page_title: Ararat, Victoria
section_title: Transport
hierarchical_section_title: Ararat, Victoria / Infrastructure / Transport
caption_attribution_description: English: Ararat train station, Victoria
context_page_description: Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about 198 kilometres west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera. Its urban population according to 2016 census is 8,297 and services the region of 11,752 residents across the Rural City's boundaries. It is also the home of the 2018/19 GMGA Golf Championship Final.
  It is the largest settlement in the Rural City of Ararat local government area and is the administrative centre.
  The discovery of gold in 1857 during the Victorian gold rush transformed it into a boomtown which continued to prosper until the turn of the 20th century, after which it has steadily declined in population. It was proclaimed as a city on 24 May 1950. After a decline in population over the 1980s and 90s, there has been a small but steady increase in the population, and it is the site of many existing and future, large infrastructure projects, including the Hopkins Correctional Facility development project.
  It is named after Mount Ararat 10 kilometres south-west of the town which was named by Horatio Wills in 1841.
context_section_description: The main form of transport is road transport and motor vehicles.  According to the 2006 Census, 88% of people traveled to work by motor vehicle, the vast majority of which traveled by automobile.  Ararat is situated at the junction of several main roads including the Western Highway via High Street (running eastward to Ballarat and Melbourne and westward to Horsham and Adelaide); the Pyrenees Highway via Vincent Street (running east to Avoca and Maryborough); Ararat-Pomonal Road via Barkly Street (westward towards Halls Gap) and the Mortlake-Ararat Road via Vincent Street (running south with connections to the west and Hamilton, south and Warrnambool and to the east and Geelong). Ararat's urban area streets are laid out in grid plan. Roads are also important for public transport. Ararat Transit provides 120 bus services on three routes 6 days a week, connecting with train services.  According to the 2006 Census, just 4 persons in Ararat traveled to work by bus.  Taxi services are provided by Ararat Cabs (since November 2010), provides 6 normal taxi-cabs and 1 wheel-chair bus, capable of 2 wheelchairs or 10 standard passengers.
  Rail transport includes both passenger rail and freight rail. The city's only station is Ararat's railway station which is on the Ararat railway line and is the terminal train station for the Ararat V/Line rail service. Twice daily peak VLocity services run to Ballarat (53 minutes) and on to Melbourne (133–143 minutes), with some trains stopping at stations in between. The rail station is at the junction of the Ararat line, the Western standard gauge railway and Avoca railway. The Overland runs to Melbourne twice weekly (140 minutes) and travel to Adelaide is also possible (8 hours).
  A regional airport, Ararat Airport YARA (ARY) is located 5 km south of the city on the Western Highway and provides for general aviation.
caption: A VLocity train terminating at Ararat railway station
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