The V/Line VLocity, sometimes called the VLocity 160, is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train built in Dandenong by Bombardier Transportation and, later, by Alstom, for V/Line, the regional rail operator in the Australian state of Victoria. Continuously in production since 2003, the VLocity is the highest-speed train in the V/Line fleet, with a top speed of . , all 141 Vlocity sets have entered service.
History Design origins and testing To honour a commitment made when it was awarded the V/Line franchise, National Express requested tenders in early 2000 for 29 two-carriage diesel multiple unit trains. The order, which coincided with the Regional Fast Rail project then being undertaken by the state government, was awarded to Adtranz's Dandenong rolling stock factory in mid-November with a value of . The contract was extended to 38 two-car units and an initial fifteen-year maintenance contract. By the time the first was delivered, the V/Line franchise had reverted to the state government, and Adtranz had been taken over by Bombardier Transportation.
The design was an evolution of the Xplorer/Endeavour railcars. Although Bombardier originally intended to use the same body shell design as the Endeavour, difficulties with the aerodynamic drag characteristics of this shape for the intended operational speed of the VLocity led to a complete redesign of the train body. Ultimately, the VLocity was designed concurrently with the B series being developed for Transperth, resulting in a number of shared design elements.
The original plan was for the 29 sets to be fitted with 2+3 seating, for a total capacity of 173 passengers per two-carriage set. However, in February 2003, that was changed to 144 seats in a 2+2 formation.
In 2003, it was announced that the units would be built in Bombardier's Dandenong factory, with the bogies to be constructed at Bombardier's Derby Litchurch Lane Works in England, and the control system to be supplied by Bombardier's plant in Västerås, Sweden. The first unit was completed in July 2004, and testing began shortly after. The trains were tested at for the first time on 17 September, when then-Premier Steve Bracks joined a test run along a route from Warragul to Moe.
Safety improvements were suggested at various stages in the development of the VLocity. For example, after the Cairns Tilt Train derailment in Queensland and the Waterfall accident in New South Wales, two very similar incidents where a train derailed when travelling too fast around a curve, the State Government announced in December 2004 that the Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) would be installed on Regional Fast Rail lines and VLocity trains. In August 2005, the State Government commissioned an investigation into the fitting of seat belts on the trains, although the concept was considered potentially expensive and technically challenging.
Testing revealed noise levels were too high in the cabin, delaying the introduction of the trains into service while the completed sets were modified.
Into service
The VLocity was introduced into service on the Ballarat line on 22 December 2005, with Bracks and Transport Minister Peter Batchelor travelling on the inaugural service from Southern Cross station. An unveiling ceremony was held at Ballarat and the train returned as a regular service. Services on the Geelong and Bendigo lines followed on 3 February 2006 and 24 February 2006 respectively. Services to Traralgon and Seymour were introduced in September 2006. A timetable allowing the VLocity to operate at its 160 km/h designed top speed was introduced on 3 September, despite allegations by the State Opposition of ongoing problems with the TPWS. In addition, the Ararat and Echuca services are operated by VLocitys. From 2010, one Ballarat line service each day was extended to Maryborough.
In 2005, the VLocity received an Australian Design Award, the first rail vehicle to do so, as well as an accolade from Engineers Australia.
On 10 November 2008, seven-carriage-long VLocity trains (2 x 2-carriage + 1 x 3-carriage sets) commenced regular operation on peak-hour Geelong line services. Previously, the longest trains had been six carriages long (3 x 2-carriage sets). With the introduction of fixed 3-carriage sets it was no longer possible to run 7-carriage trains but, in June 2022, a limited number of 9-carriage trains began running between Southern Cross and Wyndham Vale during peak times. There are also plans to run 9 car services to Melton until the Metro network is extended there when the line from Sunshine to Melton is eventually electrified.
Additions to the fleet
After the initial order of 38 units, a further two VLocity units were later ordered to bring the total to 40, along with 22 new intermediate trailers to be inserted in the middle of existing VLocity sets. The first 14 were promised during the 2006 State Election, and the order was placed in December the same year. The order for the next eight was announced on 12 October 2007.
In July 2008, the State Government ordered nine new 3-car units, and an additional intermediate car to be inserted into an existing 2-car unit, with an extra four carriages added in February 2009. The final unit of the order was delivered in September 2011.
With the availability of improved technologies for train control, from mid-2012, sets 3VL30, 3VL40 and 3VL50 were selected by Bombardier as test sets for equipment upgrades, in order to minimise the number of sets containing non-standard systems.
In November 2012, the State Government announced an additional 40 carriages would be delivered between 2014 and 2016. The order comprised seven additional 3-car sets plus 19 intermediate cars to increase the remaining 2-car sets to 3-cars.
