High Capacity Metro Trains

The High Capacity Metro Trains are a fleet of electric multiple unit(EMU) trains on order for use
by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Melbourne rail network. They are due to enter service in mid-
2019 and will eventually become the primary rollingstock used in the Metro Rail Tunnel when it
opens in 2026. The HCMTs will carry around 1400 passengers in 7 carriages, running on
Melbourne's 1500 V DC overhead catenary system, and will be the most advanced trains in the
Metro Trains fleet when they are introduced. A consortium of investors and rail companies is
constructing the trains in China and Australia via a contract with the Victorian Government, in
addition to upgrade works necessary for the operation of the trains.
The previous major procurement of rollingstock for the Melbourne rail network occurred in 2003,
when franchisees M>Train and Connex ordered 62 Siemens Nexas electric multiple
units (EMUs) and 58 Alstom X'Trapolis 100 EMUs respectively, as part of their franchise
agreements to replace older Hitachi trains.[1][2] However, the Siemens units suffered major braking
issues over the following decade, causing their repeated withdrawal from service;[3] when
the State Government tendered for 18 further 6-carriage trains in 2007, it restricted bids to the
previous two models ordered and awarded the contract to Alstom.[4]Several further orders were
placed for X'Trapolis trains over the next 10 years.
The Public Transport Development Authority (later branded as Public Transport Victoria or PTV)
was created in 2011 by the state government under Premier Ted Baillieu with the intent of,
among other things, running major studies into the operation of the metropolitan rail
network.[5] The Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail, released publicly in early 2013 in
the partial fulfilment of this objective, was designed as a series of concrete proposals for the
expansion and consolidation of the rail network over the following 20 years.[6] The NDPMR's first
stage, intended to be completed before 2016, acknowledged the need for an interim solution of
several more X'Trapolis trains to overcome major constraints,[7] as well as recommending the
internal reconfiguration of Siemens and Comeng trains to increase capacity,[8] but identified the
provision of new rollingstock as critical to the cost-effective use of existing railway infrastructure.[9]
Among the deficiencies of existing rollingstock noted by the NDPMR were "multi-purpose"
designs intended to strike a balance between commuter rail and metro operations, and the
failure of existing trains to use the entire length of metropolitan platforms.[9] The NDPMR
rejected double-deck trains on the basis that they would increase dwell time at crowded stations,
and argued that 220-metre trains, formed by operating the existing 3-car sets as 9-car trains,
would require extensive and prohibitively expensive infrastructure works, particularly in the City
Loop. Instead, it recommended the procurement of single-level trains with a fixed number of
cars, increased standing room and a length of 153 metres (502 ft), with the capacity for
expansion to 220 m (720 ft) upon the opening of the Melbourne Metro tunnel. The NDPMR
envisaged these trains with a maximum capacity of 1100 and 1600 passengers respectively.[10]
The NDPMR envisaged that these high-capacity trains would completely replace the Comeng
fleet by 2032, and be used primarily on the SunshineDandenong line created by the Melbourne
Metro. Furthermore, it identified the need for the new trains to include cab signalling to reduce
the headwayrequired between trains, and for the construction of new maintenance facilties at
several points on the network.[11]
Prior to the 2014 Victorian election, then premier Denis Napthine promised an order of 25
HCMTs if his incumbent Liberal-National Coalition government was returned for a second term.[12]