ALBURY-WODONGA has missed out on a slice of a $40 million program to provide free Wi-Fi on V/Line train services.

The money will instead be spent on VLocity carriages operating between Melbourne and Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Seymour and Traralgon.

The funding — which includes a program to fix mobile phone blackspots — was announced by Premier Denis Napthine at Geelong yesterday.

But member for Benambra Bill Tilley said he had been told the North East line was likely to get Wi-Fi should this rollout prove a success.

Mr Tilley said he had raised the issue with the government “over a number of years”.

“I’m more than happy to raise that again on behalf of the people who travel to Melbourne from this region,” he said.

Mr Tilley said he could not give any indication on when the Albury-Wodonga line might get Wi-Fi.

“We’re more in the medium-term,” he said.

“Victoria’s a fairly big state and we have to wait our turn.”

Mr Tilley said he was well aware of mobile phone blackspots from his regular return trips by car to Melbourne.

Dr Napthine said a collaborative process with the federal government and mobile infrastructure providers would begin soon.

An expressions of interest process would work to establish government-sponsored Wi-Fi on the VLocity carriages.

Mr Tilley said the Australian Rail Track Corporation had to ensure its infrastructure — and in turn passenger train timetables — was working for the Albury- Wodonga line.

“Then, when we can demonstrate an extremely strong case that patronage is there, it makes any government’s job easier,” he said.

“It makes it easier to get Wi-Fi rolling sooner rather than later.”

Regarding the possibility of VLocity carriages operating on the Albury-Wodonga line, Mr Tilley said V/Line was doing some work in that area.

“But we’re a fair way off for a number of reasons,” he said.

“Your configuration for VLocity trains that run to Ballarat, Geelong and those sorts of areas is totally different,” he said.

“They don’t have a canteen so you have to create additional design in the carriages for the North East lines.”

Mr Tilley said more leg space would also have to configured into the design.

“Our line is standard gauge and those other lines are broad gauge,” he said.

“There’s a whole lot of considerations, but I do know that V/Line and the government is working on this, although it’s in the medium-term, not the short-term.

“And when you look at the age of our existing rolling stock, it’s still got some life left.”