Ballarat railway line

Ballarat
Overview
Type	V/Line passenger service
System	V/Line
Stations	18
Operation
Rolling stock	V/Line Sprinter V/Line VLocity H type carriage
Number of tracks	Double track to Caroline Springs single track with loops beyond

The Ballarat V/Line rail service is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves passengers between state capital Melbourne and the regional city of Ballarat. Beyond Ballarat it changes name to the Ararat railway line and the Maryborough railway line.

The Ballarat service is the second busiest service in Victoria (behind Geelong) carrying 3.17 million passengers in the 12 months ended 30 June 2014.

V/Line once operated services to Horsham and Dimboola. All services beyond Ballarat were withdrawn on 27 May 1994, and in 1995 the One Nation Program regauged the line beyond Ararat. The broad-gauge line between Ballarat and Ararat was closed to all traffic, with the broad-gauge passenger service from Ballarat to Ararat not reinstated until 2004 under the Linking Victoria program.

In November 2004, Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks announced that the line would be renamed the Eureka Line to mark the 150th anniversary of the . Due to take effect from late 2005 at the same time as the renaming of Spencer Street Station to Southern Cross. The renaming was criticised by groups such as the Public Transport Users Association, and was never carried out.

On 9 May 2009, Wendouree station to the west of Ballarat station opened.

In December 2008, as part of the Victorian Transport Plan, the State Government announced passenger rail services to Maryborough would resume with services commencing on 25 July 2010.

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