❓ Mr. Zempilas questions the Minister for Transport about safety concerns raised by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union regarding C-series trains. The Minister denies braking issues, highlights collaboration with the union, and defends the government's commitment to local train manufacturing, contrasting it with the opposition's past actions.
AnsweredQoN 192Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
C-series trains
192. Mr Basil Zempilas to
the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Rail,
Tram and Bus Union's alarming report on the C-series railcars.
(1) Has the minister been made aware by her
department of any issues with the braking system or the automatic speed
functions on any of the C-series railcars?
(2) As of today, are there any outstanding braking
system or automatic speed function issues with any C-series railcars currently
in operation?
(3) Are there any C-series railcars currently out
of operation due to technical or mechanical issues?
192. Mr Basil Zempilas to
the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Rail,
Tram and Bus Union's alarming report on the C-series railcars.
(1) Has the minister been made aware by her
department of any issues with the braking system or the automatic speed
functions on any of the C-series railcars?
(2) As of today, are there any outstanding braking
system or automatic speed function issues with any C-series railcars currently
in operation?
(3) Are there any C-series railcars currently out
of operation due to technical or mechanical issues?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the
question. No, there are no outstanding braking issues.
(3) As we know, when a new series of trains are
introduced into the system, drivers need to get used to the new trains. We work
really well with the union and, of course, the drivers to ensure that any
issues they have are analysed and we work together to address them. For
example, we are working on changing the seats. There was a keenness to go back
to the A-series seats as opposed to the C-series seats. We work really well
with the drivers to make sure we can continue to roll out our locally made
trains.
We are proud of our Metronet
C-series trains. They are locally made and are being introduced across the
network. We are very proud. I know the Liberal Party and the Nationals WA do
not believe that Western Australians can make trains. They actually said that
we should not be bringing back an industry from a bygone era. They said they
oppose the local manufacturing of trains. We are very proud of our C-series
trains.
Mr Roger Cook: They were bringing them from
Queensland.
Ms Rita Saffioti: They brought them from Queensland. I
will tell members something in relation to the C-series trains. I remember this
vividly. Back in 2015–16, they went out and put $5 million towards
purchasing new trains. A year later, they even scrapped the $5 million. They
had no plans for new trains for this state. We are very proud of our locally
made C-series trains. We will continue to work with the drivers, in particular,
when it comes to ergonomic issues, to make sure that they are as comfortable as
possible. There are currently eight trains on the network. We continually work
to make sure we deliver the best trains possible.
question. No, there are no outstanding braking issues.
(3) As we know, when a new series of trains are
introduced into the system, drivers need to get used to the new trains. We work
really well with the union and, of course, the drivers to ensure that any
issues they have are analysed and we work together to address them. For
example, we are working on changing the seats. There was a keenness to go back
to the A-series seats as opposed to the C-series seats. We work really well
with the drivers to make sure we can continue to roll out our locally made
trains.
We are proud of our Metronet
C-series trains. They are locally made and are being introduced across the
network. We are very proud. I know the Liberal Party and the Nationals WA do
not believe that Western Australians can make trains. They actually said that
we should not be bringing back an industry from a bygone era. They said they
oppose the local manufacturing of trains. We are very proud of our C-series
trains.
Mr Roger Cook: They were bringing them from
Queensland.
Ms Rita Saffioti: They brought them from Queensland. I
will tell members something in relation to the C-series trains. I remember this
vividly. Back in 2015–16, they went out and put $5 million towards
purchasing new trains. A year later, they even scrapped the $5 million. They
had no plans for new trains for this state. We are very proud of our locally
made C-series trains. We will continue to work with the drivers, in particular,
when it comes to ergonomic issues, to make sure that they are as comfortable as
possible. There are currently eight trains on the network. We continually work
to make sure we deliver the best trains possible.
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.