Rail replacement software for
Victorian occupations

Turn the occupation plan you were handed into duties your drivers can actually run, and get them down the corridor. For operators on Metro Trains and V/Line replacement work.

Minutes
To import the published timetable and build the route path
One
Dataset behind the route path, timetable, calendar and duties
Turn-by-turn
The replacement route on the tablet in the bus
Same day
Re-cut the duties and reissue when the plan changes

You are handed a plan. You still have to run it.

Metro Trains moved its replacement planning onto dedicated route planning and blocking software, expressly to share it with operator partners. So you are less likely to get a spreadsheet and more likely to get a plan already built and blocked.

Turning that into duties your drivers can legally run, allocating buses and people against it, and proving what ran afterwards is a narrower job than the NSW one. It is also still done mostly in spreadsheets across the industry.

What Victoria throws at you, and what Busable does about it

The plan comes from the rail operator. Running it is your problem.

Metro Trains builds and blocks the replacement plan, then shares it with its operators.
Import that plan and turn it into duties your drivers can legally run, instead of retyping it into a spreadsheet.
V/Line coordinates planning, panel allocation and rostering across the whole coach panel.
Produce duty and allocation data that lines up with a panel coordinator, and reissue cleanly when they move work between operators.
Metro work is short-haul station to station. V/Line work is a coach replacing a whole regional journey.
Same build either way — route path, timetable, calendar, duties — whether it is twenty minutes between stations or four hours down the corridor.
Occupations get extended past their original end date, so the schedule you built is not the one you are running.
Re-cut from the new dates and reissue to drivers the same day, with the duties moving when the timetable moves.
A replacement corridor is invented for one occupation. No driver knows it by heart.
Drivers get turn-by-turn guidance for that route on the tablet, with their trips in front of them and BOAS checks before they move.
You have to show what ran afterwards, for costing and for the contracting body.
The trip-level record of what actually ran, plus the shift and trip breakdown the costing is built from.

What Busable does for an occupation

From the plan you are handed to the drivers in the seats.

The occupation build

Able AI™ reads the replacement plan and builds the trips, stops, calendar and route path, then a first cut of the driver duties. You confirm as it goes.

Metro buses and regional coaches

Duties and allocation

Cut the duties for the occupation with award and fatigue limits flagged as you build, then reshuffle on the day when a driver calls in sick or a coach goes down.

Fatigue limits flagged as you build

Drivers on the road

Turn-by-turn guidance for the replacement route, the shift in front of the driver, and BOAS safety checks on the tablet in the bus.

Turn-by-turn on the tablet

Costing and the record

The shift and trip breakdown for costing an occupation, and the trip-level record of what actually ran when the contracting body asks.

Trip-level record of what ran

Able AI drafts, and you decide. Nothing is created until you confirm it, and every duty stays a draft until you have checked it against your fatigue and licensing obligations.

Integrated modules for Victoria rail replacement

The modules a Victorian occupation actually touches.

Planable™ – Route and timetable

The route path, stops, timetable and calendar for the shutdown, built from whatever the contracting body sends you.

Able AI – The build

Reads the requirements and builds the trips, stops, calendar and route path, plus a first cut of the driver duties.

Rosterable™ – Duties and allocation

Duties with award and fatigue limits flagged as you build, and same-day reshuffles when the plan changes.

Driverable™ – The driver in the bus

Turn-by-turn guidance for the replacement route, the shift in front of the driver, and BOAS safety checks.

Reportable™ – Costing and the record

The shift and trip breakdown for costing, and the trip-level record of what actually ran.

Victoria rail replacement, in detail

Common questions

What is an occupation in Victorian rail?

An occupation is the Victorian term for taking a section of track out of service so engineering or project work can be done. It is the equivalent of a NSW possession or a Queensland track closure.

Who contracts rail replacement buses in Victoria?

Two separate bodies. Metro Trains Melbourne engages suppliers for rail replacement bus services on the metropolitan network, and V/Line engages coach operators for Rail Replacement Coach services across regional Victoria.

What is a Rail Replacement Coach or RRC?

RRC is the V/Line term for a coach replacing a regional train service, often for the whole journey. V/Line procures RRC capacity through a statewide panel.

Who does allocation and rostering on the V/Line panel?

V/Line contracts Rail Replacement Coordination Services covering planning, panel allocation, rostering and supervisor duties, so allocation is coordinated across the whole panel rather than per operator.

Is rail replacement in Victoria still run by PTV?

No. The Public Transport Victoria statutory authority was wound up in 2019 and the PTV brand was retired in late 2025. The passenger-facing brand and journey planner are now Transport Victoria, under the Department of Transport and Planning, while the replacement services themselves are contracted by Metro Trains Melbourne and V/Line.

Does Victoria require a TODIS file like NSW?

No. TODIS is a Transport for NSW specification. In Victoria the replacement plan comes from Metro Trains Melbourne or V/Line, and Busable turns it into duties, driver navigation and a trip-level record of what ran.

Can Busable schedule Victorian rail replacement work?

Yes: the replacement timetable, route path, driver duties, allocation, in-cab navigation, live tracking and the record of what ran.

Terminology

Occupation

The Victorian term for taking a section of track out of service so engineering or project work can be done. Equivalent to a NSW possession or a QLD track closure.

Rail Replacement Coach (RRC)

V/Line term for a coach service replacing a regional train, often for the entire journey. Procured through a statewide panel.

Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM)

The operator of the metropolitan Melbourne train network, which engages suppliers for rail replacement bus services across it.

V/Line

The operator of regional Victorian rail, which engages coach operators for Rail Replacement Coach services statewide.

LXRP

The Level Crossing Removal Project. Its occupations are a major and recurring source of Victorian rail replacement work.

Panel allocation

The coordination function V/Line contracts to plan, allocate and roster rail replacement coach work across the whole panel of operators.

myki

The Victorian ticketing system. Passengers touch on and off replacement coaches with myki as they would on a train.

PTV (Public Transport Victoria)

The former brand for Victorian public transport. The statutory authority was wound up in 2019 and the brand retired in late 2025; the passenger-facing identity and journey planner now sit under Transport Victoria, within the Department of Transport and Planning.

Transport Victoria

The current passenger-facing brand and journey planner for Victorian public transport, at transport.vic.gov.au, authorised by the Department of Transport and Planning.

Got a shutdown coming up?

Bring us the plan you were handed and we will walk you through it.

Or see rail replacement across all states and see a shift file become driver navigation.

Talk to us about a shutdown