$8.8 Billion Suburban Rail Loop East Contract Awarded in Melbourne

The Suburban Rail Loop Authority has awarded a 4.9 billion EUR (8.8 billion AUD) contract for the Suburban Rail Loop East (SRL East) in Melbourne to the TransitLinX Alliance. The alliance brings together John Holland, KBR, WSP, RATP Dev and Alstom.

SRL East forms the first stage of the Victorian Government’s Suburban Rail Loop programme, which aims to deliver a new orbital rail connection through Melbourne’s middle suburbs. The eastern section will extend for 26 kilometres and include six underground stations located near major employment, education and health precincts.

Under the contract, the TransitLinX Alliance will be responsible for the delivery of rolling stock, signalling, digital systems, operations and maintenance, as well as overall system integration. Alstom’s share of the contract is valued at 1.0 billion EUR (1.8 billion AUD) and covers the supply of 13 four-car automated metro trains, a 15-year maintenance programme, communications-based train control signalling, communications systems, cybersecurity, platform screen doors and system integration.

Pascal Dupond, Managing Director, Alstom Australia and New Zealand said:

This contract award further deepens our partnership with the Victorian Government to deliver the rail transport priorities of the Victorian Government with leading rail industry partners. The Suburban Rail Loop solutions Alstom will provide draw from a range of our leading global technologies across rolling stock, signalling and services complemented by our local knowhow in Victoria, which uniquely we bring to our customers.

The trains will operate at Grade of Automation 4 (GOA4), allowing for unattended train operation. Rolling stock assembly will take place at Alstom’s Dandenong facility in Melbourne, supporting local manufacturing activity. Fleet maintenance will be undertaken at a new depot in Heatherton, purpose-built for the Suburban Rail Loop network.

The first trains are scheduled to enter service in 2035. Once operational, SRL East will become Melbourne’s second fully automated metro line, following the driverless metro in Sydney that entered service in 2019.

The wider Suburban Rail Loop project is planned as a 90-kilometre orbital railway, integrating transport delivery with long-term housing and land-use development across Melbourne.