Werribee line

19th century 's lines to Geelong/Werribee and Williamstown In 1857, the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company (G&MRC) opened the Werribee to Little River section of the line they were building between Newport and Geelong, then in June of that year, they opened the section between Werribee and a temporary station near Newport, known as Greenwich. The intention was to connect to the Williamstown line being built by the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Railway Company, with whom they had arranged permission to run the former company's trains over the latter company's tracks to Melbourne, but the Williamstown line was not yet ready. However, by October 1857, construction of the Williamstown line had sufficiently advanced to allow the Geelong trains to run to the terminus at Williamstown Pier, so Greenwich station was closed and a connection was made to the Williamstown line towards Williamstown. From Williamstown Pier, passengers could connect to a ferry across Hobsons Bay to Port Melbourne. This branch was opened by the Altona and Laverton Bay Freehold and Investment Company to encourage people to buy their land in the area. Sometime between 1911 and 1919, the line reopened for goods trains with a siding built from Altona Beach to the Melbourne and Altona Colliery Company mine. From November 1917, the VR worked on the line on behalf of the then owners, Altona Beach Estates Ltd., but to a relocated Altona Beach station, short of the original terminus. The VR electrified the Williamstown line and the branch to Williamstown Racecourse in August 1920. In October 1924, the VR took total control of the Altona Beach line, and electrified it in October 1926. By the early 1980s, the Altona line was under threat of closure, as recommended in the Lonie Report. In October 1981, the rail service was drastically cut, with all shuttle services withdrawn, and only two morning and evening trains being operated to and from Melbourne. When the Altona line was extended to Laverton, it was integrated into the Werribee line, becoming the Altona loop. At the same time as the extension to Laverton, the line from Altona to Westona, which had temporarily been operated by Staff and Ticket safeworking, was converted to Automatic and Track Control. 21st century Initially, almost every Werribee bound service ran via Altona, but a timetable re-write in May 2011 saw this section converted to a separate service for the majority of the time. The rewrite introduced the controversial practice of having trains serving the Altona Loop run as a shuttle service between Laverton and Newport during off peak hours. Shuttle services were ended in August 2017, with weekday direct services to and from the city being reinstated to the Altona Loop. in 2015 brought numerous benefits to the operations on the Werribee line. In June 2015, the completion of the Regional Rail Link allowed for the rerouting of Geelong and Warrnambool services via the 90 km of new track constructed between Little River and Deer Park stations. Instead of stopping at select stations on the Werribee line, services now stop at new stations at Wyndham Vale and Tarneit which are in Melbourne's growing western suburbs. The separation of suburban and regional trains has reduced overcrowding, increased capacity, and improved service reliability on the Werribee line in addition to the benefits seen on Geelong services. In January 2021, a major timetable rewrite resulted in increased frequencies and weekend daytime shuttle services being extended from Newport to Flinders Street. Peak hour weekday services now stop at South Kensington, which simplifies stopping patterns on the Sunbury line. Until February 2026, services on the Werribee Line would run through with the Frankston line via Flinders Street. This service ceased on 1 February 2026 as part of the Big Switch which saw services from Werribee altered to run direct to Flinders Street only and not through to Frankston. == Future ==

Level crossing removals The Level Crossing Removal Project has announced the removal of all remaining level crossings on the Werribee line, to be completed in stages from 2018 to 2030. In 2018, one level crossing was removed at Kororoit Creek Road, Williamstown North. The crossing was removed by raising the rail line onto a rail bridge above the road with partial duplication of the Altona Loop completed as part of the project. The crossing was removed by raising the road onto a bridge above the rail line with upgrades to Aircraft station in conjunction with the project. The removal of the crossing at Old Geelong Road in Hoppers Crossing also included an upgrade to Hoppers Crossing station with a new overpass, station forecourt, and bus interchange. The final five crossings along the line (excluding the ones on the Altona Loop) will be removed by 2030. The crossing at Hudsons Road, Spotswood and Maddox Road, Newport will be removed by constructing two separate rail bridges with a new Spotswood station also being built. In addition, the crossing at Maidstone Street will be removed with the construction of a road bridge and two crossings—Anderson Street and Champion Road—will be closed off. The project would split the Mernda line from the Hurstbridge line after Clifton Hill into a new tunnel, travelling east stopping at a new station in the "inner north", before connecting with at Parkville, Flagstaff, and Southern Cross stations. Exiting the CBD, the line would continue in a tunnel stopping at a new station in the suburb of Fishermans Bend, before crossing underneath the Yarra River and arriving at Newport station. This project was initially meant to be completed in the 2020s, however, no funding or planning has taken place, with the revised Victorian Rail Plan stating that the project would be completed under Stage 6 of the plan. As part of the Melbourne Metro 2, the Werribee and Williamstown lines would be reconfigured to provide simpler service. The Sandringham line would continue running to Williamstown with the line also travelling to and terminating at Laverton via the Altona Loop. Express services (not via the Altona Loop) would instead be served by trains exiting the Melbourne Metro 2 tunnel towards Werribee (and potentially Geelong). Geelong Fast Rail The Western Rail Plan is a plan that aims to improve the quality of rail services in Melbourne's western suburbs through infrastructure upgrades on a range of metropolitan and regional lines. Phase 1 of Geelong Fast Rail will consist of the following projects aimed at cutting travel times by 15 minutes: == Network and operations ==

