In the lead up to the
2015 state election the
Baird Government committed itself, if re-elected, to replacing the
XPT fleet (19 power cars and 60 carriages). Having been returned to office in October 2016, the government announced it was also considering replacing the
Xplorer (23 carriages) and
Endeavour (28 carriages) fleets. In August 2017, the government announced it had decided to proceed with the replacement of all three fleets as part of the
Regional Rail Project. In November 2017 three consortia, led by
Bombardier,
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) and
Downer, were shortlisted for the contract to build the trains. In May 2018 the Bombardier Consortium withdrew from the process. A
public–private partnership (PPP) contract was signed in February 2019 with Momentum Trains, a consortium of CAF, DIF Infrastructure and
Pacific Partnerships. The order will comprise 117
bi-mode Civity carriages which will make up a total of 29 trains: • 10 long (6-car) trainsets for use on long-distance Regional services (replacing the XPT fleet) • 9 short (3-car) short-distance Regional trainsets (replacing the Xplorer fleet) • 10 short (3-car) Intercity sets (replacing some of the Endeavour fleet) All trains will be maintained at the purpose built
Mindyarra Maintenance Centre in
Dubbo. The first complete 6-car unit arrived at
Port Kembla on 14 February 2024 and was taken by road to Dubbo. On 30 September 2024, the set was transferred by rail from Mindyarra Maintenance Centre to
Auburn Maintenance Centre in
Auburn to prepare for mainline traction testing. Since February 2025, the same set commenced mainline testing on the
Northern Line between
West Ryde and
Epping, the
Western Line between
St Marys and
Blacktown, and on the
Richmond Line between
Richmond and
Riverstone. By October 2025, the PPP contract was dissolved by the
NSW government, citing "negotiations to resolve commercial challenges, avoid further project delays and secure the best outcome for the people of NSW".
Transport for NSW would work directly with the delivery partners, with CAF continuing as the train manufacturer and
UGL continuing to maintain the trains at Mindyarra. File:LR02-Denistone-25-Feb-25.jpg|LR2 at
Denistone station on the first night of testing, 25 February 2025 File:RDA2302-Denistone-25-Feb-25.jpg|RDA2302 at
Denistone, February 2025 File:R2-Eastwood-12Mar25.jpg|R2 at
Eastwood during testing, March 2025 The new fleet has been criticised for its lack of
sleeper carriages, which are available on the XPT. ==References==