Victoria Trains Packed: Easter Travel Chaos

Victoria's regional train network, V/Line, faced significant overcrowding challenges over the recent Easter long weekend and school holidays. Reduced service timetables for the public holiday, coupled with increased demand from the state government's fare-free travel initiative throughout April, resulted in severely strained services.

Passengers reported being unable to board, enduring hours of standing in crowded carriages, and facing packed conditions on services to destinations like Bendigo, Swan Hill, and Bairnsdale. Some commuters described the trains as "sardines" with "can't even breathe in there."

While a V/Line spokesperson stated that extra carriages were deployed and over 300 coaches were on standby, regular travellers noted that overcrowding on regional services predates the free travel period. Reports from the Warrnambool line indicated issues with newer VLocity trains being too long for certain platforms, reducing carriage numbers and exacerbating capacity problems.

Legislators and public transport advocacy groups have raised alarms about the regional system's ability to cope with demand. Government passenger data for the 2024-25 financial year highlights the high patronage on lines such as Geelong and Ballarat, underscoring the ongoing pressure on regional public transport infrastructure.