Three years late and $826m over budget: More delays for Sydney’s new trains

The NSW government has ordered another raft of design changes to a fleet of long-distance trains being built in Spain, risking further delays and cost increases for a project that is already running more than three years late and $826 million over budget.

Internal documents seen by the Herald show that senior NSW transport officials have directed the manufacturer to make another set of modifications to the new trains. Earlier design changes sparked an ongoing dispute more than 18 months ago between Transport for NSW and a consortium led by Spanish manufacturer CAF, which is building the fleet.

An artist’s impression of the new Spanish-built trains that will run on interstate rail lines.Credit: Transport for NSW

The transport agency issued the directives two weeks before Christmas for the changes to the 29 trains of various lengths, which have been purchased for key interstate rail lines from Sydney to Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, as well as for services to regional centres in NSW.

The latest modifications involve major changes to crew controls for doors, emergency exit devices, automatic doors, CCTV and passenger information systems.

In addition, the directives will require the manufacturer to remove CCTV cameras from crew cabs, as well as getting rid of functions that allow crews to make group calls and the requirement to have satellite links for when mobile network coverage is lost.

The train builder will also need to make alterations to backlighting of controls in the cabs, as well as to steps for drivers and guards to get into them.

The state government’s new trains are being built at a manufacturing plant in northern Spain.Credit: NSW government

The Herald revealed last year the extent of major cost blowouts and delays to the regional rail project, as well as a scathing assessment of Transport for NSW’s handling of the train purchases and infrastructure upgrades necessary for them to run on lines.

A leaked internal report by Infrastructure NSW, which was classified as cabinet in confidence, warned in late 2022 that the project was running 35 months late.

Last month, a report by the auditor-general confirmed that the completion date has since been further delayed to April 2026, making the project 40 months late. The first of the new trains was originally meant to start carrying passengers in January 2023.

The long delays to the project mean passengers will be stuck travelling on decades-old XPT, Xplorer and Endeavour trains much longer than planned, which poses risks to the reliability of services and increases maintenance costs.

Under the terms of a 2019 contract deed, Transport for NSW requires the manufacturer to make modifications to the trains before the agency accepts them, and they can be tested on the rail network.

The government’s latest estimated cost of the project is $2.29 billion, up from an early forecast of $1.48 billion, which included financing costs.

In a statement, Transport for NSW said it had requested some modifications to the Spanish-built trains for the amenity of passengers and staff following consultation with a range of stakeholders.

It did not answer specific questions about what the latest design changes will delay the regional rail project by, or cost.

The agency said nine trains were at various stages of production in Spain, and the first was due to arrive in Australia in the first quarter of this year.

“A timeline for the delivery of the balance of the trains will be confirmed once the manufacturing testing and assurance phase has been completed,” it said.

Asked whether the dispute with the CAF-led consortium had been settled, the transport agency said commercial discussions continued and were confidential.

CAF, which built trams for Sydney’s inner west light rail line, was approached for comment.

The troubled regional rail project is separate to the state’s new Korean-built intercity train fleet, which is running more than four years late after it was at the centre of a long-running stoush between the previous Coalition government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union. The intercity trains will operate on rail lines from Sydney to Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and the South Coast.

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