Transport for New South Wales has awarded the UGL Unipart Rail joint venture an A$131m contract to modernise Sydney Trains’ fleet of 446 Tangara suburban electric multiple-unit cars by July 2018.

The aim is to extend their service life and undertake ‘customer experience enhancements’ on the EMUs which were built by Goninan in 1988-95, to ‘align’ them with the latest generation of EMUs on the Sydney network.

Interfleet supported TfNSW in tendering the modernisation contract. The scope includes an upgrade of the control systems and doors. Mitsubishi Electric will undertake traction systems upgrades.

UGL Unipart Rail was formed by  UGL and Unipart Rail in 2011 to provide heavy maintenance and supply chain services for Sydney’s metropolitan fleet of 1 050 vehicles.