New Melbourne trains 'to save jobs'

New trains on Melbourne's rail network are expected to save regional jobs as well as easing overcrowding, the Victorian government says.

Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews says the government will get 30 new X'trapolis train carriages from manufacturer Alstom's Ballarat factory.

The buy is part of a long-term stock strategy, to be revealed in the government's May budget, which Labor says will provide ongoing security for Victorian companies and workers.

The new carriages, costed between $75 million and $90 million, will form five trains. The first is due to come into service by the end of next year.

Mr Andrews says it will bolster Ballarat's economy and benefit every single person getting on trains around Melbourne.

"These workers at Alstom faced the very real prospect, if this order wasn't placed now, that these jobs would be gone," Mr Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.

Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber said five trains wouldn't make a dent in overcrowding on Melbourne's rail network unless they were slotted into the peak morning timetable.

"This looks like a band-aid solution from a government that went to the election with no plan or policy," he said.