V/Line

V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger rail and coach services in the Australian state of Victoria. It provides passenger train services on five commuter routes and eight long-distance services from its major hub at Southern Cross railway station in Melbourne. It also provides coach bus services across Victoria and into New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. In addition, V/Line is responsible for the maintenance of the Victorian freight and passenger rail network outside of the areas managed by Metro Trains Melbourne and the Australian Rail Track Corporation. The V/Line brand was introduced after the split-up of VicRail in 1983, and has been used by all successive operators of the state's regional public transport network. Until 1999, when its freight operations were privatised, V/Line Freight was also a government provider of the state's rail freight services. From 2004 the main operating rail company V/Line Pty Ltd was owned by the V/Line Corporation, a Victorian state government statutory corporation. In 2016, V/Line Corporation became a subsidiary agency of Public Transport Victoria and in July 2021 V/Line transitioned from a government-owned corporation to a statutory authority. In the 2023–24 financial year, V/Line carried 23.8 million passengers, mostly on its railway lines, which have experienced considerable patronage growth since 2005 due to improved services and population increases. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on usage, with patronage falling to 10.7 million passengers in 2021–22. V/Line's operations, particularly those on long-distance routes, remain heavily subsidised by the Victorian Government.