Geelong commuters could be waiting a while before the Geelong-Wyndham Vale rail line is electrified. V-Line services are still running to and from Melbourne on that line. There have been calls for the electrification of the Geelong and Ballarat lines as a major project delivery to provide a better service to the area and to remove polluting diesel hauled trains not fit for the 75 km journey between Melbourne and Geelong.
Sadly we are unlikely to see the dirty trains replaced until at least next decade when the redevelopment of Sunshine station is finished. The sad reality is electrifying to Melton is a stupid idea when the real opportunity is to electrify between Sunshine and Ballarat with a change of rolling stock to more progressing EMU services akin to European inter regional services. This if completed would allow the remove of diesel trains for use on other parts of the network.
Geelong could then be electrified as the Ballarat Line is finished with further rolling stock orders for better trains with more passenger capacity.
There are also calls for the return of passenger rail services between Geelong and Ballarat.
The question remains what type of electrification could be installed to allow trains to use both the Werribee and Sunshine paths?