The State Government is about to take the first formal steps to acquiring a new generation of trains to double the size of the Transperth fleet.
Transport Minister Dean Nalder announced on Thursday the Public Transport Authority would submit a Request for Information (RFI) to determine the market’s capacity to supply the next generation of railcars, to be known as the C-series.
He said the RFI process was designed to gauge the level of interest from potential suppliers.
“This Government is taking the prudent and responsible step of going to the market to assess who could design, build, deliver and maintain the railcars,” Mr Nalder said.
“The RFI outlines the requirements for the next generation of trains for the Transperth network, to be known as the C-series.
“It outlines the scope of the project to deliver a minimum of 50 six-car trains over a 10-year period.”
The RFI will gauge market interest to supply 50 six-car trains over a 10-year period.
“Clearly this will be a huge contract, particularly because it will involve a long-term maintenance arrangement.
“The purpose of this RFI is to get an early indication of how many companies would be able to deliver such a large order of high-quality railcars.
“We are also keen to learn about recent advances in railcar design and technology that will ultimately make our future railcar fleet more efficient.”
The Minister said anticipated patronage growth on the Transperth network, coupled with the expansion of the network with new projects such as the Forrestfield-Airport Link, were the driving force behind the RFI.
“This is very early days in this project,” he said.
“Once the PTA has received submissions, it will complete an evaluation for the Government to consider.”