Bellevue railcar facility officially opened

The Bellevue Metronet Railcar Facility was officially opened on Monday, with the first train built there expected to be delivered in 2022.

Work began in March last year on the $46 million facility, built by Firm Contractors. It was opened by Western Australia premier Mark McGowan and transport minister Rita Saffioti, coinciding with WA Day.

The WA government said that 246 Metronet and six Australind railcars would be built, tested and maintained at the site, with a minimum of 50 per cent local content by value. An estimated 200 direct and hundreds of indirect jobs would be created as a result.

“I remember discussing returning railcar manufacturing to WA when we were in Opposition – I am so proud to stand here as the Minister for Transport and open our new Bellevue METRONET Railcar Facility,” said Saffioti in a statement.

“Our decision to bring back railcar manufacturing to WA will create hundreds of ongoing WA jobs and secure a reliable supply chain of parts and equipment.

Manufacture of trains had ended in the state in 1994, with the previous generation of trains built in Queensland.

The Metronet trains will be built under a $1.25 billion contract awarded to Alstom.

The WA government said the following suppliers had been awarded contracts through the project.

Australian company McConnell, which will establish a dedicated facility in WA to manufacture railcar passenger seats;
Aerison, a WA company with fabrication facility in Forrestfield, to provide cab structures, battery boxes and fuel tanks;
Knorr-Bremse, will supply air-conditioning and air supply equipment and brake components from its WA premises;
Pyrotek, will be supplying insulation and floor panels;
Austbreck, will be supplying pantographs from its Kewdale facility;
Hofmann Engineering will be delivering bogie frames from their existing WA premises;
Vector Lifting, based in Cockburn, delivering bogie turntables and lifting jacks;
Kulbardi, a WA indigenous company which supplied furniture for the facility;
Parker Hannifin, which will supply piping from their Welshpool facility;
Camco, based in Canning Vale, which provides jigs and fixtures for Bellevue;
Unique Metal, a Wangara sheet metal fabricator which will provide metallic components;
Dellner, will procure components from WA suppliers and assemble the couplers in Australia;
Chess Engineering, from Welshpool, which is assembling the fitting stations at the facility.