Construction has now begun on the Bellevue railcar facility in Western Australia. The first locally made railcars in almost three decades will be assembled and maintained at the facility.
A Western Australian company FIRM Construction was awarded the $46 million contract to build the multi-functional assembly and maintenance facility. It will also be a secondary high voltage testing building.
The Bellevue railcar facility be a 180 metre long building with a railcar assembly area, offices, workshops and storage areas. It will also be home to two overhead cranes, able to lift 25 tonnes each and a heavy maintenance railroad crane with a capability of lifting 10 tonnes.
Over the next decade, Alstom will deliver 246 new-generation C-series railcars to be maintained in the Bellevue facility. 102 will be for METRONET projects and the other 144 will replace the ageing A-series railcars, as well as six diesel railcars to replace the Australind.
The design and features of the railcars are still to be confirmed but Alstom have been set a target of 50 per cent local content.
Stage one of the Bellevue facility is expected to be complete in 2020. The first C-series railcars are expected to begin services in 2022.
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