The order comprises seven complete three car sets and 19 powered intermediate cars. The 160km/h vehicles will be assembled at Bombardier's Dandenong facility near Melbourne with deliveries due to begin in 2014.

V/Line already operates a fleet of 134 VLocity vehicles, but increasing passenger numbers and a recent expansion of the network have meant that almost the entire fleet is required to operate the timetable during peak periods. V/Line says the delivery of the additional vehicles will reduce pressure on maintenance schedules and allow some two-car trains to be lengthened to three cars.

The first VLocity entered service in December 2005 and the final set from the most recent batch was delivered in September 2011.

Passenger numbers on V/Line services have risen from 7.6 million in 2005-06 to 14 million in 2011-12, and further growth is anticipated following the completion in 2016 of the $A 4.3bn Regional Rail Link, which will provide additional capacity in the Melbourne area by segregating suburban and regional services.