Victorian Government has announced that starting November the first of the next 39 new VLocity carriages, manufactured by Bombardier in Dandenong will be put into operation.
The first of the 39 new improved VLocity carriages includes more seating in each carriage, along with accessibility improvements, and mobile signal boosters to improve mobile phone coverage for passengers on the Bendigo, Geelong, Ballarat, Gippsland and Seymour lines.
Bombardier is set to commence the VLocity Refresh Project which will deliver upgraded regional trains that will improve capacity, comfort and reliability for passengers. Modifications will pave the way for 9-car VLocity trains, that can carry more people in the busiest routes. Investigations are also underway to determine what works will need to be carried out at V/Line stations to deliver nine-car trains.
The project upgrades the existing fleet of 75 VLocity regional trains to make them more comfortable and accessible, bringing the oldest of the regional train fleet up to the best standard. The carriages will improve the travel experience for all passengers with wider toilet doors for wheelchair access, hearing loop technology, automatic announcements, and new floor markings and handrails.
Bombardier will deliver the works that will support up to 45 local jobs in addition to the 500 local jobs created to build 87 new trains on order. Works are expected to start in mid-2019 and be completed in 2021.
The manufacturer is also delivering the next stages of the design work for the new standard gauge VLocity trains for the North East Line.
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