Ticketing & fares

Ticketing Options

Passengers can tap and go using a myki, a bank card, smartphone or smartwatch to travel on select long distance trains and all commuter services between Melbourne and:

Geelong / Waurn Ponds
Ballarat / Wendouree
Bendigo / Eaglehawk / Epsom
Traralgon
Seymour

For more information about myki and contactless travel and public transport fares visit the Transport Victoria website.

V/Line paper tickets or eTickets can be used for travel on V/Line coach services and long-distance train services to and from: 

Albury 
Ararat 
Bairnsdale 
Echuca 
Maryborough 
Shepparton 
Swan Hill 
Warrnambool

Long distance train and scheduled coach tickets

You are still able to use a paper or eTicket on long distance train services, instead of myki or contactless payment, if you prefer. Scheduled coach services do not take myki or contactless payment and require a valid paper or eTicket to travel.

How do I get a paper ticket or eTicket?

Book your travel online using our plan your journey tool or visit your nearest staffed station or ticket outlet.

You can choose to receive your ticket via eTicket or as a paper ticket collected from a staffed station or agent at least 30 minutes prior to travel, or posted to you (please allow 10 business days for postage).
If you're making a return journey or planning to catch a connecting service and you've elected to purchase a paper ticket, you need to collect your paper ticket from a station or V/Line agent when you can at the first opportunity.

Find out more about extra travel included with your ticket.

V/Line paper tickets or eTickets are used for travel on V/Line coach services and long-distance train services to and from:

Albury
Ararat
Bairnsdale
Echuca
Maryborough
Shepparton
Swan Hill
Warrnambool

Ticket type	Ideal for	Ticket rules
Single	One way travel, or when you need to travel to and from a destination on a different day.	One journey from the origin to the destination. Breaks in the journey are not allowed.
Day return	Same day return travel.	Unlimited same day travel between the origin and destination. Breaks in the journey are allowed.

How much will my journey cost?

The price of your journey will differ depending on your origin and destination. If you are travelling on a long distance service or outside of the myki zone, use the V/Line Journey Planner tool to calculate your fare and book your travel. If you are travelling within a myki zone, check the fare tables on the Transport Victoria website.

Fares for travel on all Government owned or operated public transport across Victoria are capped at the same price as a metropolitan ticket.

Once you reach the fare cap, you will not be charged any more for your travel on the same day when booking in the same transaction, or when using your myki card for travel within the myki zone.

Despite where you are travelling across the V/Line network, you will need a valid ticket for your journey, even if you have previously reached the fare cap on a different journey on the same day.

Interstate V/Line destinations may attract an additional daily interstate travel fee. This is paid on top of the fare cap. Please find more detail below.

Interstate travel

V/Line operates a number of services to interstate locations. If your interstate destination is within 60 kilometres of the Victorian border, your travel to that destination is covered as a part of the regional fare cap. These destinations include:

Albury
Bombala
Bordertown
Deniliquin
Eden
Holbrook
Jerilderie
Keith
Lameroo
Merimbula
Mount Gambier
Woomargama

For travel to destinations greater than 60 kilometres from the Victorian border, an additional daily interstate travel fee will apply. These destinations include:

Adelaide City
Adelaide Hills
Mount Barker
Bega
Bermagui
Bodalla
Batemans Bay
Canberra
Coleambally
Coonalpyn
Cobargo
Dalmeny
Darlington Point
Griffith
Gundagai
Geranium
Jabuk
Mogo
Murray Bridge
Murrumbateman
Moruya
Narooma
Nimmitabel
Cooma
Peake
Sherlock
Tarcutta
Tailem Bend
Tintinara
Tuross
Yass

Extra travel included

If you have reached the daily fare cap while using any form of public transport in Victoria, on either a myki, eTicket or a paper ticket, you are entitled to unlimited travel for the remainder of that calendar day. You will still need a valid ticket on all long distance V/Line services.

If you have travelled using a myki and have not reached the daily fare cap, you can continue travelling within the zones for which you have paid, for the remainder of your fare duration.

If you are travelling using a paper ticket or eTicket, and have not reached the daily fare cap, your ticket includes two-hours of free travel on the local bus networks at your origin and destination, either side of your V/Line journey.

