THE Australian state government of Victoria has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to three consortia bidding to operate and maintain Melbourne’s 1000 track-km commuter network. They are:
• Go Places Melbourne (a consortium of Go-Ahead Australia, Acciona Rail and Tokyo Metro)
• RATP Dev JH Downer (comprising RATP Dev, John Holland and Downer), and
• Melbourne Grow (a consortium of MTR Corporation Australia, CRRC and DT Infrastructure).
The contract with the current operator, Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM), the consortium of MTR Corporation (60%), John Holland Group (20%) and UGL Rail (20%), expires next year.
From late 2027 the successful bidder will be responsible for operating more than 2000 services a day across the network, fleet maintenance including the operation of seven depots, and managing 227 stations and 7000 employees.
Over the next six months, the shortlisted consortia will develop proposals setting out how they can provide the best value to Victoria. The state government’s Department of Transport and Planning says it will be expecting bidders to provide details of delivering stronger network performance and an improved passenger experience, with a focus on punctuality, improved accessibility and innovation.
The new contract, the potential value of which has not been disclosed, is expected to run for up to 15 years. MTM currently operates the commuter network under a contract that was extended in 2023 for 18 months, with the previous seven-year deal valued at approximately $A 6.3bn ($US 4.45bn).
