Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Alstom, Ballarat, site visit

Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (19:16): (558) I wish to raise an adjournment matter for the Minister for Public and Active Transport regarding the manufacture of X’trapolis 2.0 trains at the Alstom rail workshop in Ballarat. The action that I seek is for the minister to come to my electorate of Wendouree to visit the Alstom site, to see firsthand how our record investment of nearly $1 billion is creating manufacturing jobs in my community, supporting the local economy and delivering world-class trains made in regional Victoria. I am so proud that the Ballarat-made Alstom X’trapolis 2.0 trains will include a minimum of 60 per cent local content, supporting Victorian jobs across the supply chain and in the minister’s own electorate of Dandenong.

The new X’trapolis 2.0 trains will replace the longest serving Comeng trains and provide more reliable journeys, better passenger information and improved accessibility, energy efficiency and comfort for passengers. The X’trapolis 2.0 trains are designed with wider doors to make boarding and alighting easier, helping maintain on-time running, and will have space for about 1225 passengers. Importantly, the interior designs improve accessibility for hearing-, vision- and mobility-impaired passengers, including 20 wheelchair spaces. I wish to acknowledge and thank chief accessibility advocate Tricia Malowney OAM for her contribution to the X’trapolis 2.0 design process and her commitment to accessibility and inclusion for Victoria’s public transport system.

The X’trapolis 2.0 trains will also have enhanced accessibility features, including semi-automated boarding ramps, hearing loops, a continuous walkway throughout the train and clearer, more informative passenger displays. But there is more. The new X’trapolis 2.0 will have advanced air suspension systems enabling a smoother ride and advanced passenger information systems that provide more detail about the journey in real time. The trains will also be more energy-efficient and include designated mixed-use onboard spaces for bicycle and pram storage.

Long may we continue to support manufacturing in regional Victoria and delivering world-class trains that are made in Ballarat. I thank the minister for her commitment to my community of Ballarat and look forward to the minister’s visit to my electorate of Wendouree.