Services Services on the Werribee line operates from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 am daily. In general, during peak hours, train frequency is 5–15 minutes (reduced frequencies on the Altona Loop) while services during non-peak hours drops to 20 minutes throughout the entire route. The Night Network operates on Friday nights and weekends, with services running 24 hours a day, with 60 minute frequencies available outside of normal operating hours. Train services on the Werribee line are also subjected to maintenance and renewal works, usually on selected Fridays and Saturdays. Shuttle bus 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. Legend — Stopping patternsServices do not operate via the City Loop • ● – All trains stop • ◐ – Some services do not stop - Weekend night network services do not stop at Southern Cross • ▼ – Only inbound trains stop • | – Trains pass and do not stop Guide Source: Weekdays - Services to Werribee stop at Southern Cross, North Melbourne, Footscray, Newport, Laverton then all stations to Werribee - Services to Laverton stop at all stations via Altona (Before 7pm) - Services stop at all stations via Altona (After 7pm only) Weekends - All Services stop at all stations via Altona Night Network - All Services stop at all stations except Southern Cross via Altona Operators operated part of the Altona branch for Altona Beach Estates between 1911 and 1924. The Werribee line has had a total of 10 operators since its opening in 1857. Early in 1857, the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company (G&MR) opened the Werribee to Little River section of the line they were building between Newport and Geelong. 2 years later in 1859, the government acquired the line and begun operations under the newly formed Victorian Railways (VR). The railway to Altona was constructed by the Altona Beach Estate Company, a private land developer, and opened on 9 November 1888 to a station named Altona Beach, which was about a kilometre to the east of the current station. These operators, Victorian Railways, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Public Transport Corporation, and Bayside Trains have a combined operational length of 140 years. Bayside Trains was privatised in August 1999 and later rebranded M>Train. In 2002, M>Train was placed into receivership and the state government regained ownership of the line, with KPMG appointed as receivers to operate M>Train on behalf of the state government. Two years later, rival train operator Connex Melbourne took over the M>Train operations including the Williamstown line. Metro Trains Melbourne, the current private operator, then took over the operations in 2009. The private operators have had a combined operational period of years. Route • Greenwich to Werribee on • Southern Cross to Newport on • Altona junction to Williamstown Racecourse on • Racecourse junction to Altona Beach on • Altona to Westona on • Westona to Laverton on }} • Newport to Greenwich on • Racecourse junction to Altona Beach on • Racecourse junction to Williamstown Racecourse on }} • Flinders Street to North Melbourne on • North Melbourne to Williamstown Racecourse on • Racecourse junction to Altona on • Altona junction to Werribee on • Altona to Westona on • Westona to Laverton on }} • Geelong and Melbourne Railway (G&MR) (1857–1860) • Victorian Railways (VR) (1860–1974) • Altona Beach Estates (1888–1924) • VR as VicRail (1974–1983) • MTA (The Met) (1983–1989) • PTC (The Met) (1989–1997) • VicTrack (1997–Current) }} • Six tracks – Flinders Street to Footscray • Double track: Footscray to Werribee (direct) • Single track: Altona Junction to Laverton (via Altona) }} }} The Werribee line forms a mostly straight route from the Melbourne central business district to its terminus in Werribee. The route is long and is fully doubled tracked from Flinders Street to its terminus, excluding during the Altona Loop. After changing from Frankston services at Flinders Street, the Werribee line traverses mainly flat country with few curves and fairly minimal earthworks for most of the line. Few sections of the line has been elevated or lowered to remove level crossings. All remaining level crossings will be removed by 2030. Most of the rail line goes through built-up suburbs and heavy industrial areas with small pockets on non-urbanised spaces. From 2030, Spotswood station will be elevated as part of additional level crossing removal works. == Infrastructure ==

Rolling stock EMUs are one type of rolling stock featured on the line. The Werribee line uses three different types of electric multiple unit (EMU) trains that are operated in a split six-car configuration, with three doors per side on each carriage. The primary rolling stock featured on the line is the Comeng EMUs, built by Commonwealth Engineering between 1981 and 1988. These train sets are the oldest on the Melbourne rail network and subsequently will be replaced by the mid 2030s. Siemens Nexas EMUs are also widely featured on the line, originally built between 2002 and 2005 these train sets feature more modern technology than the Comeng trains. The final type of rolling stock featured on the line is the X'Trapolis 100 built by Alstom between 2002 and 2004, and 2009 and 2020. Most of these trains are repurposed locomotives previously used by V/Line, Metro Trains, and the Southern Shorthaul Railroad. The majority of stations on the corridor are fully accessible, however, there are some stations that haven't been upgraded to meet these guidelines. These stations do feature ramps, however, they have a gradient greater than 1 in 14. Projects improving station accessibility have included the Level Crossing Removal Project, which involves station rebuilds and upgrades and other individual station upgrade projects. These works have made significant strides in improving network accessibility, with more than 76% of Werribee line stations classed as fully accessible. This number is expected to grow within the coming years with the completion of level crossing removal works on the corridor by 2029. Signalling The Werribee line uses three-position signalling which is widely used across the Melbourne train network. Three-position signalling was first introduced in 1927, with the final section of the line converted to the new type of signalling in 1946. Past Werribee, three-position signalling continues further past Geelong. ==References==