The Final V Set
The last revenue V set ran on the 30th of January 2026, after serving almost 56 years, although my journey to catch this historic service began the night prior, on the 29th, marking a hectic end to an era
The 30th of January, 2026 was the last day of revenue operations for the V set, marking a bittersweet end of a era in railway history. After having served almost 56 years from 1970–2026, seeing multiple different liveries and shuttling around weary commuters on the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and South Coast Lines, the V sets have certainly served far beyond their projected lifespan.
The V sets were originally meant to retire in April, although this had been accelerated in recent times due to the increasing rate of vandalism occurring, such as kicked-out windows, graffiti and break-ins to guard compartments, no doubt exacerbated by a lack of security cameras on board.
However, my journey to catch the historic last revenue service began the night prior, the 29th of January at Central, waiting for the last V set run toward Lithgow along with a crowd of other railfans making the midnight pilgrimage.
This last service toward Lithgow, and the second last V set service overall, was a four car set, V28 pictured above. Greeted by a sizable crowd of train enthusiasts, V28 departed Central on time at 0005 on the 30th, although it would definitely not stay on schedule.
I was in the first carriage, supposedly a quiet carriage, although it was probably better described as quite a carriage, being filled with train enthusiasts all making the same journey. Even toward the end of the trip, the carriage was very energetic, with cheering, music and singing along the way. Almost immediately after departure however, problems started occurring, with smoking and vaping being reported in the second carriage, and police apparently being called as early as Strathfield (our first stop), albeit not actually meeting the train until Katoomba. Vandalism also occurred¹ during the way there, much to the chagrin of the guard whose announcements seemingly did little to dissuade the eshays on board. A door window was kicked out at some point and the train braked multiple times between stations. At some point a fire was also lit in one of the bathrooms, causing a staff member to run through our carriage toward the rear of the train and an emergency brake to be applied. As a result of this vandalism, the third carriage was closed off around Katoomba, with some passengers required to stand until Lithgow in the crowded second and first cars.
Multiple police officers attended the train at Katoomba, removing one suspected creep from our carriage and speaking to staff on the platform causing an extended dwell there. Eventually, the train arrived at Lithgow about fifty minutes late, resulting in the connecting Bathurst train being held on the platform in case anyone wanted to transfer.
Due to the platform already being occupied by the Endeavour, our approach to Lithgow was exceptionally slow as the V set had to trip past multiple red signals.
At around 0530, the final V set in its "Blue Goose" livery pulled into Lithgow to a crowd that had now swelled to fill the entire length of the platform.
Thankfully, the last V set service was an eight-car, with V25 leading V10 for the journey back to to Sydney. Security personnel along with extra staff were also on board, making the return journey far less eventful.
Having stayed up all night, by the time the Blue Goose departed Lithgow I was already feeling fairly tired and the atmosphere was certainly not as energetic, although my mood quickly lifted, being greeted by the foggy sunrise as we ascended through Mt. Victoria and Blackheath.
The last V was already packed departing Lithgow, and only kept getting busier as we stopped along the way. Due to delays, some of the lower mountains stations were skipped, and we probably caught at least a couple commuters off guard as we pulled into Parramatta with almost no standing room.
A little over three hours after our departure from Lithgow, we arrived into Central, where Platform 2 was already packed with transport enthusiasts and some media crews. The NSW Railway Band was also present, pictured below.
Left to right: crowds on Platform 2 shortly after the train's arrival, the NSW Railway Band plays in the Grand Concourse
The Blue Goose dwelled at Central for a while longer to permit fans and media to get their final photos before departing and proceeding to Flemington for storage pending heritage preservation efforts.
Stepping off the final V set after a hectic night to Lithgow and back was certainly a surreal experience. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet others also into trainspotting and I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of people that came out to Central to greet the train as it pulled in, not just us "foamers" but also commuters and the general public who had grown up taking these trains to work, to school or elsewhere, going to show how beloved and iconic these trains had become.
I won't be the first to tell you that these trains were looking a bit worse for wear after their decades of being the workhorse of the Intercity rail system in Sydney; beyond the acts of vandalism and the toilets that were dirty, broken or both, modern passengers also demanded modern accessibility standards, comforts and facilities, which the V sets could no longer provide.
Whilst their successors, the Mariyung (D sets) has faced its fair share of controversies and complaints, particularly about their comfort, the tray tables, in-seat power and much improved accessibility, including accessible toilets are very welcome.
The Mountains just won't feel the same without the presence of the V sets.
Footnotes
¹ For some idea of the extent of the vandalism, YouTube channel TallBoyGareth Railway Adventures has a short walk through of the affected carriages which can be viewed at on YouTube.
