Council & Politics
2 November, 2025
Late night train proves popular
THE introduction of a late-night return train to Ararat and Beaufort on weekends has been a popular move with over 300 people using the service each week. The Victorian Government introduced the additional late-night service on Saturday and Sunday back in April after lobbying by Ripon MP Martha Haylett. It followed numerous calls from the community for a late night service to allow people to attend social functions in Melbourne with the option of getting home late in the evening. V/Line reports the average patronage on the 9.15pm service from Southern Cross to Ararat is 213 passengers on a Saturday and 106 on Sunday evening.
Eight new weekend services were added to the Ararat Line in April this year, giving passengers access to five return services for Ararat Line passengers on Saturday and Sunday, including the new late night service from Southern Cross to Ararat.
The service gives Ararat and Beaufort residents more opportunities to visit family and friends, and attend special events and attractions in the city on weekends.
The service arrives in Beaufort at 11.14pm and Ararat 11.42pm.
A V/Line Spokesperson told the Advocate the new late night service has been embraced by local travellers.
“Ararat passengers are taking advantage of late night weekend trains introduced in April, giving them more opportunities to visit the city.”
“Patronage numbers for the Saturday and Sunday night services from Melbourne to Ararat continue to be strong and we encourage passengers to plan ahead.”
In addition to the new late night service, the regional fare cap has proved popular, with more than $160 million saved by passengers since the introduction of cheaper fares and over 62 million trips taken on the network – including more than two million on the Ararat Line.
Ararat passengers now pay $11 to travel anywhere in the state compared with $62 before fare cap.