Victoria Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan is in China and Hong Kong this week to meet with senior government officials and transport industry leaders to exchange ideas and encourage continued investment in the state’s transport projects.
The visit forms part of the Labor Government’s China Strategy to strengthen Victoria’s economic, cultural and personal ties with China and create more jobs and business opportunities.
“Victoria is leading global thinking in the transport industry – this is an opportunity to exchange valuable ideas, knowledge and experience from across the public and private transport sectors,” said Ms. Allan.
“This is an opportunity to see state-of-the-art factories and ensure Victoria continues to stay at the forefront of rolling stock manufacturing.”
Ms. Allan will meet MTR Hong Kong to inspect some of its major projects to extend the region’s railway network by 25 per cent, similar to Victorian projects such as the Metro Tunnel and Regional Rail Revival.
She is also inspecting progress on new rail lines for the Nanjing Metro, which carries about 720 million people every year, and oversee the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Monash University and train wheel manufacturer Maanshan Iron and Steel.
The agreement means Victorian transport professionals can travel to Nanjing to exchange rail infrastructure knowledge and skills.
Ms. Allan will also visit the world’s largest rolling stock manufacturer CRRC to view their state-of-the-art factory in Changchun. CRRC is part of the consortium that will design and build 65 new high capacity metro trains for Victoria.
The high capacity trains will be built in partnership with Australian company, Downer Rail, in Newport, Victoria using 60 per cent local materials.
The new trains will carry around 20 per cent more passengers than existing trains when they start entering service in 2019.