In Victoria’s north-west, Mildura remains the largest regional city in the state without access to a passenger rail service.
Currently, the nearest passenger train service is based in Swan Hill, two and a half hours away, with passengers required to catch a coach service from Mildura to Swan Hill.
Alternatively, residents can take the overnight bus to Melbourne, but both options take about eight hours each way.
The Melbourne–Swan Hill V/Line service has faced sustained reliability problems in 2026. Punctuality plunged to a record-low 63.5% in January amid bushfire and extreme-heat disruptions, well under V/Line’s 92% target, with the line also topping Victoria’s worst-punctuality rankings for consecutive months (around 79–81%).
Catastrophic fire-danger days in January forced full train suspensions, replaced by limited coach services with restricted stopping patterns. Track speed restrictions from major works have further slowed journeys since March.
In state parliament, Nationals MP Peter Walsh described the service as synonymous with unreliability, delays, cancellations and poor standards, also criticizing the discontinued buffet car.
It should be highlighted Peter Walsh a Nationals MP in government with Jeff Kennett stood by and allowed rail services to be discontinued and the network dismantled. What has changed in the Nationals view?
A growing number of residents are calling for a train service between Mildura and Maryborough, which would connect to the wider rail network.
Rail Revival Alliance president Noel Laidlaw said costs of airfares, an aging population and the state of the roads between Mildura and Melbourne meant public transport was the only viable option for many.
“If [people] want to go and see grandkids or go to the doctors or whatever, and they’ve got to go to Melbourne, they might not have the $700 to fork out for the flight,” Mr Laidlaw said.
Mildura Rural City Council is one of the five councils along the route which are advocating for the reintroduction of the service.
Council said the region faced significant challenges due to the absence of passenger trains, with the region’s remoteness and limited public transport options restricting residents’ access to essential services, education and social opportunities in other Victorian towns and in Melbourne.
Mildura is a large city by rural standards and one of the only cities of its size in Southeastern Australia without a passenger rail service showing how little work the Department of Transport and Planning has been doing to connect Victorian’s. Not to be forgotten, the rail line between Maryborough and Mildura passes through many towns isolated by the closure of the passenger service under Jeff Kennett
