New trains due to replace the Xplorer on the Canberra-Sydney line in 2028 will have 20 per cent fewer seats. Transport for NSW is investigating fleet deployment and service planning options to address the capacity shortfall. Currently, three mostly fully booked services run daily. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said adding two services would lift daily capacity by about 35 per cent. A $100 million funding package aims to cut journey times to under four hours.
A contract has been awarded to remove boom gates at two inner-west Melbourne level crossings. The alliance of Acciona, WSP, Metro Trains Melbourne and VIDA Rail will carry out work at Anderson Street in Yarraville and Hudsons Road in Spotswood. The state government says the Anderson Street crossing has seen one fatality and four serious injuries since 2006. The Yarraville project will close the western part of Anderson Street to traffic, create a pedestrian plaza and add parking. Construction starts next year, with completion due in 2029. The Hudsons Road crossing is expected to be removed by 2028.
A Kensington resident, Steve Martinuzzo, has prepared an advocacy paper urging the State Government to investigate removing the Kensington Station level crossing on Macaulay Rd. He says the issue should at least be discussed rather than dismissed. Residents have previously raised concerns about heritage, traffic and trucks, and the City of Melbourne says it would consider those factors. A Victorian Government spokesperson said there are no current plans to remove the crossing, though it may be considered in future.
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The New South Wales government has promised a $6.8 billion upgrade to the South Coast rail line if re-elected next year. The plan includes electrifying the line between Kiama and Bomaderry, so passengers could travel from Sydney to Nowra without changing trains. Extra tracks and passing loops are also planned between Wollongong and Kiama. Planning is expected to start in 2027, with construction completed in the mid to late 2030s. The announcement follows the scrapping of a planned timetable overhaul on the line, which had drawn commuter backlash.
The NSW government has scrapped major train timetable changes on the T4, T8 and South Coast lines less than a month before they were due to start. Premier Chris Minns said the government had listened to commuters and local MPs. The changes were due to take effect on November 15 and had promised more frequent services, though some trips would take longer. Passengers had objected to losing direct trips to Sydney Airport from Wollongong and to other changes. Transport Minister John Graham said the focus would now be on improving reliability on the existing network.
Sydney's $23 billion Southwest Metro will open on Friday, October 30, after more than a year of delays. The first train leaves Bankstown station at 4.31am and runs to Tallawong in the northwest. Residents along the corridor have had no train services since September 2024. Transport Minister John Graham has ruled out a fare-free day, and rail replacement buses will stay on standby for the first three days. Premier Chris Minns apologised for the delays and costs, saying the project will serve the city for over a century.
Sydney's south-west metro extension will open on Friday 30 October, ending more than two years of replacement buses. The first service is set to start at 4.31am. The former T3 heavy rail line closed in September 2024 for conversion to a driverless system. Once open, the line will run 66km from Tallawong to Bankstown, and a Bankstown to Central trip is expected to take 28 minutes. Premier Chris Minns thanked commuters for their patience, calling it a huge moment for south-west Sydney.
A preferred bidder has been chosen to transform Sunshine Station in Melbourne into a six-platform transport superhub. The Network Integration Program Alliance, made up of CPB Contractors and SMEC, will deliver the Stage 1 works, due for completion in 2030. The upgrades include new regional train platforms, an extended concourse, new forecourts and an upgraded bus interchange. Three of five Stage 1 packages have already been awarded. Stage 2 works, which will extend the line to a new Keilor East station, start in coming weeks and are due for completion in 2031.
The opening date for Sydney's Southwest Metro rail line could be announced as early as Thursday, according to 7NEWS. A press conference with NSW Premier Chris Minns is reportedly being prepared. The line will run driverless trains between Sydenham and Bankstown and is expected to open within weeks. The rail safety regulator has not yet signed off on the project, though approval is reportedly close. Engineers are working on automated platform sliders where gaps between platforms and carriage doors are still too wide.
The NSW government has named a former coalmine site at Teralba, in Lake Macquarie, as the preferred location for a new state-owned train factory. The site was chosen over the Broadmeadow locomotive depot in Newcastle after a preliminary assessment. The facility is part of the $12 billion Future Fleet Program and is expected to support up to 780 construction jobs and about 550 ongoing jobs. It will first build the Tangara replacement fleet. The government said Broadmeadow remains an alternative option while investigations continue at Teralba, and no completion timeline has been finalised.
Culvert upgrades east of Kalgoorlie are set to start this weekend as part of a $2.8 billion rail investment program. Crews will replace ageing culverts at three locations between Kalgoorlie and Zanthus to improve drainage and reduce flood damage to the railway. The new reinforced concrete culverts are designed to manage a one in a hundred year flood event, including projected climate change impacts to 2060. Once installed, crews will rebuild the track so freight services can resume. ARTC says it has planned the work around train movements to limit disruption to freight operators.
Flox Intelligence, a startup spun out of KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2020, has built edge devices that use AI to identify nearby animals and play species-appropriate sounds to scare them off. The devices vary their responses so animals do not become used to them. About 150 units are live across North America, Europe and Australia, at airports, road and rail corridors, national parks and mining sites. The company expects about $1.5 million in revenue by the end of 2026 and is opening a $10 million Series A to scale to several thousand devices.
The City of Greater Geelong and Wyndham City councils have asked the Victorian Government to trial a direct rail link between Geelong and Werribee. The proposal would reroute existing Warrnambool to Melbourne services through Werribee rather than Wyndham Vale. The councils say the tracks remain active for freight and are maintained. They argue the trial would test demand without waiting for major new construction. Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj and Wyndham Mayor Mia Shaw backed the plan, which is a request for a trial that the councils are seeking the state government to support.
Victoria's corruption watchdog has charged a Metro Trains Melbourne senior manager and a former labour hire company director over alleged staffing fraud. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission alleges the pair conspired to undersupply staff to benefit First Call Staffing. The charges relate to contracts for rail replacement bus services and printing between October 2020 and March 2023. Both will appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court next month.
