No bookings, trains or early morning arrivals: Public transport from West Vic to Melbourne is now a lottery

As fuel prices continue to squeeze household budgets across western Victoria, the state government’s announcement of free public transport has been framed as a cost-of-living relief measure.

But in a region where services are already stretched, anger is rising over the fact many locals can’t actually access the transport.

More services, fewer seats: On the Warrnambool line, overcrowding has been an ongoing issue since older V/Line trains were replaced with VLocity trains in March 2025. 

• While the newer trains run more frequently, - five services a day instead of three - they carry fewer passengers, with about 200 seats per service compared to up to 400 on the previous trains.

Further capacity strain: That shift has reduced total daily seating capacity from roughly 1,200 to about 1,000 - a drop now compounded by a five-week period of replacement coaches from April 11 to May 20 due to track maintenance and upgrades to the train storage yard at Warrnambool station.

• Now, under the temporary timetable, the earliest arrival into Southern Cross Station is 10:40am - more than two hours later than the usual 8:37am service - effectively removing early-morning access to Melbourne for work, appointments or connections.

“Distraught residents”: South West Coast Liberal MP Roma Britnell said the situation had left residents frustrated.

🗣️“We were promised an upgrade … and now what we’ve got is a very substandard service, which goes from bad to worse, and it’s now just a diabolical, chaotic mess.”

• She told the Brolga her office had been contacted by people undergoing cancer treatment and recovering from surgery who were unable to secure seats or get assistance.

🗣️“People are ringing me incredibly distraught … [people] who can’t possibly stand the whole way.”

No reservations: Britnell said the situation had been made worse by changes tied to the free public transport rollout, including the removal of the requirement to pre-book seats, a move she argues has made it harder for regional passengers to plan trips.

🗣️“The announcement of free travel has actually made it worse. More people have to drive now to appointments, so that actually [means] more people using fuel, rather than less.”

Britnell warned the introduction of replacement coaches would only deepen the strain, particularly for regional travellers boarding mid-route with no guarantee of space.

🗣️“We had a case with school kids going on a school camp, they had no way of knowing whether they would have the room to get onto the train that they were heading to Melbourne on, because there's no way of booking.” 

Events clash with service cuts: The issue has also intersected with major local events, including the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival. 

• Initial plans to cancel train services during the event were reversed after a backlash, with train services reinstated between May 5 and 7.

The Brolga has contacted the Department of Transport for comment.

Header image: Victoria’s big build