NSW’s new intercity train fleet set to miss opening date
NSW’s long-delayed project to deliver new intercity trains is set to miss a secret target date for first passenger services on September 16 amid challenges in modifying the multibillion-dollar fleet and a wait for regulatory approval.
Missing the internal target date for the first regular services, which is detailed in confidential Transport for NSW documents, will mean the $4 billion rail project will be delivered five years late after earlier delays.
One of the new intercity trains at Kangy Angy on the Central Coast.Credit: Tom Rabe
The new Korean-built intercity train fleet joins the $2.875 billion first stage of the Parramatta light rail project – slated internally for the first service on August 25 – in missing targeted opening dates.
While internal documents listed September 16 for the first passenger services, they outlined risks facing the project in July, including “technical issues”, a “possible crew resourcing deficit” and “limited time frame” for regulators to complete their assessment.
Sydney Trains said in a statement that delivering major projects was complex and it set internal target dates throughout the planning process and continuously considered them.
The National Rail Safety Regulator also needs to complete an independent approval process before the trains can enter passenger service on lines from Sydney to Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and the South Coast.
Opposition transport spokesperson Natalie Ward hit out at the government over the delay.Credit: Oscar Colman
The regulator said it was working with Transport for NSW and Sydney Trains to progress the accreditation of the new trains for passenger service.
“The focus at this point in time is assessment of the safety assurance in relation to the rolling stock,” it said. “The documentation supporting the operational safety case will be assessed when finalised and provided to [the regulator].”
Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said 2024 was becoming the year of delay for transport projects under the Labor government.
“The government needs to be upfront on just how much the union-demanded modifications are costing taxpayers and when they will be complete,” she said.
A spokesperson for Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the former Coalition government purchased the intercity trains from overseas and let them sit in sheds for nearly five years.
“Instead of getting them on the tracks, they decided to have a year-long war with their own workforce that left thousands of passengers stranded,” he said.
“Labor is doing the work to get these trains onto the tracks. Once again, the Liberals are calling for trains to be brought into service before they’ve received safety accreditation.”
The new intercity fleet was at the centre of a long-running dispute between the previous Coalition government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union in 2022.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen.Credit: Peter Rae
The stand-off was settled in November 2022 when the then-government agreed to union demands to modify the trains to allow guards to monitor passengers getting on and off at stations. It included modifications to cameras, screens and emergency doors.
Sydney Trains said a range of detailed technical, operational and workforce readiness processes had to be completed before the new fleet entered service. It was working to progressively introduce the new trains into service from late 2024, it said.
Under original plans, the trains were to start services on lines from Sydney to the Central Coast and Newcastle in late 2019, and to the Blue Mountains and Lithgow the following year.
In 2016, the-then Baird government awarded a consortium of Hyundai Rotem, Mitsubishi Electric and UGL a $2.3 billion contract to design build and maintain the new intercity fleet. In February 2019, the consortium was contracted to build an extra 42 carriages, taking the total to 554. Two years later, the contract was amended to build and maintain a further 46 carriages.
Budget papers have shown the final cost of the new intercity passenger train project is set to surpass $4 billion – half a billion higher than the previous estimate, due to the need for upgrades to station platforms and equipment.
The delayed intercity fleet is separate to the state’s bungled purchase of new Spanish-built trains for regional and interstate services. That project is running more than three years late and blew out last year by $826 million to $2.29 billion due to a dispute with the manufacturer over design changes to the fleet and inadequate planning.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.