Victoria’s opposition has promised to spend $1.7 billion on 25 hybrid-electric trains for the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines if it wins November’s state election, arguing the technology could deliver metro-style services to Melbourne’s rapidly growing west sooner than full electrification.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the Liberal-Nationals plan would provide more frequent services, more seats and more than double passenger capacity on the two corridors, which currently rely on V/Line diesel trains.
The Coalition says the new fleet could be delivered within four years and would be capable of operating across both electrified and non-electrified parts of Victoria’s rail network.
The proposal represents a major pitch to voters in Melbourne’s western growth corridor ahead of the November election, where transport infrastructure and rapidly increasing demand have become key political issues.
“Labor has twice promised and twice failed to deliver the modern train services communities across Melton and Wyndham Vale deserve,” Ms Wilson said.
“Labor says one thing before an election then does another afterwards.
“Our plan will deliver metro-quality train services to Melbourne’s west sooner — meaning more trains, more seats and greater capacity.”
Why Melbourne’s west wants change
Melton, Wyndham Vale and Tarneit are part of one of Australia’s fastest-growing urban corridors, but commuters continue to rely on regional V/Line services rather than Melbourne’s electrified metropolitan train network.
The problem is particularly acute on the Wyndham Vale corridor.
Wyndham City says commuters from Melbourne’s western suburbs now account for about 40 per cent of all V/Line boardings outside Southern Cross Station, with Tarneit and Wyndham Vale consistently among the busiest stations on the regional network.
The council argues V/Line trains were not designed to carry the volume of suburban commuters now using them and has been campaigning for electrification of the Regional Rail Link.
The Coalition says its 25 new trains could potentially provide additional services through the City Loop during peak periods and more than double passenger capacity.
The trains would be assembled in Victoria, according to the opposition.
Hybrid capability is central to the proposal because the Melton and Wyndham Vale corridors are not currently electrified.
The Coalition says the trains could use electric power on electrified sections while retaining the ability to operate on sections without overhead electrical infrastructure.
Shadow Public Transport Minister Matthew Guy said western suburbs passengers should no longer have to depend on regional rolling stock for what is increasingly a suburban commuter service.
“Suburban passengers need suburban trains,” Mr Guy said.
“Our hybrid suburban trains will deliver metro-quality services now and are able to run seamlessly across both electrified and non-electrified train lines.”
Labor’s 2018 promise
The argument over electrification stretches back almost eight years.
Ahead of the 2018 state election, the Andrews Labor government announced its Western Rail Plan, which included planning for two new electrified metropolitan rail lines to Melton and Wyndham Vale, alongside additional tracks between Sunshine and the CBD.
The government subsequently committed $100 million in the 2019-20 budget towards planning and design for the broader Western Rail Plan.
But neither corridor has yet been converted to metropolitan electric services.
The government has argued the enormous rail infrastructure task in the west needs to be completed in stages, including new stations, additional tracks and longer platforms before electrification.
Labor has now taken a further step towards electrifying Melton.
The Australian and Victorian governments have jointly committed $152.7 million to development work for Melton Line electrification, including detailed design and costing, environmental assessments, planning approvals, site investigations and securing the future electricity supply.
That development phase is expected to be completed in mid-2027, but the government has not yet committed the full construction funding or announced a completion date for electrification.
There is also no equivalent construction commitment yet to electrify the Wyndham Vale corridor.
Longer V/Line trains coming to Melton
Labor is separately upgrading the existing Melton service while electrification planning continues.
Nine-car VLocity trains are scheduled to begin running on the Melton Line in 2027, increasing peak passenger capacity by 50 per cent.
Platforms at stations including Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Rockbank and Cobblebank are being extended, while a new train stabling facility is being constructed at Cobblebank.
Importantly, that facility is being designed so it can eventually accommodate Metro trains once electrification takes place.
The new Melton Station has also been designed with four platforms — two intended for future metropolitan electric services and two for regional trains.
Sunshine remains crucial
Both the Coalition proposal and Labor’s longer-term electrification ambitions depend heavily on what happens around Sunshine.
More than $4 billion is being invested by the Victorian and federal governments in works between West Footscray and Albion, including transforming Sunshine Station into a major transport interchange.
The project is intended to increase capacity through the Sunshine rail junction and prepare the network for both the future Melbourne Airport Rail connection and Melton electrification.
The upgraded Sunshine station is expected to have capacity supporting more than 1,000 train movements each day, with works due to be completed around 2030.
The Coalition says its hybrid proposal would not prevent the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines from eventually being fully electrified after the necessary Sunshine works are completed.
Instead, it argues hybrid trains offer a way of providing electric suburban-style rolling stock sooner.
Questions over cost and technology
The proposal will now face scrutiny over exactly what type of hybrid technology would be used, procurement and delivery timelines, modifications required to existing infrastructure and how the trains would integrate with Melbourne’s metropolitan network.
The Coalition estimates its plan will cost $1.7 billion.
According to reporting on the announcement, full electrification of the two western corridors has been estimated at between $4.7 billion and $5.5 billion, making the hybrid proposal substantially cheaper as an interim measure.
However, full electrification would deliver permanent infrastructure rather than relying on dual-mode rolling stock, meaning the two proposals are not directly equivalent.
The Coalition has also promised to establish a new independent Public Transport Victoria board, which it says would sharpen the system’s focus on service delivery and value for taxpayers.
The announcement puts western Melbourne’s rail network firmly into the state election campaign.
Labor can point to billions of dollars already being spent on Sunshine, the Melton Line Upgrade and the newly funded development work for Melton electrification.
The Coalition, however, is asking voters in the west a simpler question: after the first electrification commitment was made in 2018, why are Melton and Wyndham Vale commuters still travelling on diesel-powered regional trains eight years later?
“The only way to deliver the quality train services Melton and Wyndham Vale communities deserve is to change the government this November,” Mr Guy said.
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