Construction work on Victoria’s 23 new VLocity trains has started at Alstrom’s Dandenong factory, supporting around 500 local jobs and the developing interest in the state’s regional rail network.
The Victorian government designated $601 million in the Victorian Budget plan 23/24 to produce new VLocity trains. The speculation goes with a $219 million investment for almost 200 extra end-of-the-week V/Line train services.
The new trains will be carried out in the west to convey more travellers on the Melton line and proposition more agreeable and dependable excursions on the Geelong and Bacchus Marsh corridors.
They will scale V/Line’s fleet of VLocity trains to 141, furnishing more passengers with solid and effective provincial journeys in a lift for employers, businesses, and the travel industry.
The new trains will likewise empower limit elevates across the network and further develop reliability quality for passengers by proceeding with the steady retirement of Victoria’s long-serving Classic Fleet trains.
“We’re delivering record investments in public transport, supporting local manufacturing jobs right here in Dandenong, while making our transport network more reliable and more affordable for regional Victorians,” said Minister for Public and Active Transport, Gabrielle Williams.
The larger and more present-day VLocity trains will uphold the rising fame of the V/Linne network following the presentation of the local fare cap in 2023, guaranteeing provincial fares are covered at a similar cost as the metropolitan day-to-day fares, saving regional passengers millions of dollars in travel.
Regional network patronage saw a 28 percent increment in 2023, a fundamentally stronger demand contrasted with 2019’s 97%.