Metro Trains will operate Melbourne’s rail network until at least mid-2026 after the Andrews government extended its $6.3 billion contract for 18 months while it completes the Metro Tunnel project.
A Victorian government spokesperson confirmed on Thursday night it had extended Metro’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of 2024, for 18 months, but could not say how much the extension was worth.
Metro’s contract has been extended but the tram network is up for grabs. Credit:Simon Schluter
The contract to run Melbourne’s 250 kilometre-long tram network will go out to tender, however, with a new operator potentially taking over from Keolis Downer at the end of 2024.
A Department of Transport and Planning notice posted online on Thursday said the new tram contract would “modernise the experience for our passengers”.
Metro has operated the rail network since 2009 and its current seven-year contract, renewed in 2017, came with a possible extension of up to three years.
The extension means Metro will continue to operate the rail network through the construction of the $12.6 billion Metro Tunnel project, which the Andrews government has said will open in 2025.
Metro is closely involved in the construction of the project, which includes five new underground stations in the CBD and inner-city, and upcoming testing ahead of its opening.
The group is owned by a consortium made up of Hong Kong’s public transport operator MTR Corporation, construction giant John Holland and UGL Rail, which is a subsiduary of construction group CIMIC. John Holland and CIMIC off-shoot CPB Contractors is building the underground rail tunnel.
Metro Trains chief executive Raymond O’Flaherty said the company would focus on “providing our passengers with safe and reliable services, every day and playing our part to deliver the network of the future”.
“Over the coming years we will continue to see the transformation of our network, most notably the opening of the Metro Tunnel,” he said in a statement.
Keolis Downer Victoria’s acting chief executive Adele McCarthy said the company would put in a “competitive bid” to keep the Yarra Trams contract which “expands on the extraordinary work we’ve delivered … over the past 14 years”.
Metro won the 2017 contract after promising to reduce train cancellations but failed over the following three years to meet that target.
Metro’s average punctuality over the 12 months to January was 92.9 per cent – just above Public Transport Victoria’s target of 92 per cent – while reliability was 98.3 per cent, missing its target by 0.2 percentage points.
However, it was forced to give one free day of travel to commuters last year after falling short of its punctuality target in July, when it fell to 91.6 per cent.
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