Mike Baird and Gladys Berejiklian med rel: NSW Gov delivers final Waratah train

NSW Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Mike Baird and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced the delivery of the final Waratah train, meaning almost 100 per cent of all timetabled train services are now air-conditioned.

The Waratah project is a $3.6 billion Public Private Partnership providing 78 sets of next generation trains for Sydney suburban train customers and ongoing maintenance of the trains. The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government has delivered all 78 trains.

“When we came to Government in 2011 this project was a complete mess and on the verge of collapse,” said Mr Baird.

“NSW Labor had spent more than six years talking about the project but not one new Waratah train had been delivered.

“The NSW Liberal & Nationals Government restructured the Waratah project from its foundations, rescued it from financial disaster and we have delivered all 78 trains.

“The Waratahs now represent around half of Sydney’s suburban fleet, which means that more and more customers will be able to experience the fleet’s unique safety, accessibility and comfort features,” he said.

Each train has 64 internal CCTV cameras, 32 external CCTV cameras and smart air-conditioning which automatically adjusts to the number of people on board.

Ms Berejiklian said completion of the rollout means that 100 per cent of timetabled Sydney Trains services are air-conditioned. This does not include the limited Olympic Park Line that only has one stop. However, during special events air-conditioned trains are provided for customers on the Olympic Park Line.

“For too long customers have complained about travelling in trains without air-conditioning. It was one of the biggest gripes our customers had and now I’m pleased that the days of sitting in a hot train in summer or a cold train in winter are over.

“When we came to Government not one train running on either the T5 Cumberland or T6 Carlingford lines had air-conditioning and only about 50 per cent of timetabled services were air-conditioned on the T3 Bankstown Line and the T2 Inner West Line.

“The former Labor Government hadn’t even put in the infrastructure to allow Waratah trains to travel to Western Sydney, and we completed upgrades to power supplies with new substations built at Yagoona, Warwick Farm, Toongabbie and Campbelltown.”

“With the completion of the Waratah rollout every service on these Western Sydney lines is now air-conditioned, including the 220 extra weekly T5 Cumberland Line services the new timetable added in October last year.

“On top of this, we recently announced the purchase of a new $2.8 billion fleet of intercity trains for our customers who travel longer distances.

“This means the air-conditioned intercity Oscar trains will be moved from intercity services to the suburban fleet, making travel even more comfortable for all our customers and ensuring 100 per cent of services are air-conditioned.”

The Waratah trains also feature 32 help points, and an advanced customer information system providing automatic announcements, hearing aid loops and electronic display screens.

The trains have wider entrance areas for increased accessibility and improved lighting using energy efficient LED lights – a world first for customer trains.

Waratahs now operate services on the T1 North Shore, Northern and Western, T2 Airport, Inner West and South, T3 Bankstown and T7 Olympic Park lines.