Passengers on Victoria’s second busiest regional rail line are asked to plan ahead in December and January while the Ballarat Line Upgrade’s final phase of works and safety testing gets underway.
During the final disruption for the project, a crew of more than 250 will carry out work along the line, including signalling commissioning, critical safety testing and driver training.
At the same time, around 500 metres of track will be duplicated between Bacchus Marsh Station and Maddingley and at two level crossings in Ballan, work which can only be completed at this critical point in the project.
Extra peak services and trains every 40 minutes in the off-peak will be introduced to the state’s second busiest regional rail line, with more details to be communicated to passengers and the community.
Once the commissioning is completed, all new infrastructure as part of the Ballarat Line Upgrade will be in operation, with trains to start using the new second platforms and tracks at Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree stations, and the accessible pedestrian overpass at Wendouree Station will be opened to station users.
In a boost to reliability for the growing communities along the line, passing loops at Ballan and Millbrook will be made operational, to help services recover faster from unexpected delays by providing more options for trains to pass each other on the line.
Nearly 1.6 million hours of work have been completed on the Ballarat Line Upgrade, with crews continuing to work throughout 2020 on the Ballarat Line to prepare for commissioning, including installing signalling infrastructure and carrying out testing.
The Ballarat Line Upgrade forms part of the Australian and Victorian governments’ investment in Regional Rail Revival, which is upgrading every regional passenger rail line and creating jobs and local supplier opportunities across the state.