The state government’s free public transport policy, sky-high petrol prices and a surge in demand over Easter caused crush loads on Victoria’s regional trains, leaving some travellers standing for hours and prompting calls for V/Line to run more services to cope with demand.
Passenger photos posted to social media over the long weekend show people standing in the aisles for journeys of three hours or more after V/Line suspended its reservation service this month, leaving travellers with no way to guarantee a seat.
Internal V/Line passenger data obtained by The Age shows travellers across the V/Line network were up 72 per cent on Good Friday (from 48,873 in 2025 to 84,145) and up 84 per cent on Easter Saturday (56,092 to 103,034).
On Easter Sunday, it recorded 95,639 travellers, compared to 43,833 on Easter Sunday last year – a 118 per cent increase. The eastern rail corridor, stretching through Gippsland to Bairnsdale, saw the biggest increase with a 177 per cent jump.
Minister for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams defended V/Line’s handling of the surging travel demand, saying it showed the Allan government was helping ease cost-of-living pressure and fuel demand by making public transport free throughout April.
Williams on Wednesday rejected calls to reinstate reservations on V/Line services because there was a risk of “ghost bookings” – where people booked a free seat but did not show up. Travellers with accessibility needs could ask to use priority seating, she said.
“We introduced free public transport in April, knowing that it would lead to an increase in patronage across our network. That is indeed what we wanted to see,” she said, adding the transport department recorded a “significant” decrease in vehicle traffic over the long weekend.
V/Line ordinarily takes reservations on long-distance trains to Albury, Bairnsdale, Shepparton, Swan Hill and Warrnambool.
Passengers have complained of frequent overcrowding since the state government cut V/Line fares to align with the metropolitan daily cap (currently $11.40).
A V/Line spokesperson said it had added extra services and had 300 coaches on standby for passengers who could not fit on their train.
“Our staff are working hard to help support people’s travel needs, and we thank passengers for their understanding when services are busy,” they said.
Rail Futures Institute president John Hearsch said V/Line should upgrade all three-carriage train services to six carriage where possible to ease overcrowding, but had few other options to increase capacity.
“There’s no rolling stock available or there are no paths on the corridor, so the flexibility to accommodate a big upsurge in passengers is pretty limited,” he said.
“There’s a sudden surge of demand, and we haven’t inbuilt the capacity to deal with it. The state is a victim of its own doing in this area.”
Hearsch said Warrnambool passengers were particularly hard done by because the state government has not extended station platforms along the route, meaning V/Line could only operate shorter three-carriage Velocity trains.
Opposition transport spokesperson Matthew Guy said Labor had failed to give V/Line additional trains when it reduced fares, leaving the network “bursting”.
“Labor’s failure to follow through with their 2014 promise to electrify to Melton and Wyndham Vale is now resulting in carriages being stripped off other country lines and chronic overcrowding,” he said.
Williams said on Wednesday the transport department had now issued 514,000 of the new Youth mykis, enabling under-18s to travel for free since January 1, saving families about $755 a year per child.
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Patrick Hatch is transport reporter at The Age and a former business reporter.Connect via X or email.
