Bombardier’s Flexity Swift
A new fleet of trams is being built by Canadian company Bombardier Transport to move people through Melbourne’s vibrant city centre.
We sat down with René Lalande, Managing Director at Bombardier in Australia, to hear about his vision for the company in the coming years. He is quick to highlight that trains are a more green and social way to travel than cars, and he hopes to see a continued uptick in commuter’s use of trams, light rail, as well as inter city travel by high speed rail, which he sees in the future of Australia.
The Bombardier team let us sticky beak around their production floor in Dandenong, Victoria, where workers were busy building up trains and trams from bogies to brakes, wiring to window-wipers.
Canadians seeking business opportunity in Australia need look no farther than the example laid by Bombardier Transportation. Bombardier are rolling out a fleet of the new, state of the art E Class trams, several of which are already at work on the popular Route 96. These “flexity swift” models pick up passengers in the Melbourne CBD on Bourke street, heads through Southbank to St. Kilda to the south and trendy suburbs Fitzroy and Collingwood to the north.
The opportunities for Canadian providers in Australia in the transport sector extend beyond rolling stock and service. With proceeds from the Australian Government’s Asset Recycling Initiative to be re-invested in productive infrastructure there are a number of new rail and road projects proposed, including passenger rail projects such as Sydney Rapid Transit (second harbour rail crossing), Melbourne Metro, Brisbane’s BaT (bus and train) tunnel, Perth’s Forrestfield Airport Link, and a number of light rail projects.
In addition to new projects, opportunities exist for innovative technologies that improve safety, environmental performance, or operational efficiency of existing infrastructure.
Canadian companies large and small are encouraged to reach out to the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) in Australia to learn more.
To watch the Bombardier video, click here.
To contact the Canadian TCS in Australia, email sydny-td@international.
