New Sydney trams to be built in Australia under bold new plan

A series of laughable train, tram and ferry failures have inspired NSW Transport Minister David ­Elliott to come up with a new way of sourcing future infrastructure projects.

Trams running on the second stage of the Parramatta Light Rail will be required to be built in Australia, in what could be become an industry-wide edict.

Fed up with Sydney’s troublesome imported trams and ferries, new Transport Minister David ­Elliott has ordered the final business case for the proposed Parramatta Light Rail extension to consider only Aussie-made rolling stock.

Transport Minister David Elliott wants new rolling stock for NSW to be in Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire/James Gourley

“It’s my view that the ­dramas we’ve had in the past with foreign-made infrastructure, like rolling stock and the ferries, comes from the foreign companies not taking ­responsibility for defects,” Mr Elliott told The Daily Telegraph.

“If something is built in Australia and has a defect I don’t have to go to Spain to get it fixed.”

Mr Elliott said it was his intention for the light rail extension to Sydney Olympic Park to go ahead, with the NSW government to make a decision following the completion of the final business case.

The announcement comes one year out from the state election, and sweeps the legs out from one of Labor’s central campaigns calling for more local manufacturing.

Transport for NSW will hold briefings from next week with local manufacturers around the country to assess their ability to build major transport domestically.

An artist’s rendition of the planned Parramatta CBD to Sydney Olympic Park light rail.

The requirement means trams will have to be either wholly or partially built in Australia.

“We’re not going to exclude foreign firms — what we’re doing is we want to know exactly what benefit to the local economy is going to come when we spend money locally from the transport portfolio,” Mr ­Elliott said.

“If a company says we can get components from overseas and assemble or manufacture loc­ally, that’s a win for local manufacturing.

“I don’t think anyone would argue that Australian-made manufacturing — although sometimes ­expensive due to union pressures — hasn’t always been first class.”

Mr Elliott was confident the move would breathe new life into the country’s manufacturing sector.

“We can’t simply look at lower price — we need to consider the ­entire economic benefit, and that ­includes secondary suppliers and subcontractors,” he said.

The transport department has been beset by difficulties recently, highlighted by numerous faults with ferries and light rail components made overseas.

Last year the Inner West Light Rail line was suspended after cracks were found in the wheel arches of the Spanish-made trams, while ferries built in Indonesia and China have issues ranging from leaking windows, to being too tall to pass under bridges with passengers sitting on the top deck.