Canberra Link is a long-distance rail and coach service operated by V/Line between the Australian state of Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. The service runs as a rail service from Southern Cross station in Melbourne to the regional city of Wodonga, where passengers switch to a coach that travels to Jolimont Centre in Canberra. Two services – one travelling each direction – operate per day.
History V/Line introduced the Canberra Link service on 27 April 1987. Its initial fare was for adults and for concession card holders.
In addition to Canberra Link, V/Line operates Capital Link as another rail–coach service from Melbourne to Canberra, which was introduced on 20 February 1989. It runs as a rail service along the Gippsland railway line from Southern Cross to Bairnsdale station, where it becomes a coach service and travels via Orbost and Cooma to reach Jolimont Centre.
At present, Canberra Link and Capital Link are the only direct public transport services between Melbourne and Canberra. Several other limited-stop bus services run between the two cities through private operators, including Greyhound Australia and FlixBus. There is no direct rail service from Melbourne to Canberra, but passengers can take the NSW TrainLink XPT service from Southern Cross to Goulburn station, then connect to a train that travels to Canberra station.
Operations Coach services are operated by Dysons under contract to V/Line.
Route
The V/Line rail service on the Albury line departs Southern Cross station at 7:07am, running through Melbourne Yard, then along the South Kensington–West Footscray railway line, the Albion–Jacana railway line, and then the North East railway line from Jacana station (where it does not stop) to Broadmeadows station.
After Broadmeadows, it skips three metropolitan and seven regional stations before reaching Seymour. The service continues to run along the North East line, stopping at seven stations until it reaches Wodonga, where passengers travelling to Canberra exit and enter a coach; passengers have the ability to stay on the train one stop further to Albury station, where it meets the coach at 11:05am.
The coach service makes six stops on its way to Canberra, including a ten-minute stop at the Gundagai Visitor Information Centre. It is scheduled to reach Jolimont Centre in Canberra at 3:20pm, where passengers can connect with local bus services at City Interchange and the light rail at Alinga Street.
For services travelling from Canberra to Melbourne, the route runs the opposite way and departs Jolimont Centre approximately one hour later at 8:05am, reaching Gundagai at 10am, Wodonga at 12:40pm and Southern Cross at 4:33pm.
Stops + Canberra Link Station/Stop Image Suburb/Town Connections Time Southern Cross Docklands 0 Broadmeadows Broadmeadows 28 Seymour Seymour 79 Avenel Avenel 90 Euroa Euroa 109 Violet Town Violet Town 120 Benalla Benalla 137 Wangaratta Wangaratta 162 Springhurst Springhurst 175 Chiltern Chiltern 183 Wodonga Wodonga 200 Passengers switch from rail service to coach Albury Albury 238 BP Service Station/Hume Highway Woomargama 273 Albury Street Holbrook 288 Sydney Street Tarcutta 338 Tourist Information Centre Gundagai 368 Yass Bus Interchange Yass 448 Barton Highway Murrumbateman 463 Jolimont Centre Canberra City 493
Notes
References