Construction on a new $46 million railcar manufacturing facility in Bellevue is now underway and Subiaco-based company FIRM Construction has been appointed to build the project as part of the wider METRONET railcar development in Western Australia.
“Today marks the start of the return of the railcar manufacturing industry to the Midland area.
“In a year from now, local workers will be standing in this very spot assembling Western Australia’s new METRONET railcars,” Premier Mark McGowan said.
This multi-million dollar project will include the delivery of a 180-metre-long building featuring a railcar assembly area, offices, workshops and storage areas as well as two overhead cranes that can lift up to 25 tonnes each, and a heavy maintenance railroad with a crane capable of lifting 10 tonnes. This project will also deliver a secondary high-voltage testing building.
The new multi-functional assembly and maintenance facility is being developed as part of the $1.25 billion WA Railcar Program, which is undertaken by Alstom. This program will deliver 246 new-generation C-series railcars - 102 for METRONET and 144 to replace the ageing A-series railcars - and six diesel railcars that will replace the Australind.
“The Bellevue plant is where Western Australia’s biggest ever order of railcars will be built, tested and maintained for decades to come.
“Around 250 railcars will be produced at Bellevue over the next decade. Bellevue will also serve as a permanent maintenance facility for the expanded METRONET fleet,” Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said.
For this project, about 50 per cent of the contract value will be delivered locally, supporting the State Government’s commitment to using local content.
The construction of the new railcar facility alone will create up to 100 jobs, with more jobs to be generated when railcar production and maintenance commence.
“WA trains should be built by WA people, and the start of these works is another step to making this a reality again,” Minister Saffioti said.
“This will be brilliant for Midland and our wider eastern region, returning hundreds of train manufacturing jobs to our area,” Midland MLA Michelle Roberts said.
The first stage of the Bellevue facility is due to be completed later this year and the first C-series railcars are anticipated to go into service in 2022.
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Source: Government of Western Australia; METRONET (1, 2); Inside Construction; Construction Advisor