Premier Daniel Andrews at Alstom’s facility in Dandenong.Credit:Joe Armao
“What[manufacturers] need to secure their future is long-term certainty,” he said.
“They need orders not just for boom and bust,but a solid order book that gives them the ability to hire,to train,to invest,and to deliver a fantastic product.
“This is the biggest ever investment in trams and one of the most significant investments in rolling stock.”
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Andrews said production would begin at Alstom’s facility in Dandenong next year,with the first trams to join the network in 2025.
The new models will be fitted with on-board power battery systems which will make them less reliant on the grid and reduce the need to upgrade substations and the power supply.
Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the trams,which will be fitted for deployment to any part of the state’s network,were a game-changer for the industry.
“It is a real steep change in terms of accessibility and energy efficiency,” he said.
“The power propulsion,the regenerative braking means we can put these trams anywhere,we don’t have to build substations don’t have to retrofit any part of the network also.”
The new trams will replace some of Melbourne’s A,B and Z models.
Carroll said the trams will be twice as spacious as current models to encourage social distancing and provide space for wheelchairs and mobility aids,and significantly quieter.
The design will be refined in consultation with accessibility advocates,passengers,and tram divers following a tender process.
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More than 1700 Melbourne tram stops must be wheelchair-accessible by December 2022 and the entire tram fleet must have low floors by the end of 2032,under the federal Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002.
Asked whether stops would comply with the standards by the end of the year,Andrews on Thursday said it was “very difficult to know” and blamedlocal councils for blocking the upgrades.
“We’ve had some local governments that have said:‘oh well no,we don’t want these new tram stops’ and that’s been very,very challenging,” he said.
“We know there’s more to be done there but having low-floor rolling stock is a critically important part of this,so that’s the bit we can control and we’re dealing with that obviously very well today.”
Opposition transport public spokeswoman Steph Ryan accused the Andrews government of “sitting on its hands for years” as commuters endured dating trams.
She said almost 400 of Melbourne’s 510 trams were built more than two decades ago,with some trams up to 50 years old.
“Labor can’t manage major projects and today’s window dressing – which appears to be hundreds of millions of dollars over budget already – is cold comfort for the Victorians who are forced to travel on the ageing rolling stock that’s no longer fit-for-purpose,” she said.
Alstom has become the key rolling stock manufacturer in Victoria after itacquired Melbourne’s former tram maker Bombardier in 2020. Bombardier built the VLocity trains that run on the V/Line network.