A decade after the state paid $175 million to bail out a local train contract, Chris Minns is adamant his plan will avoid cost-overruns, defects and delays.
this month flagged inadequate planning and a failure to heed warnings had led to a “significant cost and schedule blowout”, to $2.5 billion, and also warned the new fleet risked becoming a “white elephant” if delays from the Spanish manufacturer dragged on for years.than $264 million in safety upgrades
Mr Minns said he was inspired by Western Australia’s Perth Metronet train building program headed by French giant Alstom, a Victorian rail and tram building program, again led by Alstom, and Canadian-German company Bombardier, and now saw an opportunity for more jobs in NSW. And amid a skilled labour shortage, Mr Minns said a growing manufacturing industry would increase skills while providing an alternative employment stream for workers, particularly engineers and other skilled staff, looking to transition out of the mining sector.
When the bailout was agreed in 2014, just six of the 78 Chinese-made trains had been delivered and the project was 18 months behind schedule. All carriages were completed by the end of 2014.Mr Minns points to high-profile transport project delays under the current government over the past 12 years, including the Sydney Light Rail which was completed more than a year behind schedule and almost 50 per cent over budget. The completed project cost the state $3.
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