Mariyung EMU in service Mount Victoria Station (image Sydney Trains)

Photo: Sydney Trains

Mariyung electric multiple-unit at Mount Victoria station.

AUSTRALIA: The roll-out of the double-deck electric multiple-units being supplied by the RailConnect consortium of Hyundai Rotem, Mitsubishi Electric Australia and UGL Rail on the North Coast inter-city lines linking Sydney with Newcastle and the Central Coast has been completed.

The 19 Mariyung trainsets were ordered to replace older vehicles on medium-distance services running north from Sydney. They were named after the Dharug word for emu.

The total of 610 double-deck cars have been supplied under contracts awarded by Transport for New South Wales in 2019 and 2021. They will operate in four, six, eight, and 10-car formations.

‘The next area for the Mariyung trainsets to be rolled out is the Blue Mountains Line, running from Sydney to Lithgow and Bathurst in the west. They will enter service there on October 13’, said Matt Longland, Chief Executive of TfNSW’s operating business Sydney Trains, when he spoke to Railway Gazette International in early September.

Mariyung EMU on Nepean Bridge (image Sydney Trains)

Looking ahead, he said the Mariyung trains would begin operating on the South Coast route to Wollongong and Kiama next year, when the Sydney Trains network would undergo a major timetable recast.

For the roll-out on the South Coast Line, platforms are being lengthened to accommodate 10-car trainsets instead of eight-car vehicles, track and power supply improvements are also being delivered, and Sydney Trains has completed new facilities for stabling and servicing the fleet.

‘The Mariyung trains are replacing 45 years old trains. Besides improved reliability, they’ll be offering much more comfort, better accessibility, and provide a number of further modern conveniences that passengers expect in terms of being able to work while they’re travelling on the train’, Longland added.

Tangara EMU (image Sydney Trains)

Photo: Sydney Trains

A Tangara double-deck electric multiple-unit.

  • Sydney Trains is also working on the five to 10-year service life extension programme carried out in-house on its 55 eight-car Tangara double-deck electric multiple-units, which were introduced in 1988. The first updated Tangara vehicles are currently being tested and are scheduled to enter service later this year.
  • Read a full interview with Sydney Trains Chief Executive Matt Longland in the November 2025 issue of Railway Gazette International.

Topics