Government looks at next generation of railcars
The State Government is about to take the first formal steps to acquiring a new generation of trains.
Transport Minister Dean Nalder today announced the Public Transport Authority (PTA) would go to market with a Request for Information (RFI) about the new trains, which will double the size of the Transperth fleet. He said the RFI process was designed to gauge the level of interest from potential suppliers.
“This Government is taking the prudent and responsible step of going to the market to assess who could design, build, deliver and maintain the railcars,” Mr Nalder said.
“The RFI outlines the requirements for the next generation of trains for the Transperth network, to be known as the C-series. It outlines the scope of the project to deliver a minimum of 50 six-car trains over a 10-year period.
“Clearly this will be a huge contract, particularly because it will involve a long-term maintenance arrangement. The purpose of this RFI is to get an early indication of how many companies would be able to deliver such a large order of high-quality railcars.
“We are also keen to learn about recent advances in railcar design and technology that will ultimately make our future railcar fleet more efficient.”
The Minister said anticipated patronage growth on the Transperth network, coupled with the expansion of the network with exciting new projects such as the Forrestfield-Airport Link, were the driving force behind the RFI.
“This is very early days in this project. Once the PTA has received submissions, it will complete an evaluation for the Government to consider,” he said.
Fact File
- RFI will gauge market interest to supply 50 six-car trains over a 10-year period
- Builds on $244million investment in 22 three-car B-series railcars
- Government will invest $1.9billion over the next four years in public transport infrastructure including the Forrestfield-Airport Link, Aubin Grove Station, Butler rail extension, Perth Busport and Edgewater multi-storey car park