New Generation Rollingstock

History

In January 2014, the Queensland Government awarded a contract for 75 six carriage electric multiple units to the Qtectic consortium of Bombardier Transportation, John Laing and Itochu under a 32-year public private partnership.

The first was delivered in February 2016, with all to be in service by December 2018. They are being built in Savli, India, in exactly the same facility where the new carriages for the Delhi Metro network are being built.

The design is based on the Adelaide Metro A-City Class 4000 Electric Multiple Units. The design has been slightly modified to be fitted with nose cones that are designed to resemble the two types of Tilt Train for improved aerodynamic performance as opposed to the exposed Scharfenberg Couplers used by the existing fleet. The body style of the trains are also different in design, using flat steel panels on the side of the trains, while retaining the use of corrugated ones for the rooftop. The trains will be maintained in a custom built depot in Wulkuraka. The new trains will replace the older Electric Multiple Unit and InterCity Express fleets and increase the size of the fleet by 30%. The new trains will have features like high backed seats, new safety straps for bike storage, additional storage space underneath the seats for luggage, mobility toilet with baby changing table in the middle of the train, and will be fitted with Wi-fi for every carriage. Because they are permanently coupled six car sets, passengers will be able to walk the entire length of the train, meaning it will eliminate the need to couple with another set. These sets are the first in the fleet to feature LED display screens in every carriage for safety messages, journey information and allocated advertising. They will be used on all City network services, especially interurban lines such as the Nambour and Gympie North line and the Gold Coast line.

After receiving five sets from India so far, the trains have uncovered a series of faults and design flaws that need to be ironed out, where some drivers experienced difficulties seeing out of the drivers window, where to stop at on station platforms. Also, despite having external CCTV cameras fitted on each carriage, the end cabs were found to be having insufficient space to accommodate guards. They have been found to be 16 tonnes underweight, mainly because some of the train components were not installed. The trains that were expected to enter service by the end of 2016 have been delayed until at least early 2017, with no set deadline on when all trains will be in service.