With infrastructure in Victoria allowing a greater number of trains and trips to operate on its railway network, the third stage of the Victorian State Government’s Melbourne Comeng train fleet is being rolled out.
The first contract has been signed to deliver Stage 3 of the Comeng refurbishment project, which will upgrade key communications systems on Comeng trains.
The upgrades will be installed on the youngest Comeng trains, as they will remain in service the longest as the Labor Government’s upcoming High Capacity Metro Trains allow for progressive retirement of the Comeng fleet.
Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan, said, “As we get on with building the infrastructure that allows us to run more trains more often – we’re also upgrading our trains to make sure passengers are comfortable and safe.”
“We’ve delivered a record investment in new trains and trams – both new and old – to get Victorians where they need to go safer and sooner.”
These targeted upgrades will include new CCTV cameras, driver CCTV screens, PA systems and emergency buttons.
Works will also involve overhauling Comeng air and brake systems and delivering traction control upgrades to the trains.
Comeng trains entered service in 1982, manufactured by Commonwealth Engineering in Dandenong and were first refurbished in 2000 by Alstom Ballarat and Downer EDI in Melbourne.
The current life extension project began in 2017, adding additional handholds and more comfortable seats to the trains, as well as vertical poles and bigger seat handle backs to ensure comfort for standing passengers.
These works follow the Labor Government’s recent $103.5 million investment in five new six-carriage X’Trapolis trains, bringing this government’s total X’Trapolis orders to 24, 16 of which have already been delivered.
The Government is also delivering 65 new High Capacity Metro Trains, the first of which will start running on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines in 2019, and eventually through the Metro Tunnel to Sunbury in 2025.
Since 2015, there has been a commitment of over $4 billion for a pipeline of new and upgraded rolling stock and supporting infrastructure to transform the public transport network.
