Railways and Tramways of Australia

From Vienna to Melbourne

 

The first Siemens Nexas train was launched in Melbourne on 21 March 2003.

 

A contract was awarded to German company Siemens in 2000 for 62 new three-car electric trains to replace the existing Hitachi trains. The trains were ordered for M>Train, a subsidiary of National Express, which was one of two operators of Melbourne’s suburban trains. However, by the time they were ready for service, National Express had ended its franchise, so the trains were delivered to the Victorian Government.

 

Referred to as ‘Nexas’, from ‘National Express Australia Siemens’, the bodies of the new trains were built in Vienna, Austria, and various components were manufactured by local industries in Victoria. Fitting out was completed at Newport Workshops in Melbourne.

 

The trains were based on an existing Siemens modular design, with each three-car set consisting of two motor cars and one trailer car. Car bodies were manufactured from flat stainless steel. Each car included two sets of double doors on both sides. Power cars had seating for 84 passengers, while trailers cars seated 96.

 

An official launch was held on platform 10 at Flinders Street station. A three-car train consisting of 722M, 2511T and 721M, was parked at the platform and was open for inspection by guests. Speeches were given by Alan Chaplin, Director of former operator M>Train, and Victorian Premier Steve Bracks. Guests travelled on the new train to Brighton Beach before returning to Flinders Street. Revenue service commenced on 3 April.

 

An option for a further ten sets was taken up in 2005, with the final cars entering service in January 2006. Braking issues from late 2006 saw around half the Siemens trains withdrawn from service. All later resumed duty, with two sets combining to form six-car trains.

 

Bibliography

P Clark, ‘Suburban survey part 9: Melbourne’s new trains’, Railway Digest, vol. 41, no. 9, September 2003, pp 14–517.

M Guiney, ‘Melbourne’s electric railways: the first 100 years’, Newsrail, vol. 47, no. 5, May 2019, pp 143–59.

‘New Siemens train launched’, Transit Australia, vol. 58, no. 6, June 2003, p 176.

‘Siemens train launch’, Newsrail, vol. 31, no. 5, May 2003, p 139.

‘The Siemens Nexas train for Melbourne’, Transit Australia, vol. 58, no. 2, February 2003, pp 31–5.