Echuca Line passengers will benefit from faster train services from Sunday 12 December, thanks to the completion of major track upgrades between Epsom and the new Goornong Station.
The track upgrades will allow trains to travel from 80km/h up to 130km/h between Epsom and Goornong, which will come into effect as part of a new timetable and coincides with Goornong Station opening.
The track upgrades, which will enable passengers to get to where they need to go sooner, have been delivered as part of the Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade.
Further track upgrades to increase the speed of trains beyond Goornong towards Echuca are planned to take place in 2022.
Since September, crews have installed 20,000 new concrete sleepers and 50,000 tonnes of ballast along the line, as well as major track formation and reconstruction works at 20 sites.
Drainage improvements have also taken place, along with tamping, de-stressing and welding, culvert and bridge repairs, rail milling, and upgrades to signalling at eight level crossings.
Goornong Station is the first of 3 new stations being built as part of the Bendigo Metro 3 to give people in growing communities access to trains close to where they live.
Works on the Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade are continuing with the delivery of Huntly Station targeted for completion in mid-2022, and Raywood Station to follow late next year.
Design and development of the new electronic train order (ETO) system is also progressing, as part of Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade.
The ETO system will allow additional weekday return services to both Eaglehawk and Epsom, and triple the number of weekday services to and from Echuca when the project is completed.
The Bendigo and Echuca Line Upgrade is part of the $4 billion Regional Rail Revival program, which is upgrading every regional passenger rail line in Victoria and creating 3,000 jobs and local supplier opportunities.