❓ The Minister for Transport provides an update on the progress of locally built Metronet C-series trains, highlighting successful testing, increased capacity, and the government's investment in public transport as a cost-of-living initiative. The Minister contrasts this with the previous government's handling of public transport.
AnsweredQoN 9Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RAILCAR MANUFACTURING — C-SERIES TRAINS
9. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's decision to bring railcar manufacturing back to Western Australia
after 30 years, creating hundreds of local jobs. Can the minister please update
the house on the progress of locally built Metronet C-series trains, including
the results of recent testing, and can the minister outline how these new
trains will build capacity on our public transport network?
9. Mrs J.M.C. STOJKOVSKI to the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's decision to bring railcar manufacturing back to Western Australia
after 30 years, creating hundreds of local jobs. Can the minister please update
the house on the progress of locally built Metronet C-series trains, including
the results of recent testing, and can the minister outline how these new
trains will build capacity on our public transport network?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for that
question.
It was two nights before Christmas
when I went to the Nowergup depot to be on the first locally made train that
entered our public transport network. It was 12 o'clock at night and I was
extremely tired—luckily, I was not doing the driving—when I was
on the first WA-made train on the Transperth network. It was an incredible
evening. We have restored this industry, an industry that was ripped out of WA
30 years ago. We now have locally made trains. We are testing every element.
Being on the first train when they were testing the brakes, I was happy that
they were working! We saw continual diagnostic testing of every element of the
train, including the brakes—every component—to make sure it
stops, it goes and it goes up and down the hills as expected. The testing that
evening went extremely well.
This is an industry that we have
brought back. Remember, it was the Liberal Party that said that we were trying
to revive an industry from a bygone era—a bygone industry. Now our
policy is being watched by every other state nationally as they look at how to
re-establish a train-building industry. I say with great pride that in just six
years of being in government, we have expanded our initial commitment, we have
secured funding, we have gone to a contract, we have built the manufacturing
shed and we have produced two trains. They are incredible results.
Of
course, as part of that, the C-series trains are bigger; they have more
capacity. We will have a 20 per cent increase in capacity on those
trains and those trains will initially service the northern and southern
suburbs on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines.
Another part of our continued
reform is the two-zone fare cap. We talk about the cost of living. Investing in
public transport is a cost-of-living initiative. We have seen already the
two-zone fare cap in the electorates of the member for Dawesville, the member for Mandurah and the member for Butler.
People who travel longer distances are making real savings of thousands
of dollars per annum. By investing in Metronet and new rail lines, more people
will have access to those savings. Public transport investment is a cost-of-living
investment. If someone can catch a train, they will save thousands of dollars
in maintenance and other vehicle costs.
The other key component is improved
signalling. We are rolling out a high-capacity signalling program that will
support and further enhance capacity on trains.
Remember,
members, this is how the previous government left the public transport network,
so much so that the opposition at the time created the sardines
campaign. Do members remember the sardines campaign? It was impossible to get
access to our public transport system. Members, we are not going to do that. We
have a plan to support more people catching public transport—a real
cost-of-living initiative and something that can support people to connect to
jobs, education and health facilities for generations to come.
question.
It was two nights before Christmas
when I went to the Nowergup depot to be on the first locally made train that
entered our public transport network. It was 12 o'clock at night and I was
extremely tired—luckily, I was not doing the driving—when I was
on the first WA-made train on the Transperth network. It was an incredible
evening. We have restored this industry, an industry that was ripped out of WA
30 years ago. We now have locally made trains. We are testing every element.
Being on the first train when they were testing the brakes, I was happy that
they were working! We saw continual diagnostic testing of every element of the
train, including the brakes—every component—to make sure it
stops, it goes and it goes up and down the hills as expected. The testing that
evening went extremely well.
This is an industry that we have
brought back. Remember, it was the Liberal Party that said that we were trying
to revive an industry from a bygone era—a bygone industry. Now our
policy is being watched by every other state nationally as they look at how to
re-establish a train-building industry. I say with great pride that in just six
years of being in government, we have expanded our initial commitment, we have
secured funding, we have gone to a contract, we have built the manufacturing
shed and we have produced two trains. They are incredible results.
Of
course, as part of that, the C-series trains are bigger; they have more
capacity. We will have a 20 per cent increase in capacity on those
trains and those trains will initially service the northern and southern
suburbs on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines.
Another part of our continued
reform is the two-zone fare cap. We talk about the cost of living. Investing in
public transport is a cost-of-living initiative. We have seen already the
two-zone fare cap in the electorates of the member for Dawesville, the member for Mandurah and the member for Butler.
People who travel longer distances are making real savings of thousands
of dollars per annum. By investing in Metronet and new rail lines, more people
will have access to those savings. Public transport investment is a cost-of-living
investment. If someone can catch a train, they will save thousands of dollars
in maintenance and other vehicle costs.
The other key component is improved
signalling. We are rolling out a high-capacity signalling program that will
support and further enhance capacity on trains.
Remember,
members, this is how the previous government left the public transport network,
so much so that the opposition at the time created the sardines
campaign. Do members remember the sardines campaign? It was impossible to get
access to our public transport system. Members, we are not going to do that. We
have a plan to support more people catching public transport—a real
cost-of-living initiative and something that can support people to connect to
jobs, education and health facilities for generations to come.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.