Background The previous major procurement of rolling stock for the
Melbourne rail network occurred in 2002, when franchisees
M>Train and
Connex ordered 62
Siemens Nexas and 58
X'Trapolis 100 trains respectively, as part of their franchise agreements to replace the older
Hitachi trains. However, the Siemens units suffered major braking issues over the following decade, causing their repeated withdrawal from service; when the
State Government tendered for 18 further six-carriage trains in 2007, it restricted bids to the previous two models ordered and awarded the contract to Alstom. 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) was created in 2011 by the newly elected state government of Premier
Ted Baillieu with the intent of, among other things, running major studies into the operation of the metropolitan rail network. The
Network Development Plan – Metropolitan Rail (NDPMR), released publicly in early 2013 in the partial fulfillment 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. 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, as well as recommending the internal reconfiguration of Siemens and
Comeng trains to increase capacity, but identified the provision of new rolling stock as critical to the cost-effective use of existing railway infrastructure. Among the deficiencies of existing rolling stock 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. The NDPMR rejected
double-decker trains on the basis that they would increase
dwell time at crowded stations, and argued that trains, formed by operating the existing three car sets as nine 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 , with the capacity for expansion to upon the opening of the
Metro Tunnel. The NDPMR envisaged these trains with a maximum capacity of 1,100 and 1,600 passengers respectively. The NDPMR envisaged that these high-capacity trains would completely replace the Comeng fleet by 2032, and be used primarily on the
Sunshine–
Dandenong line created by the
Metro Tunnel. Furthermore, it identified the need for the new trains to include
cab signalling to reduce the
headway required between trains, and for the construction of new maintenance facilities at several points on the network. Prior to the
2014 state election, then-Premier
Denis Napthine promised an order of 25 of the proposed high-capacity trains if his incumbent
Liberal–National Coalition state government was returned for a second term. This was part of an unsolicited proposal put forward to the government by train operator
Metro Trains Melbourne, and the proposal would also involve the upgrade of the
Pakenham and
Cranbourne lines. The trains would be built by
UGL Rail, who was a partial owner of Metro Trains Melbourne.
Order and design phase The Coalition's proposal was criticised by the
Labor opposition led by
Daniel Andrews, labelling it a "con", and that 25 trains were "not enough to meet future passenger numbers". The Coalition subsequently lost the 2014 election and the proposal did not go ahead under the new Labor state government, who instead announced a different proposal in March 2015. Labor's proposal would involve the purchase of 37 new trains via expressions of interest, and an expanded scope of the Pakenham and Cranbourne line upgrades. In June 2015, expressions of interest were requested for the 37 new trains to be delivered and maintained for the Melbourne rail network. In November 2015, three consortia were shortlisted to build and maintain the 37 trains: • Bombardier:
Bombardier Transportation,
Macquarie Bank,
Itochu and Infrared Capital Partners • Eureka Rail:
Alstom,
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and
John Laing • Evolution Rail:
Downer Rail,
CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles and
Plenary Group In March 2016, the order was increased to 65. In September 2016, the contract was awarded to the Evolution Rail consortium. New depots to maintain the trains will be built in
Pakenham East and
Calder Park. By September of the following year, a full-scale mock-up of two carriages had been constructed and was presented to Minister for Public Transport
Jacinta Allan. The mock-up was made available to
drivers, technicians, representatives of the
Public Transport Users Association and passenger groups including the visually impaired and those with physical disabilities. The Evolution Rail consortium noted that this last stage in the design process marked the fulfilment of the project's first major contractual obligation. In late 2017, the Locomotive Division of the
Victorian Rail Tram and Bus Union lodged proceedings in the
Federal Court of Australia against Metro Trains, claiming that the consortium, government and Metro planned to introduce a lower standard of training for operators of the HCMT. It furthermore refused to support the implementation of the new rolling stock unless all electric train drivers were trained in the operation of the HCMT. Among the union's objections to the project are the necessary changes in work practice and the increased automation of certain processes. The mockup carriages used for the consultation phase were placed on public display at
Birrarung Marr from 9–17 February 2018. The display concluded during Melbourne's
White Night event with a light show. By June of that year, manufacturing had commenced, with the first body shells arriving at Newport Workshops from CRRC's facility in China. On 9 May 2022, the Victorian Government announced it was procuring an additional 5 HCMT sets for use on the
Melbourne Airport rail link, to bring the total order to 70. == Contract and construction ==