WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced that a manufacturing and assembly plant will be built in Bellevue, to support the building of new trains, as part of the METRONET project. This work will create more than 200 new jobs working directly on the new railcars and plant, and hundreds more jobs in associated areas.
Since the Midland Railway Workshops were closed in 1994, new trains added to the network were mostly built in Queensland with only two per cent of the work completed in WA. Under the McGowan government, a new 50 per cent local content target has been set to ensure jobs are maximised in WA.
"These are WA trains, so they should be WA jobs.” Said Mr McGowan. "When people ride on a new METRONET train, everyone will know it was built in Western Australia, by Western Australians.
Budgeted at $1.6 billion over ten years, the project will deliver 246 new C-series trains over the next decade (102 for the METRONET rail expansion and 144 to replace the ageing A-Series) – the biggest order of railcars in the State's history.
Once the contract is finalised later this year, there will also be jobs created to maintain the fleet of rail cars for the next 30 years. Flow-on jobs will include train drivers and many other operations and maintenance roles.
Construction on the first stage of the Bellevue plant is expected to start next year and be completed in 2021. From 2022 the new C-series trains will run on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines initially, as these have the highest patronage demand, highest service frequency and the highest line speed.
While the final design and features are still to be finalised, the new six-car trains will carry about 1,200 passengers and have an operational life of 35 years. Technology including USB charging points, LED lighting and regenerative braking also be installed to make the new trains more efficient.
People employed to work on the construction of the Bellevue plant, and those building the new C-series trains, will have a fantastic opportunity to gain new skills and work with the latest design and technology.
"It means hundreds of quality, local jobs, more training and apprenticeship opportunities for our kids, and WA-made trains on our new WA built METRONET lines." the Premier said.
This is a great opportunity to skill up and get on board for these job opportunities! Hundreds of vocational education and training courses are subsidised through Jobs and Skills WA, including courses in building and construction; engineering and automotive technology.