If your service does not reach its destination at the scheduled time, you may have your ticket endorsed on arrival at a staffed V/Line station, in order to access the full two-hour period of local bus travel available.

You don't need to have your ticket endorsed to access the two-hours of additional travel if your service has arrived on time.

For more information, passengers are encouraged to visit a V/Line staffed station or call 1800 800 007.

Regional town buses

You can use your myki or V/Line paper ticket or eTicket to travel on some local town buses. Town bus travel is included if you travel to or from one of these stations:

Geelong
North Geelong
South Geelong
Corio
North Shore
Marshall
Waurn Ponds
Ballarat
Wendouree
Kangaroo Flat
Bendigo
Eaglehawk
Epsom
Wallan
Kilmore East
Seymour
Traralgon
Moe
Morwell

You must have your myki or V/Line paper ticket or eTicket with you when you board the bus. Please present your ticket to the bus driver for checking. V/Line paper tickets, eTickets or myki cards are not available from bus drivers.

Reservations

Reserved seating is available on V/Line train services to and from Albury, Bairnsdale, Shepparton, Swan Hill and Warrnambool. These services operate with a mixture of reserved and unreserved carriages, except Albury where all seating is reserved. You can purchase a reserved ticket, which guarantees you a specific seat in the reserved carriage(s), or an unreserved ticket, which allows you to travel in the unreserved carriage(s) onboard these services, and may require you to stand for all or part of the journey if there are no seats available.

Reservations are required on several V/Line coach services.

Passengers can find reserved services shaded in timetables. In the V/Line Journey Planner tool, reserved coach services are shown with an ‘R’ for ‘Reserved’, and train services with reserved carriages are shown with an ‘RC’ for ‘Reserved carriage(s)’.

Reservations are not required on trains to and from all other destinations on the V/Line network, including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour and Traralgon but you still require a valid myki or unreserved paper ticket or eTicket to travel.

On busy services, if seats remain vacant during a journey, V/Line may alter reservations, to allow other passengers to be seated.

Passengers wishing to reserve a seat but then pay for their journey using tap and go or myki can be issued a no cost reservation when booking at a staffed station, premium Metro station, retail agent or by calling 1800 800 007. This option is not available for bookings via the V/Line website.

Making changes to your travel

If you need to make changes to your reservation or tickets, making changes depends on the type of ticket you have.

For reserved services

If you have a seat reservation you can either:

call 1800 800 007; or
visit a V/Line station or ticket outlet near you.

Changes can be made prior to the departure time printed on the ticket.

For unreserved services

If you do not have a seat reservation, you must visit a V/Line station or ticket outlet the day prior to the departure date printed on the ticket. You will need to bring your existing tickets or show your eTicket to be exchanged for new tickets.

Refunds, lost or stolen tickets

myki

Information about myki refunds can be found on the Transport Victoria website.

Paper tickets and eTickets

You can receive a full refund for single or return tickets if you are unable to travel as long as you apply before the departure date of your service. No administration fee applies.

The easiest way to apply for a refund is to visit your closest V/Line station. Alternatively, please complete an enquiry using the online feedback form, phone 1800 800 007 or send a completed refund application form, along with your paper tickets or evidence of your eTickets, to the address specified below:

V/Line Customer Relations
Reply Paid 5343
Melbourne VIC 8060

Passenger Refund Application Form
PDF 20kB

Lost or stolen tickets

Refunds or replacements are not available for lost or stolen tickets, with the exception of reserved tickets and date-to-date tickets, which can be refunded at staffed V/Line stations.

Important notes

Enclose the original paper ticket or evidence of your eTicket with your refund application.
We cannot accept responsibility for applications which are lost in the post.
Posted tickets must arrive before the departure date.
V/Line ticket agents can only refund tickets bought from their agencies.

Compensation for delays and performance

Where we fail to meet our monthly targets, or you’re delayed for 60 minutes or more in a single journey, compensation may be available.

Please visit our compensation page for more information and to see if you’re eligible for compensation.

Group travel

Group discounts are available on V/Line trains and coaches subject to space.

Group travel bookings, including return journeys, must be made for:

12 or more customers travelling together on V/Line coach services
20 or more customers travelling together on V/Line train services
Group travel is charged at concession fares, which is approximately 50 per cent cheaper than the standard weekday adult fares and approximately 30 per cent cheaper on weekends.

Find out more about group travel.