A confidential review also warns that a major maintenance facility under construction for the new fleet risks becoming a “white elephant” if delays to the delivery of the trains from a Spanish manufacturer drag on for years.
Upgrades to refuelling facilities at Melbourne’s Southern Cross station are among many works necessary for NSW’s new train fleet to operate.Darrian Traynor
The contractor building the Dubbo rail maintenance centre,which is over budget,has churned through nine project managers in less than three years.
The delivery of the new fleet from Spanish manufacturer CAF,which for Sydney’s inner west light rail line,is running three years late due to a stoush with Transport for NSW over design changes to the “off-the-shelf” trains.
Infrastructure NSW,which advises the government,warns that Transport for NSW is “now playing catch-up on the scoping,designing,costing,contracting and delivery” of upgrades to stations and other infrastructure necessary for the new trains to travel on interstate and regional lines.
“There is no final scope or design,or formal agreements of these enabling works with local authorities. This is a significant and complex outstanding issue,” it warns in a confidential assessment,noting that it adds to the difficulty forecasting the “timing of the project”.
The maintenance facility for the new train fleet is under construction in Dubbo.Transport for NSW
TheHerald revealed on Monday that the cost of the fleet of new passenger trains is set to – doubling the bill for taxpayers – because the state’s transport bureaucracy botched the handling of the project.
The project’s complexity and risks are greater because the trains will cross state borders,requiring co-ordination with other state and local authorities.
Infrastructure NSW cited regulatory hurdles and work needed for the trains to be refuelled at Melbourne’s Southern Cross station. The refuelling points on the new trains are in different positions to the existing XPT fleet they will replace.
“These are not straightforward projects,” it said. “The scope for the enabling works was underestimated due to the assumption that it would be a like-for-like replacement[of trains].”
It has led Infrastructure NSW to conclude in the confidential review that it has “no confidence” in Transport for NSW’s latest estimate that the upgrades will cost $292 million,up from $281 million a year ago.
The independent adviser,which warned of “significant time and cost risks”,expects the bill for the infrastructure will blow out beyond $300 million because of the “lack of detailed scope and design”. The latest estimate for the work compares to $37 million cited in the project’s final business case.
It involves work on 191 station platforms,lighting upgrades,extensions to stabling yards and installation of train protection beacons regarded as essential for the operation of the new fleet.
‘There is the potential for the maintenance centre to become a ‘white elephant’.′
Infrastructure NSW’s confidential report into the bungled purchase of new trains
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said the government had failed to learn from its mistakes by buying overseas-built trains which did not fit the tracks here.
“[Passengers] face the prospect of further delays because the Liberals and Nationals have bungled the rollout of the infrastructure these trains need,” he said.
Regional Transport Minister Sam Farraway said the new trains would replace an existing 40-year-old fleet with modern comforts,and Labor should tell regional NSW if it would be another project that it would dump if elected.
Adding to the project’s risks,Infrastructure NSW says delays to the delivery of the trains from Spain could result in the new maintenance centre for the new fleet in Dubbo “lying idle”.
“There is the potential for the maintenance centre to become a ‘white elephant’ if there is a significant lag between arrival of the first train and the completion of[the facility],” it warns.
A detailed design review of the new maintenance centre has not been completed,which was deemed a risk because the design delivered by CAF’s subcontractor CPB “may not be fit for purpose”.
“A delay claim exists between CAF and CPB. CPB has had nine project managers in 2.5 years and is struggling to find workers in Dubbo,” the report says. “CPB is keen to depart the project since it is over-budget and is reported to be losing money on the project.”
Although the facility may be completed by June,the report warns it “is expected that there will be a disagreement” over what is handed over by CPB to the Spanish manufacturer’s maintenance contractor UGL. “This is likely to result in downstream disputes between CAF and its subcontractors,” Infrastructure NSW says.
Transport for NSW said in a statement that the enabling works could not be fully defined until all operating parameters of the new train were designed and established,and the impacts to infrastructure understood. “Once the detailed design for enabling works is finalised,the final scope and cost will be known,” it said.
Construction giant CIMIC,whose subsidiaries include CPB and UGL,which is a partner in the Spanish-led consortium,declined to comment.
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