Two years ago we brought back local railcar manufacturing to Western Australia through the METRONET WA Railcar Program and now the first fully completed, locally manufactured C-series train is ready for testing on the network.

The design for the C-series has been revealed for the first time with the new 143-metre train also fitted out with about 400 seats.

The fully completed railcar set will be the first locally built and manufactured C-series train to enter operations later this year on the Joondalup and Mandurah lines.

Two C-series train sets are already undergoing detailed diagnostic testing on the network but still require seating and handrails to be installed, as well as the external design applied.

More than 15 Western Australian businesses are working with Alstom to provide components for the railcars  and when the first new C-series train enters operation later this year, it will be the first locally manufactured and built train to join the rail network in more than 30 years.

The WA Railcar Program will see 246 new C-series railcars and six new Australind railcars built, while more than 130 workers will be directly employed at the METRONET Bellevue Railcar Manufacturing and Maintenance Facility.

The new C-series trains will help meet growing rail network demand in the future with a significant expansion underway through METRONET.