METRO trains are expected to start running between Sunbury and Melbourne by the end of the year, Public Transport Victoria says.
The Weekly believes a start date of November 18 is being aimed for.
PTV's spokeswoman Caitlyn Hammond would not confirm the date, but said: "We hope to be able to make an announcement regarding the commencement date in the coming months, once service planning details have been finalised.
"PTV and the rail operators are working through the final stages of service planning and timetabling. Once these details are locked in, we'll be in a position to announce a commencement date."
The Bendigo rail line was closed for almost two weeks, until August 5, for major works on the Sunbury electrification project.
Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said he had also heard that November 18 was a target date for services to start.
Ms Hammond said driver training would start today. It follows the testing of trains on the tracks while the line has been closed.
"The commencement of driver training represents a significant milestone in the electrification of the line."
Metro spokeswoman Geraldine Mitchell said the new timetable was still being drafted and no decision had been made on how it would affect the existing V/Line services.
Sunbury resident Hector Bugeja, who has used the V/Line services for more than 30 years, said it was good to hear that a start date was nearing.
He said train users had received limited information about what had been going on.
"It's now time they delivered the promised benefits of the new trains.
"We still haven't seen a timetable, which makes me nervous that we may not be getting as many trains as they [the state government] previously promised.
"We all want to know whether there will be express trains and whether we will still be able to catch V/Line trains."