Werribee line

Werribee
Werribee station, the terminus of the Werribee line, with a Comeng train awaiting to commence a Frankston via City service, April 2024
Overview
Service type	Commuter rail
System	Melbourne railway network
Status	Operational
Locale	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Predecessor	Geelong (1857–?) Williamstown Racecourse (1885–1920) Altona Beach (1888–1890) Altona Beach (1917–1926) Williamstown Racecourse ^ (1920–1940) Altona Beach ^ (1926–1938) Altona ^ (1938–1985) ^ are electric services
First service	25 June 1857; 167 years ago (1857-06-25)
Current operator(s)	Metro Trains
Former operator(s)	Geelong and Melbourne Railway (G&MR) (1857–1860) Victorian Railways (VR) (1860–1974) Altona Beach Estates (1888–1890) VR as VicRail (1974–1983) MTA (The Met) (1983–1989) PTC (The Met) (1989–1998) Bayside Trains (1998–2000) M>Train (2000–2004) Connex Melbourne (2004–2009)
Route
Termini	Flinders Street (some continue to Frankston) Werribee
Stops	17 (excluding City Loop stations)
Distance travelled	32.9 km (20.4 mi) (via Altona)
Average journey time	39 minutes (direct) 49 minutes (via Altona)
Service frequency	20 minutes weekdays to Laverton via Altona 4–15 minutes weekdays peak to Werribee direct 20 minutes weekdays off-peak to Werribee direct 20 minutes at nights and weekends to Werribee via Altona 60 minutes early weekend mornings to Werribee via Altona Extra frequency daytime between Flinders Street and Newport in combination with Williamstown line Certain trains continue or start from Frankston
Line(s) used	Altona, Warrnambool
Technical
Rolling stock	Comeng, Siemens, X'Trapolis 100
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	1500 V DC overhead
Track owner(s)	VicTrack
Route map Legend h:mm km zone continues as Frankston line to Frankston 0:00 0.0 Flinders Street ●●●●●●●●●●●● 1 0:03 1.2 Southern Cross ●●●●●●●●● 0:06 2.9 North Melbourne ●●●●● 0:09 4.7 South Kensington 0:12 6.9 Footscray ●●●●●●●●●■ 0:13 7.9 Seddon 0:15 8.8 Yarraville 0:17 10.5 Spotswood 0:20 11.9 Newport ● 0:27 17.4 Seaholme 1 0:29 18.4 Altona 1/2 0:33 19.8 Westona 0:37 23.5 Laverton 1/2 0:38 24.7 Aircraft 2 0:40 25.9 Williams Landing 0:44 30.1 Hoppers Crossing 0:49 34.1 Werribee 2 h:mm km zone This diagram: view talk edit

The Werribee line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^[1] Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's ninth longest metropolitan railway line at 32.9 kilometres (20.4 mi).

The line runs from Flinders Street station in central Melbourne to Werribee station in the south-west, serving 17 stations via Footscray, Newport, and Altona.^[2] The line operates for approximately 19 hours a day (from approximately 5:00 am to around 12:00 am) with 24 hour service available on Friday and Saturday nights. During peak hour, headways of up to 5–20 minutes are operated with services every 20–30 minutes during off-peak hours.^[3] Trains on the Werribee line run with a two three-car formations of Comeng, Siemens Nexas, and X'Trapolis 100 trainsets.^[4]

Part of the line initially opened in 1857 by the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company. The line was progressively finished within the next two years, allowing trains to travel from Melbourne to Geelong. In April 1885, a short branch was opened off the Werribee line just past Newport to Williamstown Racecourse, and in November 1888, a branch was opened off the Racecourse branch to Altona, terminating at a station named Altona Beach.^[5] The construction of these lines played important parts in the development of Geelong and Melbourne's west during the 19th and 20th centuries, with the line continuing to be an important asset in the 21st century.

Since the 2010s, due to the heavily utilised infrastructure of the Werribee line, improvements and upgrades have been made. Works have included replacing sleepers, upgrading signalling technology, the removal of level crossings, planning for new infrastructure, the introduction of new rolling stock, and station accessibility upgrades.^[6]