NSW begins industry engagement for rail manufacturing program

The NSW government has begun a market and analysis campaign, as it seeks to establish one of the “strongest rail manufacturing pipelines in Australia”, beginning with around 450 carriages to replace Sydney Trains’ ageing Tangara fleet.

In a statement on Monday, the government agency Transport for NSW (TfNSW) said it has begun engaging manufacturers and suppliers “to gather insights, identify key considerations, and help it shape the direction of further engagement” for the Future Fleet Program.

Intended is the creation of “a strong community legacy of secure and skilled rail manufacturing jobs and apprenticeships” through the program, with a goal of at least 50 per cent local content for designing, building, and maintaining the Tangaras’ replacement. Procurement is expected to begin by 2027.

The Tangaras were built in Newcastle’s A Goninan & Co – which later became part of UGL – and entered service between 1988 and 1995.

“NSW had a long and proud history of rail manufacturing, and we are delivering on our commitment to revitalise the industry and create new jobs and economic opportunities,” said Transport for NSW Deputy Secretary of Infrastructure Projects and Engineering Camilla Drover on Monday.

“By establishing a rail manufacturing pipeline, we will start the critical work of rebuilding skills and confidence in our manufacturing capability.”

The state government made transport a major component of its industry policy, which was released in March. It featured a target of 50 per cent minimum local content target for rolling transport stock by 2035.

The release from TfNSW advises manufacturers “to visit the TfNSW Industry Portal to access the survey and to register with the Industry Capability Network (ICN)” (each is linked) to help guide development of the Future Fleet Program.

Picture: A Tangara train. Credit Maksym Kozlenko (CC BY-SA 4.0)