{"id":345478,"date":"2026-01-09T15:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T05:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=345478"},"modified":"2026-01-10T09:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T23:09:01","slug":"catastrophic-bushfire-risk-cancels-v-line-rail-services-across-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=345478","title":{"rendered":"Catastrophic bushfire risk cancels V\/Line rail services across Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Victoria\u2019s emergency services triggered wide-ranging travel disruptions on 8 January 2026 after declaring catastrophic fire conditions across large parts of the state. Caravan parks along the Great Ocean Road \u2013 including Kennett River, Wye River and Skenes Creek \u2013 were evacuated, while national parks such as the Great Otway and tourist magnets like the Twelve Apostles closed to visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The travel fallout extended to rail: regional operator V\/Line suspended services on nine lines<\/a>, including Warrnambool, Albury, Bendigo and Shepparton, citing safety rules under the Australian Fire Danger Rating System. No replacement coaches were provided, forcing commuters and holiday-makers to scramble for private transport. Only the Geelong and Ballarat corridors remained open, operating on heat-adjusted timetables with speed restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victoria\u2019s emergency services triggered wide-ranging travel disruptions on 8 January 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":243105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,186],"tags":[9998,10852,15033,993,10318,8],"class_list":["post-345478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rail-news","category-v-line","tag-albury","tag-bendigo","tag-extreme-weather","tag-melbourne","tag-seymour","tag-victoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t