Mock-up revealed for Victoria’s new high capacity metro trains

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Photo: Plenary Group.
Photo: Plenary Group.
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A consortium of Plenary, Downer and CRRC have revealed a mock-up for the high capacity metro trains project.

Evolution Rail, which is manufacturing 65 trains for use in the state of Victoria, Australia, has conducted a thorough evaluation of the design with the help of drivers, technical experts, Metro Trains Melbourne, focus groups and Victoria’s public transport access committee

The 39m mock-up is two-carriages long and includes the driver’s cabin. The trains feature more allocated spaces for wheel chairs and mobility devices, improved real time passenger information, a greater number of hand grabs and hand rails and improved CCTV for increased passenger and driver safety.

The new trains will be built with 60 per cent local parts and will be able to carry 20 per cent more passengers than the existing Melbourne fleet.

The new trains will enter service from mid-2019 on the Cranbourne-Pakenham lines, with the final fleet being dedicated to the Sunbury to Pakenham corridor, following the completion of the Metro Tunnel project.

Evolution Rail CEO Philip Walker said: “Stakeholders have had a chance to walk through and experience certain features of the train and their feedback is now helping us further refine and validate the train design.

“This represents the first major contractual milestone for the project that sees Evolution Rail closer to finalising the design of the trains that will be the biggest and best on Melbourne’s metropolitan network.”


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