Australia: On 3 December, the first two D-series EMUs, named Mariyung, started revenue service on the Sydney–New Castle route.
Between 2016 and 2021, the South Korean manufacturer has received orders for a total of 122 of these trains, which can reach a top speed of 160 km/h. 61 six-car trains accommodate 642 passengers and 61 four-car trains are designed to carry 982. This year, the Mariyung head car was on display at InnoTrans.
The original schedule promised the launch in 2020 but was delayed as the transport union protested because of the expected additional workload on on drivers, who were expected to provide control over passenger boarding and alighting. An agreement was reached in 2023 to upgrade CCTV, public address and door opening systems. Of the total ordered, 15 trainsets already have them. There was another reason for the delay: numerous defects were discovered during testing. In the end, the project turned out to be much more expensive.
