In the first six months of the year, there were 14 incidents where a train struck livestock.
In 2025, there were 61 livestock strike incidents on the V/Line network, involving 53 sheep, two cattle, five pigs and one goat.
As summer approaches, V/Line chief executive Will Tieppo is advising farmers and landowners to follow a number of steps to keep their animals safe.
These include, regularly checking the condition of fences around their property, keeping a close watch on their animals and being aware of trains travelling through their area.
“Animal strikes are a concern across the V/Line network, with cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock in danger of being hit by a train when they wander away from properties looking for food,” Mr Tieppo said.
“Not only are these incidents a significant loss to owners, they can also cause damage to trains and disruptions to passengers’ journeys.”
About 25 per cent of trains that require washing after a strike are due to livestock, the remainder being kangaroos and other wildlife, which also impacts trains.
Mr Tieppo said about one train was taken off the network for washing (after a livestock strike) at V/Line’s train maintenance site per day, resulting in loss of around 440 seats for passengers.
“Every train withdrawn from service for repairs presents a significant cost to the taxpayer and V/Line often has to call in replacement coaches to transport passengers,” Mr Tieppo said.
V/Line is responsible for the maintenance of more than 3500km of rail track across the state, used by passenger and freight trains.
8°C