On Sunday, 7 April METRONET and the people of Perth celebrated the first C-series train to hit the tracks.
Over 10,000 Perth residents entered to win a seat on the first train and over 150 lucky people won a ticket to be part of WA rail history.
The enthusiastic winners boarded the train at Stadium Station for a 50 minute return journey alongside transport officials, train enthusiasts, train drivers and many of the hard working crew who helped build the new train.
The C-series will operate on the Joondalup and Mandurah lines from Monday, 8 April maximising capacity along the two busiest lines.
- Each C-series train has six railcars, 400 seats and can carry more than 1,000 passengers
- Each train will cater for up to 103,000 daily boardings
- The C-series will be the first passenger train on Perth’s rail network with USB ports
- Each C-series railcar has two more doors than the B-series (and each entry door is 40cm wider) so passengers can embark and disembark faster
- Each railcar has three information screens compared to two on the B-series
- 41 new C-series trains (246 railcars) will be manufactured locally in Bellevue.
Built by Alstom in WA using 50 per cent local content, the delivery of the first C-series train will see the ramp-up of railcar production in WA. Key components of the railcars sourced from industrial areas across Perth include bogie frames, pantographs, passenger seats, pneumatic piping and connectors, air conditioning units, cable trays and assorted metallic components.
Alstom employs over 165 workers at the Bellevue site. Achieving 50% local content on the C-series train, with the contribution of Bellevue site and more than 15 local Western Australian businesses.
A pre-employment partnership with North Metropolitan TAFE is providing rail manufacturing experience to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, some of them joining the Alstom team as apprentices.
Commenting on the milestone, Pascal Dupond, Managing Director of Alstom Australia and New Zealand, explained the importance of this milestone.
“The first train in passenger service is a special moment created through years of trusted partnership with the Western Australian Government showcasing the global expertise and local knowhow that we have here at Alstom,” he said.
“Seeing this train taking passengers today and meeting the expectations of the Western Australian Government is a source of great pride.
“We are manufacturing the best and most advanced train we can possibly make in Western Australia, alongside Western Australians and for the benefit of Western Australians,. This is a special day in our company’s history in Australia.”
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