The Department of Transport and Planning delivered 70 High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMTs), a new train maintenance facility in Pakenham East and a light service facility in Calder Park through a public-private partnership with Evolution Rail.
The new HCMT fleet was fully delivered in 2024 and now operates on the Pakenham/Cranbourne Corridor and Sunbury Corridor through the Metro Tunnel.
Passenger services
The first HCMT began operating on the Pakenham line in December 2020..
In October 2023, HCMT’s were introduced on the Sunbury line to ensure smooth operation through the Metro Tunnel..
The Metro Tunnel was switched on in 2025 and the HCMT fleet now operates between Sunbury and Pakenham via the tunnel.
Passenger benefits
The HCMT trains include a range of features, including:
- an extra carriage allowing more space for 20 per cent more passengers
- clear walkway through the entire train end to end
- improved seats and more handholds than the current metropolitan fleet
- priority seating throughout the train, located close to doorways and windows
- enhanced accessibility features, including 14 allocated spaces at accessible boarding doors
- more space for bikes and prams
- real-time information through dynamic route maps and passenger information displays
- improved passenger safety including greater CCTV surveillance
- cooling and heating appropriate for Melbourne conditions.
Passengers will notice many features on the HCMTs. That make travelling more comfortable.
They include:
- The door buttons are different to other trains on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines and are designed to international standards. Wait until the button turns green, then press it once to open the doors.
- Passenger information display screens in the centre of the carriage provide passengers with information about the next station and show which side of the train the doors will open.
- Priority seats are coloured orange. These seats should be offered to passengers with special needs, including older people, people with a disability or a person who is pregnant
- Multi-use spaces are located in the middle three carriages. These areas are fitted with Velcro straps under the seats to secure wheeled items (such as prams or bicycles). These areas provide space for passengers with large or bulky items like prams or suitcases
- A hearing aid loop is fitted throughout the train to assist passengers who wear hearing devices
- New blue assistance buttons are located next to dedicated wheelchair spaces and accessible seats. This connects you to the driver and can be used if you need help when it is not an emergency. In an emergency, use the red button
- In an emergency, passengers can communicate with the driver via the red emergency button located in every doorway.
Using the trains with a wheelchair or mobility aid
Passengers who need the driver’s help to board should use the first door of the first carriage, where the main boarding ramp is.
There are 14 allocated wheelchair spaces at each end of the train, in the first two carriages.
HCMTs have external cameras so drivers can see passengers on platforms who need help to board.
Find out more about how public transport in Victoria is being made more accessible.
Local jobs and training
The HCMT Project created jobs for more than 1,100 Victorians throughout the supply chain, thanks to its 60 per cent local content target.
The trains were assembled in Newport using train parts made in Morwell, Bendigo, Hallam and other parts of Victoria. They are maintained at a state-of-the-art depot in Pakenham East.
The project was delivered in line with the Victorian Government's Major Projects Skills Guarantee. The workforce included 15 per cent of positions for apprentices, trainees or cadets and 7 per cent for workers that face barriers to employment.
Designing the new train
The project team worked with accessibility groups, passenger groups, members of the public and technical stakeholders to design the HCMT.
These groups provided more than 2,500 pieces of feedback that were considered for the final train design.
First Peoples' artwork
Victorian First Peoples artists and collectives were invited to design artwork for of the exterior of a the HCMT.
Wurundjeri woman Mandy Nicholson was selected and awarded an $18,000 Victorian Government creative commission to produce a special livery for one of the HCMTs in the fleet.
The winning design, ‘Wurundjeri Biik (Wurundjeri Country), explores the Wurundjeri culture’s connection to Country and our shared journey.
The winning artwork was selected from a pool of four shortlisted artists and collectives, including:
- Wurundjeri woman Mandy Nicholson (Hampton Park)
- Kirrae Whurrong woman Fiona Clarke (Warrnambool)
- Boon Wurrung man Adam Magennis (Mornington)
- Ballarat-based mob of three Koori men, Pitcha Makin Fellas, who belong to different language groups.
Their work is generous. It shares and celebrates Indigenous perspectives on the shared journeys we make through our city and reminds us just how long people have been travelling across this land.
A panel of judges, including two Traditional Owner representatives, selected the successful applicant.
Infrastructure upgrades
Power upgrades and platform extensions were delivered on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, to prepare for the new trains.
In addition, the Sunbury Line Upgrade (completed in mid-2023) prepared the line for the new trains to run through the Metro Tunnel.
Contact us
For more information, email: HCMTProject@transport.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window)
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