AUSTRALIA: Project promoter Suburban Rail Loop Authority has awarded the A$6·7bn Linewide contract package to supply rolling stock, fit out and then operate the Suburban Rail Loop East in Melbourne to the TransitLinX consortium of John Holland, RATP Dev, Alstom, KBR and WSP.
The contract announced on December 18 has a term of 10 years. It includes the design, manufacture, installation and testing of signalling, power supply, passenger information, telecoms, CCTV and security systems, platform screen doors and tunnel ventilation. A train stabling and operational control centre is also to be constructed in Heatherton within its scope.
There is a 15-year agreement to operate and maintain the network from the opening, which is scheduled for 2035, which will be undertaken by RATP Dev (leader) and John Holland (partner).
Alstom’s share is A$1·8bn which includes the installation of its Urbalis Forward CBTC, a cybersecurity system, wired and wireless telecommunication networks, platform screen doors, undertaking system integration, as well as the provision of its FlexCare Perform full maintenance tool.
Locally built vehicles
The contract provides for the supply of 13 four-car, fully automated Metropolis metro trainsets with 15 years of maintenance. They are to be built at Alstom’s Dandenong manufacturing site southeast of Melbourne.
The metro trainsets are to be equipped with regenerative braking and passenger information systems. Seating will be arranged longitudinally, with dedicated spaces for wheelchairs and passengers with special needs, as well as flexible use spaces for prams, assistance animals and other uses.
Fully automated
The wholly underground, standard gauge SRL East will run from Cheltenham to Box Hill, serving six stations. It is intended as the initial 26 km section of an orbital railway that is planned eventually to be 90 km long. It will mainly be built using twin-bore tunnels and is designed to be fully automated.
Construction of SRL East started in 2022, with preparatory work now underway at all six station sites and at the train stabling facility in Heatherton.
Tunnelling is scheduled to start next year, and this has been divided into two contract packages, awarded in November 2024 and December 2023. Three bidders have been shortlisted for the construction of the underground stations, divided into two contracts;n these are expected to be awarded during 2026.
- Read our feature article about the progress on the SRL project in the November 2025 issue of Railway Gazette International.
