Queensland Train Manufacturing Program

The Queensland Government's Queensland Train Manufacturing Program was established to meet the increasing demand for rail transport in South East Queensland over the next 10 years.

The Queensland Train Manufacturing Program will build 65 new six-car passenger trains at a purpose-built manufacturing facility at Torbanlea, in the Fraser Coast region.

As part of the program a new rail facility will also be constructed at Ormeau, in the Gold Coast region.

The Queensland Train Manufacturing Program will support South East Queensland's population and economic growth, as well as Cross River Rail and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Construction of the facilities, trains, and maintenance of the fleet will support Queensland jobs now and into the future. The program also brings with it a pipeline of training and development opportunities. 

The Queensland Government is continuing to deliver the economic and social infrastructure needed to support our growing state.

Key features

The Queensland Train Manufacturing Program includes:

  • construction of 65 six-car passenger trains
  • construction of a purpose-built manufacturing facility in the Fraser Coast region for major manufacturing/assembly works for the new fleet
  • construction of a new rail facility (for train maintenance and stabling) in Ormeau
  • the ongoing operation and maintenance of the fleet and rail facility.

Benefits

  • Increases capacity
  • Improves network efficiency
  • Contributes to economy
  • Contributes to regional growth

Funding

Investment ID: 1804863

Total investment
$9.5 billion
Queensland Government
$9.5 billion

Current status

Downer has been awarded the Design, Build and Maintain Contract to deliver the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.

Construction at both sites has started.

Feedback on the Torbanlea train manufacturing facility and Ormeau rail facility concept designs was undertaken between 4 December 2023 and 2 March 2024.

This feedback is now being reviewed and considered as part of the design development process.

Information about key feedback themes will be provided in mid-2024, with information about the final design to be provided by late 2024. 

Project timeline

  • October 2020: Funding announced for a new fleet of trains.
  • June 2021: Alstom, CAF and Downer announced as shortlisted applicants to deliver Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.
  • October 2021: Torbanlea announced as the location of the train manufacturing facility.
  • April 2022: Early works commenced for the manufacturing facility.
  • Mid-2022: Shortlisted applicants submitted final proposals.
  • October 2022: Ormeau announced as the location for the rail facility.
  • February 2023: Announcement of Downer as the preferred applicant to deliver Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.
  • June 2023: Downer awarded the contract to deliver the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.
  • Late 2023: Site construction works at the manufacturing and rail facilities started.
  • Late 2025: Construction of the Torbanlea train manufacturing facility completed and train manufacturing begins.
  • Late 2026: The first train is completed and begins testing.
  • Late 2026: Ormeau rail facility construction completed.

Future dates are indicative only. 

Accessibility

We’ve been engaging with people with diverse accessibility requirements since 2021 to co-design the new trains. This will ensure the fleet is compliant, accessible and functional for all passengers.

The project has taken onboard all recommendations from the New Generation Rollingstock Commission of Inquiry.

An accessibility advisor has been appointed to the program. 

Queensland Train Manufacturing Program (QTMP) co-design and low-fidelity train mock-up

Video shows a life-size, low-fidelity (lo-fi) mock-up of a Queensland Train Manufacturing Program train. People representing the disability sector had the opportunity to provide feedback on the train’s proposed design through functional trials and structured questionnaires.
Video Transcript

Co-design as a concept is very sound, it identifies issues before they become issues.

This particular co-design process has been one of the better ones, if not the best I've been involved with.

So I'm more than pleased that we've been heard, our recommendations have been acted upon and wherever practicable changes are being made.

Just talking on behalf of people who because of what they're living with, they withdraw from society.

So these are not people that we take much notice of traditionally.

So for me to be able to bring that perspective and to be able to say this is what this person is experiencing when they look at public transport, what's making it accessible for people who have social anxiety?

There's little tiny pockets of space where we can feel more private and more contained and more in control of your environment.

And that's really clever design.

Being able to enter the service where it's completely level allows me to be able to access the facility independently.

If people aren't able to use a particular good or a service, they'll stay home and isolate, which is dangerous.

It's not healthy for people as individuals and it's not good for the community.

50% of people with disability don't currently work for a variety of reasons, and transport's one of them.

So the more people that have employment, the more things they want to do in the community.

Everybody wins from this.

The train builders have never gone through a co-design process before.

They are taking note of what the customer experiences are in the way that they're dealing with the proposed design and understanding why part of that design perhaps doesn't quite work as well as it could or should.

We have train builders on the one hand and you've got the project team from the Department of Transport and then you have the customer group that are working together respectfully and very well, exceptionally well.

Best things are worked out at 1:1 scale, which is to say you come and look at it, feel it, and you find out what does and doesn't work.

What looks good on paper might not work in practise.I have really enjoyed seeing the physical representation and it has made a difference to walk through it and to be able to touch things and to sit and, and to bring a representative, you know, someone with lived experience to, to be able to do that as well was really valuable.

And then to hear them walk away and say I can't wait to get on that train.

And I think we, we, we're doing something good here.

We do have an exceptionally good toilet module with a left and a right-hand transfer option.

I don't know of any other train that offers that.

And that was based on feedback from our group.

So if people hop on this train, no matter who they are, and find that it's a comfortable and enjoyable experience to actually catch the train, I would hope they'd get on and not notice anything because it was so convenient that they didn't have to think.

I don't like that.

That would be my best outcome.

Watching their response to saying people thought about us when they designed this train, I think it's a bigger message.

It is great for the trains, it's really valuable for Brisbane and for Australia and for our public transport systems.

But it's also a bigger message to the wider community that who you are and how you live and what's important to you matters.