and Southern Cross. While the project was overall well-received for increasing service reliability, the choice to bypass North Melbourne was especially criticised.
The Regional Rail Link included two new stations to be served by Geelong V/Line trains: Tarneit and Wyndham Vale. Since its opening, overcrowding has become a persistent and chronic issue, especially at Tarneit, which is the most-used V/Line station other than Southern Cross.
Regional Rail Revival
The line received another significant package of works as part of the Regional Rail Revival project. Most notably, the line was duplicated from South Geelong to Waurn Ponds. To support this duplication, a new stabling facility was to be constructed at Waurn Ponds and three level crossings to be removed. These upgrades would allow 5 trains per hour during peak and 3 trains per hour off peak.
Between June and August 2024, the railway line was closed for duplication. The upgrades were completed on 26 August 2024, with new second platforms added to South Geelong and Marshall stations.
As of 1 December 2024, 68 new weekend services run to Waurn Ponds, 20 Wyndham Vale services have been extended to start/terminate at Waurn Ponds, 15 extra services a weekday "have been added" to Marshall station and 4 extra services per weekday "have been added" to Waurn Ponds station. all of which has been enabled by the duplication of the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds corridor.
Network and operations
Services
On weekdays, there are five express services per day. All Melbourne-bound services operate express between Geelong and Southern Cross, stopping only at Footscray. On weekends and public holidays, there are a total of five services per day.
Train services on the line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle coach services are provided throughout the duration of works for affected commuters.
Stopping patterns
Legend — Station status
◼ Premium Station – Station staffed from first to last train
◻ Host Station – Usually staffed during morning peak, however this can vary for different stations on the network.
The current V/Line timetable has weekday services operating approximately every 20 minutes from Southern Cross to either South Geelong or Waurn Ponds in an alternating pattern. Some services originate and terminate at Wyndham Vale.
Weekday peak services towards Southern Cross typically originate at either South Geelong or Waurn Ponds in an alternating pattern, and most stop all stations.
Off-peak services to and from South Geelong usually run express through Corio, while off-peak services to and from Waurn Ponds run express through Little River.
Since 1 December 2024, weekend service frequency is approximately every 20 minutes, with all trains timetabled to originate and terminate at Waurn Ponds and alternating between stopping all stations except Little River and stopping all stations except Corio.
All services are run using V/Line VLocitydiesel multiple unit trains in either a 3- or 6-car configuration. Some services originating and terminating at Wyndham Vale are operated with a 9-car VLocity set. S type carriages were used until 2010 and H type carriages were used until 2024.
Future
Electrification and quadruplication to Wyndham Vale
The 2018 Western Rail Plan identified a need to electrify the line up to Wyndham Vale, which would significantly resolve the overcrowding problem due to the fact Metro's trains can hold more people than V/Line's. The plan also featured quadruplication, avoiding the problem of a new electric service causing congestion for V/Line services along the corridor. In 2023, it was widely reported that track quadruplication was no longer part of the Western Rail Plan, and there is no concrete plan for electrification.
Geelong Fast Rail
Geelong services used to run on the same tracks as Metro's Werribee line until the Regional Rail Link was opened in 2015, diverting trains along a new alignment completely bypassing it. In 2020, the Geelong Fast Rail project was announced, which planned to reroute Geelong trains back to the Werribee corridor, this time with an express track exclusively for Geelong services between Werribee and Laverton, potentially reducing travel times by up to 15 minutes. In 2023, the Federal Government cut funding to various infrastructure projects, resulting in Geelong Fast Rail being shelved.
Gallery
V/Line N class N456 running over the Regional Rail Link's elevated North Melbourne bypass
Victorian Railways R class steam train on a heritage tour at Geelong Station, run by volunteer group Steamrail Victoria