Parramatta light rail ‘won’t crack’ like Inner West trams: Rob Stokes
The Transport Minister has leapt to defend Parramatta’s light rail, while revealing who will foot the bill for the damaged Inner West carriages.
NSW
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Spanish-made trams being built for the Parramatta Light Rail won’t have the same cracking defects as the Inner West trams, with the Transport Minister vowing taxpayers won’t fork out “a cent” to replace the damaged carriages.
Despite the fleet of vehicles for the $2.4b Parramatta line being made by the same company who provided the dozen cracked trams - which are now off the rails for at least a year - Rob Stokes told 2GB this morning that the new set of trams were an updated version.
Mr Stokes said Parramatta’s trams would not have the same cracking issues in the wheel arches as the Inner West vehicles.
“While they belong to the same family of vehicles, they are an upgraded design that doesn‘t have the issues that have been uncovered in relation to the Inner West line,” Mr Stokes said.
“The design issues that we’ve identified in relation to the Inner West light rail and not an issue with these new vehicles... certainly the issue of that thickness of metal and the way in which it was fabricated is not a feature of the new tram.”
Mr Stokes was also firm that NSW taxpayers would not fork out “a cent” to repair the defective trams, and said said the manufacturer would likely wear the cost.
He added the government was “working with” the track’s consortium to fix them “as quickly as possible”.
“It’s my expectation that taxpayers will not pay a red cent,” he said.
“The contract we signed was for the provision of a transit service that would run without interruption, and obviously that hasn’t occurred... we’re working with the manufacturer.”
It comes as the state’s shadow transport minister declared an urgent investigation should be held into the Spanish-made trams set for the Parramatta Light Rail after cracks in trams from the same supplier brought services on the Inner West Line screeching to a halt for 18 months.
Labor transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said a probe needed to be held to determine whether trams on the yet to be completed $2.4bn Parramatta Light Rail could face similar issues to those on the Inner West Line, whose 12-strong fleet has been shuttered for at least a year after cracks were found in wheel arches.
“There needs to be an immediate investigation into whether the trams on order for the Parramatta Light Rail are fit for purpose. We can’t let what happened in the Inner West ever happen again,“ Ms Haylen said.
It came as Opposition Leader Chris Minns said “of course he would” bring manufacturing onshore, saying the flaws in the Inner West fleet were a “line in the sand” for overseas construction of transport infrastructure.
“We need to stop building transport infrastructure overseas and start backing Australian ingenuity, engineering and know-how, we can do it right here in Australia.”
Luke Macgee, the Parramatta Chamber of Commerce president, said any delays to the area’s light rail project was the “last thing we need” after Parramatta’s Church Street was hobbled by light rail track construction for more than a year.
“The last thing we need is any more hold-ups or disruptions and we’re looking forward to completion.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet signalled on Monday he was open to building public transport vehicles locally in NSW, and revealed the government would seek compensation over the faulty fleet. “Certainly, we don‘t have the capability at the moment (to build our own trains) and I think that’s something we should look at,” he said. “Onshore manufacturing is going to be a crucial part of our state’s economy going forward.”
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the body is working with the major contractor, Great River City Light Rail, a consortium between Transdev and the Australian arm of Spanish manufacturer CAF, which will supply, operate and maintain the vehicles for the Parramatta Light Rail, to ensure the 13 vehicles bound for Parramatta meet standards.
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