V/Line paper tickets

Buying and reserving tickets

It's best to buy your ticket before you travel with V/Line. You need to reserve your seat on some services before travelling.

You can buy and reserve your ticket at:

You can also buy and reserve your ticket by calling 1800 800 007, or through the V/Line website.

If you get on at an unstaffed V/Line station or roadside coach stop, you can buy a ticket from the train conductor or coach driver.

V/Line has launched eTicketing on 19 September. The new eTicketing program provide passengers with the additional option of downloading a ticket to their smartphone or device or printing their ticket at home. When purchasing online, the default delivery method for receiving V/Line tickets is now the eTicket delivery method.

When purchasing through a staffed V/Line station, premium metropolitan station, PTV call centre, or V/Line Ticket Agent, passengers will also be able to opt for an eTicket.

After payment, passengers will receive an email and/or SMS with a link to access their eTicket(s). Using this link, passengers can access and display their eTicket immediately on a smartphone or computer, add it to their Apple or Google Wallet, or download it as a PDF which can then be printed at home and brought with them when they travel.

Go cashless

We have plenty of cashless ways to top up your myki online or at your nearest station or stop.

You'll still be able to use cash to top up your myki or purchase tickets at PTV hubs, ticket offices or V/Line ticket agents.

Buses that use myki will remain cashless. Please make sure you have a myki, check your balance, and top before you travel.

Reservations

You need to make a reservation when travelling to or from Warrnambool, Swan Hill, Shepparton, Albury, Wodonga and Bairnsdale, even if you intend to get off the train before it arrives at its destination.

You don't need to make a reservation on trains travelling to or from all other destinations, including Marshall, Ararat, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca, Seymour and Traralgon.

How to check if you need to reserve a seat:

  • Look for the 'R' symbol on the timetable.
  • Look for ‘reservations required’ in the Journey Planner.

Restrictions

On some long-distance services, reservations only open 24 hours before departure. If you're only travelling a short distance, we encourage you to consider an alternative short-distance service, as they run more frequently. It also helps save seats on long-distance services for people who need to travel longer distances.

Reservations open 24 hours before departure on the following services:

Ticket types

The tickets listed below are available as full fare or concession.

Single

  • One journey from the origin to the destination on the date printed on the ticket, until 3am the following day. This ticket doesn't allow stopovers.
  • V/Line paper ticket and eTicket includes two-hours of travel on PTV local buses, trams and metropolitan trains for two hours before and two hours after your V/Line journey or, if the relevant daily fare cap is reached, travel for the whole day.

Day Return

  • Unlimited travel between the origin and destination on the date printed on the ticket, until 3am the following day.
  • V/Line paper ticket and eTicket includes all-day travel in Zones 1 + 2 and can be used in place of myki.

Weekly

  • Unlimited travel between the origin and destination printed on the ticket for seven consecutive days.
  • The ticket expires seven days from the start date printed on the ticket. For example, a ticket valid from Tuesday will expire at the end of services for the following Monday (3am on Tuesday).
  • A weekly ticket used between midnight and 3am must be valid for the previous day.

Monthly

  • Unlimited travel between the origin and destination printed on the ticket for one month.
  • The ticket expires one month from the start date printed on the ticket. For example, a ticket valid for travel from 15 June will expire at the end of services on 14 July (3am on 15 July). A ticket first valid for travel on 30 or 31 January or on 1 February will expire on 29 February in a leap year, or on 28 February otherwise.
  • A monthly ticket used between midnight and 3am must be valid for the previous day.

Date-to-Date

  • Unlimited travel between the origin and destination for the number of weeks printed on the ticket.
  • You can buy tickets for 10 to 52 weeks.
  • A Date-to-Date ticket used between midnight and 3am must be valid for the previous day. The ticket expires at 3am on the day following the ticket's expiry date.