CAF to replace New South Wales regional train fleet

AUSTRALIA: The New South Wales government signed a contract for 117 multiple-unit cars to replace its entire regional train fleet on February 14.

The Momentum Trains consortium of CAF, Pacific Partnership and DIF Infrastructure V has been awarded an availability-based PPP contract to design, build, finance and maintain the new regional rail fleet, and build a new maintenance facility at Dubbo, 300 km northwest of Sydney.

The A$2·8bn project includes capital costs of A$1·26bn and 15 years of maintenance. CAF’s share of the contract is €500m, and the Spanish manufacturer is also providing equity financing.

CAF is to supply 10 diesel-electric trainsets for use on long-distance services linking Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, plus nine short and 10 long multiple-units for regional routes. It will also supply two driver training simulators.

The trains will provide ‘economy’ class with 2+2 seating and ‘premium’ class with 2+1 seating; the long-distance trains will also feature buffet cars.

Final assembly will take place at the new facility in Dubbo. According to NSW Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance, around 200 jobs will be created during construction, with a further 60 jobs during the train completion phase, and 50 jobs once the new rolling stock has entered service.

The trains will be operated by NSW TrainLink, with the first expected to enter service from 2023. They will replace the XPT fleet of 60 coaches and 19 power cars, as well as the 23 Xplorer and 28 Endeavour diesel multiple-unit cars.