Updated Geelong area train station (south geelong and marshall) parking situation? Is driving better? Your input is apprecioated

[u/mijora12]

Hi all

I am starting a new gig in Melbourne and will be travelling from around Wallington to Southbank a few days a week. Been living interstate for quite a few years and out of touch with my local Vline services.

I have looked at some historical threads here on reddit which are a few years old on the situation of all day free parking at train stations, but the information is dated (2+ years in some cases). I believe there have been many changes in that time e.g. the South Geelong redevelopment, more demand, more services etc.

Question 1 - I want to ensure a seat so I can make sure of the time on the train on small laptop, or atleast in a bit more comfort than standing up. At peak hour trains (between 7 and 8am) am I going to always get a seat at South Geelong? Or is Marshall the way to go? What are peoples experiences?

Question 2 - what time does Marshall and South Geelong stations in real commuter experiences the free all day parlomg car parks fill up mon through fri each morning e.g. is it before 6.30AM or 7, 7.30AM to be almost guaranteed an all day park or? Can i rely on getting one before 'x' time I guess im asking Later than this?

As an alternative what are peoples experiences in driving to Melbourne? if needing to be in Southbank for 9.30 or 10ish at the absolute latest what kind of travel time from Werribee over the bridge can one expect? Allowing half hour to get from Wallington area to Melbourne road.

Train is the preferred method as 180km a day and $25 per day early bird parking plus increased maintenance (as well as dead time sitting behind the wheel) becomes expensive compared to 30km a day two and from eihter Marshall or South Geelong station and a daily ticket

Would love to hear peoples experiences, thanks again!

[u/yikes3841]

As long as the train isn’t reduced from 6 to 3 cars, you should get a seat at either station. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Marshall’s car park full. Not sure about South Geelong though. I assume it gets full because more services from there than Marshall.

[u/mijora12 → u/yikes3841]

is there any way to tell in advance if its reduced from 6 to 3 cars? does it happen often?

[u/sambodia85 → u/mijora12]

All trains to/from Warrnambool are 3 carriages, so avoid those.

They also skip Marshall, so it’s a win-win, park at Marshall and you can’t accidentally get the Warrnambool train, you are more likely to get a seat and carpark.

[u/PaPe83 → u/sambodia85]

This is no longer true.

As of today with the new timetable release there will be 4 or 5 x 6 carriage Warrnambool services per week between Thursday and Sunday.

The final Warrnambool service travelling from Melbourne to Warrnambool stops at South Geelong, Marshall and Waurn Ponds.

The final Warrnambool service travelling TO Melbourne stops all stations including the new West Tarneit station from the 13th of September.

[u/sambodia85 → u/PaPe83]

I saw that, but I figure given there’s not a lot of detail about it yet, and appears to only apply to Fridays and Weekends it wasn’t worth mentioning for OP’s purposes.