Wheel issue affects Vic country trains

A Victorian train operator has been forced to pull new train carriages from service because the wheels have been wearing out at a rapid rate.

Victoria's regional train operator V/Line will be forced to replace some services with buses after identifying the wheel issue on its fleet of new V-locity trains.

The wheels on the train carriages are wearing at a faster rate than normal and need to be replaced far more often, V/Line says.

The problem was first identified in December and customers are now being advised to check the company's website before travelling as their service may be replaced by a bus or operating at a reduced capacity.

Several services to Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong were cancelled on Thursday afternoon and V/Line says all services will be affected going forward.

The cause of the problem is being investigated by engineers.