Railways and Tramways of Australia
Ballarat Line
Ballarat station, 18 December 2017.
Year Opened:
Sunshine–Melton 1884; Melton–Parwan (near Bacchus Marsh) 1886; Parwan (near Bacchus Marsh)–Bacchus Marsh 1887; Bacchus Marsh–Ballan 1889; Ballan–Gordon 1886; Gordon–Warrenheip 1879; Warrenheip–Ballarat 1862
Stations:
Ardeer, Deer Park, Caroline Springs, Rockbank, Cobblebank, Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Ballan, Ballarat, Wendouree
Typical Journey Time:
37 minutes (Southern Cross–Melton); 85 minutes (Southern Cross–Ballarat); 95 minutes (Southern Cross–Wendouree)
Typical Peak Frequency:
20 minutes (Melton); 30 minutes (Ballarat, Wendouree)
Typical Off-peak Frequency:
30 minutes (Melton); 40 minutes (Ballarat, Wendouree)
Typical Weekend Frequency:
60 minutes (Ballarat, Wendouree)
Ballarat is located west of Melbourne. The Ballarat line shares the Sunbury suburban line. It is double track as far as Deer Park, and then single track. The line between Melbourne and Ballarat was formerly part of the broad gauge interstate line linking Melbourne and Adelaide. Services between Melbourne and Adelaide now operate over a standard gauge line via North Shore (near Geelong), Waroona and Ararat. In 2005 a deviation was opened from Bungaree Loop East to Bungaree Loop West (between Ballan and Ballarat) that is 4.8 km shorter than the original line. Most services on the Ballarat line are operated by VLocity DMU railcars. On weekdays services typically alternate between trains terminating at Melton and trains terminating at Wendouree. On weekends most services terminate at Wendouree, with some terminating at Ballarat.