Australia: A three-car train began carrying passengers on the Australind line between Perth and Bunbury on 29 June, covering the 167 km route in two and a half hours. For now, it will run four return trips a week.
The launch follows completion of a line upgrade that started in November 2023 and cost $110 mln. The remaining three trains will join the route gradually over the coming months. The line had originally been due to reopen in 2025, but testing problems pushed the timeline back.
Interior of the X’Trapolis from Alstom in Australia. Source: Declan Martin/X
The train seats 158 passengers and has space for six wheelchairs, plus a storage compartment for 14 bicycles and onboard catering. Alstom signed the €800 mln contract to supply 41 six-car electric multiple units and four three-car diesel multiple units with the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia in 2019. The electric multiple units entered service in April 2024.
The contract required at least 50% of the fleet to be built in Australia. Alstom opened a third Australian manufacturing site at Bellevue in 2021 to meet that target, joining its plants in Ballarat and Dandenong and reviving rail vehicle production in Western Australia after a near 30-year gap.
