While at 5pm the working day might be coming to an end, the production manager of a furniture company in inner-city Melbourne is still fielding inquiries from wholesalers in Western Australia.

But for at least half of the 50-minutes commute, Mr Bell remains unreachable thanks to the mobile black spots along the busy train route.

"On the way in it doesn't mean too much, because I am still waking up, but on the way home we have wholesalers in Western Australia and ... often I get emails from them," he said.

"A lot of the time [the wholesalers] have to submit tenders, or get quotes back to their clients.

"We could possibly jeopardise the [sale], especially if it is a Friday [as] ... they have to wait for the whole weekend before they get the quote."

But now a state government plan to fix mobile black spots along five of the busiest regional rail lines could make life easier for thousands of commuters like Mr Bell.

Launched in Ballarat on Monday, the $18 million Regional Rail Connectivity Project aims to offer better services to those travelling between Melbourne and Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour and Traralgon on V/Line services.

A government spokeswoman said the Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources Department would start a "procurement process" in December 2015 asking for mobile carrier partners to co-invest with the Victorian government.

She said the carriers were consulted as part of determining the business case for the project.

"It is anticipated that contracts will be awarded and construction of the mobile towers will commence in mid-2016," she said.

The previous Coalition state government had pledged to provide free Wi-Fi connection on the region's V/Line trains. However, the state government spokeswoman said industry consultation showed "improved mobile coverage would be a better solution to the connectivity problem along the rail corridors".

However, Public Transport User's Association regional spokesman Paul Westcott said fixing mobile black spots relied more on the mobile carriers rather than the government.

"It is a good step, but we had the same sorts of promises two years ago," Mr Westcott said.

"I am not suggesting the government is not serious about it ... but I remain sceptical ... [because] of the extent to which the government itself can't actually make it happen, they could facilitate it, which obviously they are trying to do with this money, but it is up to the mobile carriers to put the actual equipment in and to get it working properly."

Welcoming the announcement, Committee for Ballarat chief executive John Kilgour said independent research showed that investment into the regional rail network would improve patronage and take pressure off the roads.

"Independent research conducted in 2012 by Ballarat ICT has indicated that 76 per cent of travellers for business to Melbourne would use the train if it was more reliable in terms of the frequency and speed, but also their ability to work on the train," Mr Kilgour said.

"It improves productivity ... if you think of people who might be living in Ballarat and commuting to Melbourne to work, it gives them more flexible working hours."

For Mr Bell, the news of a improved mobile coverage has been a long time coming.

The father of two said the move would give him a better work-life balance.

"It means, I could do extra hours of work during my transit time ... the accounting [and] sales program we use is cloud based and I could access that from the train if there was coverage," he said.

"So when I get home, I forget about work, just spend the whole time with my family."