After a five year wait, Newcastle and Central Coast passengers will be the first to enjoy Sydney Trains’ new Mariyung fleet when it rolls out of Newcastle Interchange for its first passenger service on Tuesday, December 3.
The first Mariyung Train will leave Newcastle at 8.21am, stopping at 20 stations, including Wyee, Warnervale, Wyong, Tuggerah, Gosford, Point Clare, Tascott, Koolewong and Woy Woy, on its way to Sydney Terminal.
After years of delays under the former Liberal Government, which awarded the fleet contract to a Korean firm in 2016, the NSW Government came to an agreement on the final operating model with the rail workforce in August 2023.
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator has also approved the fleet’s operating model.
So far, 15 Mariyung train sets have been completely modified by local workers at Kangy Angy.
Two of those sets will begin service on December 3, while the rest go through the rigorous safety testing regime before being progressively rolled out along the Central Coast and Newcastle Line.
Mariyung Trains will then be progressively rolled out on the Blue Mountains Line and the South Coast Line.
Modifications include relocation of CCTV viewing screens and passenger door controls, changes to the digital radio system, adjustments to fire detection management and fire-resistant materials and emergency door release functions.
Modifications have also been made within the rail corridor to support the changes made to the Mariyung fleet operating model, including station platform extensions, relocation of train stopping markers, signalling equipment and overhead wiring structures.
The New Intercity Fleet will set a new standard of travel for commuters who make approximately 26 million journeys a year on the electrified intercity network.
The improvements include wider, more spacious two-by-two seating with arm rests, tray tables and high seat backs, charging ports for mobile devices, dedicated spaces for luggage, prams and bicycles and modern heating and air conditioning.
They will also open up greater options for travel for people with disabilities and mobility issues with dedicated spaces for wheelchairs and accessible toilets.
Last year, more than 12.7 million trips were taken along the Central Coast and Newcastle Line, and it’s hoped the much-anticipated new fleet will boost patronage.
Named after the Darug word for Emu, the Mariyung can operate in 4-car, 6-car, 8-car or 10-car configurations, and seat more than 820 passengers in a 10-carriage train.
The Mariyung trains will progressively replace older fleets including the V-sets, which were first introduced to NSW in the 1970s, and the Oscar trains that debuted in 2006.
Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said the trains will provide a massively improved level of comfort for all passengers.
“These trains were supposed to be on the tracks five years ago,” she said.
“It’s been a priority of mine to ensure that we got them out of sheds and on the tracks by the end of this year.”
I’m incredibly proud that our Government has been able to deliver that.
Chief Executive of Sydney Trains Matt Longland said getting the trains on tracks had been “extremely complex”.
“We are pleased we have been able to work in consultation with our workforce to locally modify these trains and get them into service,” he said.
Related CCN articles
New trains to be running by next year – August 2023
Push to rollout new trains at Kangy Angy – May 2022
New train fleet declared safe – September 2021
Kangy Angy facility to be home for 55 new trains – June 2020
New intercity trains doing test runs – May 2020
Keep the V sets as they are the most comfortable and ditch the oscars which are horrible. So these new trains are actually called EMU
This is a wonderful thing. Hats off to the Honourable Jo Haylen (a great Australian) for effectively ‘turning the water into (non-alcoholic) wine’
What is the speed.Hope that we are moving away from dunkie speed .We are behind of the rest developing countries from over 30 years when our developing countries around Asia they have the fast trains.What happened to Australia? It shows the quality of our leaders in this country.Dumbos and brainless
About time, hopefully the timetables will be upgraded as well and one year some track upgrades could be implemented. At least this government is getting things done.
I have sat in these seats over distance they are cheap and nasty the arm rest are designed so you múst sit up perfectly and traveling backwards for 3hrs sickening, as a person with à disability it destroyed me.. Each time you travel more than 45mins it should be FREE. very disappointing 🥴.unhappy
if the Vsets were only good for 50 years and the Oscars have only managed 15 years, how long will these chariots be good for?
the money spent on the set of trains should have been spent on reopening the line north of Armidale to wallangra so we In the new England highlands would have proper public transport
Let’s give these contracts to Australian manufacturers. That way the trains( and whatever we need) will be built to our needs and specifications so the finished product will go straight into operation. The products will be less expensive because they will not need to extensively modified to meet our requirements.
The two trains prior to this five year old import, where built in Newcastle.
How many more years will it take to move past all the terrible decisions the LNP made all those years as Government of NSW