In 1994, Wet Wet Wet’s Love Is All Around was the number one single in Australia, the West Coast Eagles won their second AFL Premiership, and Paul Keating was Australia’s Prime Minister.

It was also the year the Midland Railway Workshops closed, signalling the end of rail manufacturing in Western Australia, some 27 years ago.

However, today, the rail industry returns to Midland with the opening of the new Bellevue Railcar Assembly Facility.

It will be here that 246 new C-series railcars will rotate through five stations with specialised tasks to assemble them with a local workforce and more than 50% local content.

Already onsite is the first railcar body, which has had its coupling mechanism (which connects railcars together) installed, and been rolled on to the first assembly station where it will have its windows, insulation, flooring, doors, interior ceiling and wiring, crash box and electrical cabinets fitted.

The new C-series railcars, designed by Alstom, feature wider doors, USB charging ports for passengers and higher backed seats.