The Victorian State Government has selected the TransitLinX consortium for the Eastern section of the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop, which will deliver the first fleet of Metropolis automated trains built in Australia. These will be manufactured at the factory in Dandenong, a suburb in southeast Melbourne.
The contract is worth AUD 6.7 billion (EUR 3.78 billion) and was awarded to the consortium formed by John Holland, KBR, WSP, RATP Dev, and Alstom. The consortium will be known as the “Linewide Alliance.”
Alstom’s share is worth EUR 1 billion and includes the delivery of trains, the installation of digital infrastructure, signaling systems, and maintenance services, as well as system integration.
Alstom will deliver 13 four-car Metropolis automated trains that will operate at Grade of Automation 4 (GOA4), supported by Alstom’s Urbalis Forward communications-based train control system – a fully integrated signaling system. As part of the contract, Alstom will provide its comprehensive FlexCare Perform maintenance solution for a period of 15 years for all Metropolis trains, as well as for signaling and infrastructure systems, to ensure the highest availability and reliability of the metro system. The new fleet of Metropolis automated trains will be maintained at a purpose-built facility in Heatherton, Melbourne, with the first trains scheduled to enter service in 2035.
The new automated trains will be accessible, and the carriages will have seats arranged along the walls to create more space for passengers during peak periods. They will also have the capacity to be equipped with luggage storage spaces so that future passengers can easily travel with luggage when the suburban rail ring connects to Melbourne Airport.
The trains operating on the eastern section of the loop will be state-of-the-art, accessible, safe, and comfortable, equipped with platform screen doors and modern passenger information systems. The carriages will have seats arranged along the walls to create more space for passengers during peak periods, with dedicated spaces for wheelchairs and passengers with special needs, as well as flexible areas for prams, assistance animals, and other uses.
The Linewide Alliance consortium will build the systems needed to operate the eastern section of the rail loop, including signaling, platform screen doors, and passenger information displays. The entire infrastructure and all stations will be powered by 100% renewable energy, and the energy regenerated during train braking will be used to power other trains on the suburban rail network.
The eastern section of the ring is the first stage of the entire system that will be built around the city of Melbourne, connecting Cheltenham and Box Hill via a 26 km tunnel with six underground stations.
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