In March 2014, the order for 40 carriages was increased to 43. Further orders were placed for 21 carriages in May 2015 and 27 carriages in April 2016.$257 Million for New Regional Trains and Local Jobs Premier of Victoria 1 May 2015Public transport investments in 2016/17 Victorian Budget Public Transport Victoria 27 April 2016 All 2-carriage VLocity sets had been converted to 3-carriage sets by May 2018.
In December 2017, a further nine sets were ordered. Once all were delivered, the fleet comprised 88 3-car sets.More Vlocity cars ordered for regional Victoria services International Railway Journal 20 December 2017Bombardier to supply more Vlocity DMUs Railway Gazette International 20 December 2017 Of these, sets 76-79 were of a modified configuration, with a single toilet per three-carriage set instead of two, improvements to CCTV, downrating of the engines to each for fuel economy and altered standing and seating arrangements. Sets from 80 to 88 reverted to two toilets with modified seating and a different front to accommodate a safer driving cabin. As of 6 November 2020 units 80-88 had entered revenue service.
After jockey Michelle Payne won the 2015 Melbourne Cup horse race riding Prince of Penzance, becoming the first female jockey to win the race, set 3VL9 was named Michelle Payne in honour of her regional Victorian ancestry. The set was the first and thus far only VLocity to be named and the first V/Line train to be named since the Sprinters in the late 20th century.
In the 2018 Victorian state election campaign, the Andrews government promised that, if re-elected, it would place an order for 18 additional three-car VLocity sets to be delivered from 2021.
In the 2022 Victorian state election campaign, the Andrews government promised that, if re-elected, it would place an order for an additional 23 three-car VLocity sets, as part of a promise to boost regional weekend services. The government also committed to introducing nine-car VLocity trains to service the Melton railway line in Melbourne's west. Production of the 23 sets began in March 2024. When completed, there will be a fleet of 141 three car VLocity sets on the V/Line network on the current confirmed contract.
The final 3 car VLocity set (VL141) on the current contract entered revenue service in July 2026, as of 3 August 2026 no announcements on building more units have yet to be made by any political party with a State Election due in November 2026.
Wheel wear restrictions In January 2016, V/Line removed approximately a quarter of VLocity units from service after identifying unusually high rates of wear to wheel flanges. Compared to a normal rate of , Bombardier's service regime noted a maximum wear rate of . Although unusual wear patterns had been observed since December of the previous year across the V/Line fleet, then-V/Line CEO Theo Taifalos ordered the withdrawal of the most badly affected units for safety reasons.
On 15 January 2016, a VLocity set failed to activate boom gates at the Progress Street level crossing in Dandenong. This led Metro Trains to ban all sets from operating on suburban lines until the issue had been resolved. The combined restrictions on the VLocity fleet led to the daily cancellation of nearly 70 V/Line services from mid-January.
By the beginning of March, Bombardier had increased its capacity to re-machine affected wheels, and track identified as potentially contributing to the wheel wear situation had been reprofiled; as a consequence, VLocity units were gradually returned to service.
In April, a report by the Institute of Railway Technology at Monash University identified tight curves and an inadequate track lubrication on the newly opened Regional Rail Link, particularly along the North Melbourne Flyover near North Melbourne Station, which was upgraded as part of the project as a means of allowing V/Line services to access Platforms 1–8 at Southern Cross without needing to use the metropolitan tracks, as the root cause of the increase in wheel wear, and suggested that the relatively stiff suspension of the VLocity was the reason it had been most severely affected.
Design evolution The New Generation Rollingstock ordered for Queensland Rail from Bombardier, although built in India, were based on the VLocity design and the 4000 class EMU used by Adelaide Metro, which was itself based on the VLocity shell and assembled in the same Dandenong factory as the VLocity sets. The Transperth B Series Train is closely related to the VLocity because both were designed at the same time by the same company.
A 2016 asset management report presented by V/Line noted that the VLocity would be unsuitable for higher passenger loads without a complete body redesign, and acknowledged that the operational performance of the VLocity was hampered by the inferior acceleration of V/Line's locomotive-hauled fleet. The 2016–17 Victorian budget allocated funds for a project to redesign the VLocity for long-haul services, particularly those to Shepparton, Warrnambool and Albury/Wodonga.
By late 2017, design work had begun on modifications to the interior for units 3VR76-3VR79.
Many of the changes were required for improved compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. For the later order of 3VL80 and above, more significant alterations to the crash protection in the driver's cabin were introduced.
In October 2018, the state government announced that a new interior layout would be introduced on units 3VR76-3VR79 and 3VL80-3VL88 with 14 extra seats per three-carriage set, at the expense of removing a toilet and bike storage rack from each set. Cycling lobby groups criticised the new layout, but the government argued that the sets would be restricted to short-distance routes where the additional capacity would be valuable.
The first of the updated type entered service in August 2019.