Work has begun on the new $46 million railcar manufacturing facility at Bellevue, with plans to produce more than 250 railcars for local deployment.
Premier, Mark McGowan said the facility was part of a wider contract the Government had signed with French company, Alstom to have Western Australia’s METRONET railcars built locally.
Mr McGowan said the construction of new railcars in Bellevue signalled the return of rail manufacturing to the Midland area for the first time since 1994, when the Midland Railway Workshops were closed.
“The main facility will include a 180-metre building with a railcar assembly area, offices, workshops and storage areas, two overhead cranes able to lift 25 tonnes each, and a heavy maintenance railroad with a crane capable of lifting 10 tonnes,” Mr McGowan said.
“Once completed, the facility will produce 246 METRONET C-series railcars and an additional six railcars to replace the existing Australind service.”
He said around 100 jobs would be created during construction of the facility, along with further jobs when railcar production and maintenance began.
Stage one of the Bellevue facility is expected to be complete later this year, with the first C-series railcars due to go into service in 2022.
Minister for Transport, Rita Saffioti said the facility would also serve as a permanent maintenance facility for the expanded METRONET fleet.
“WA trains should be built by WA people, and the start of these works is another step to making this a reality again,” Ms Saffioti said.
