On February 22, 2019 Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun published a piece titled VLocity train order off track as fleet built too heavy

A technical blunder has meant the Andrews Government’s prized fleet of new regional trains have been built too heavy for the tracks they run on. In the 2017-18 state Budget, the government allocated more than $300 million towards a run of 39 VLocity carriages, but staff receiving the order from Bombardier discovered the first services to arrive were overweight. The front of the train was made heavier for crash protection and extra seats were also included.

The affected trains are the four new short distance VLocity sets - numbered VL76-79.

The 17 October 2016 edition of the V/Line Network Service Plan - Addenda states the total tare weight of a 3-car VLocity sets VL00-VL76 as 171 tonnes.

The 18 September 2013 edition of the Metro Trains Melbourne System Description Addenda lists the carriage weights as:

DMD (driving carriage with disabled toilet) 56.8 tonnes

DM (driving carriage) 56.4 tonnes

TM (intermediate carriage) 56.9 tonnes

This gives a total weight of 170.1 tonnes.

However the 1 May 2019 edition states the total tare weight as 181 tonnes - 10 tonnes heavier than before - while also including sets VL76-79 in the list of units approved for use on the V/Line network.

The reason for this change in weight is unknown.

Historically other Victorian railway rolling stock has been found to have ‘put on weight’ compared to when originally delivered, as modifications are made over time.