Editing Ballarat (section)

===Rail===
[[File:Ballarat station.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ballarat railway station]]]]
[[File:Train at ballarat station.jpg|thumb|A [[V/Line]] train arriving at Ballarat station ]]
Ballarat is a major [[rail transport]] hub in Victoria. Situated at the junction of the [[Serviceton railway line|Ballarat line]], [[Serviceton railway line|Ararat line]] and [[Mildura railway line|Mildura lines]], it currently has several connections for both [[passenger rail]] services and [[Freight rail transport|freight rail]]. The city has two passenger railway stations, the hub of [[Ballarat railway station]] and suburban [[Wendouree railway station]].<ref>Victorian Transport Plan – Ballarat:Wendouree Station http://www4.transport.vic.gov.au/vtp/projects/wendouree.html {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025160557/http://www4.transport.vic.gov.au/vtp/projects/wendouree.html |date=25 October 2009 }}</ref> From Ballarat station, [[V/Line]] operates [[V/Line VLocity|VLocity]] trains to Melbourne, west to [[Ararat railway station|Ararat]] and north to [[Maryborough railway station, Victoria|Maryborough]]. Since the controversial removal of "flagship" express services in 2011, successive timetable changes have slowed peak hour services to [[Southern Cross railway station|Southern Cross]], with the current journey taking a minimum of 73 minutes.<ref>Mcilroy, Tom. [http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/ballarat-commuter-anger-vline-drops-express/2143065.aspx Ballarat commuter anger: V/Line drops express] ''The Courier''. 25 April 2011.</ref><ref>Nolan, Pat. [New V/Line timetable sends some commuters' days off track] ''The Courier''. 20 November 2012.</ref> Patronage however has continued to grow.<ref>Mcilroy, Tom [http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/ballarat-train-line-records-most-growth-for-vline/2293576.aspx Ballarat train line records most growth for V/Line] The Courier 15 September 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/national/regional-rail-travel-booming-despite-delays-20090605-byld.html Regional rail travel booming, despite delays] from The Age</ref> The [[Regional Rail Link]] project was built in 2015 to separate Ballarat trains from Melbourne's suburban rail network.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120721143509/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/06/3183515.htm Regional rail link seen as Ballarat work boost] from the Australian Broadcasting Commission. 6 April 2011.</ref> Interurban services (Ballarat-Melbourne) now run half-hourly during weekday peak and hourly during weekday non-peak and on weekends from Ballarat station. A twice daily (thrice daily on weekdays) (57&nbsp;minute) service connects Ballarat to Ararat (stopping at [[Beaufort railway station, Victoria|Beaufort]]) while there is a (53&nbsp;minute) service to and from Maryborough (stopping at [[Creswick railway station|Creswick]], [[Clunes railway station, Victoria|Clunes]], and [[Talbot railway station|Talbot]]) once a day (twice a day on weekdays) each way.<ref>[https://www.vline.com.au/Timetables/Additional-pages/Timetable-list Timetable list], V/Line. 29 January 2017.</ref> Victoria's electronic ticketing system, [[Myki]], was implemented on rail services between Wendouree and Melbourne on 24 July 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Myki to start on VLine Commuter Services|url=http://www.vline.com.au/about/news/mediareleases/96766932/Article.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827131931/http://www.vline.com.au/about/news/mediareleases/96766932/Article.aspx|archive-date=27 August 2013|publisher=VLine Pty Ltd|access-date=7 August 2013}}</ref> Ballarat is connected to Geelong by rail via the [[Geelong-Ballarat railway line]], which currently operates only for freight.