One of the state's New Intercity Fleet trains due to enter service on the Central Coast and Newcastle line has travelled to Newcastle Interchange for the first time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The six-car train ventured to the line's northern terminus on Tuesday night, stopping briefly on platform three before making its return south.
A limited number of the NIF trains, which were due to enter service late last year but only began arriving from South Korea where they are being manufactured in December, have been in testing for about three months.
Runs have been made across the metropolitan and intercity network. In recent weeks the trains have been tested on the Central Coast and Newcastle line, travelling as far north as Wyong up until Tuesday night.
The NIF fleet will replace the state's four-decade old V-set trains.
The new trains are WI-FI enabled, feature device chargers, flip-down tables and improved accessibility and storage spaces.
A row between the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and the NSW government about how the trains will operate has clouded their implementation.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said NSW TrainLink staff would begin training on the NIF trains in the next few months ahead of their implementation "later this year".
"Over the next few months you'll see more of these trains testing on the network, as we move towards the first passenger services later this year," the spokesperson said.
"The new fleet will be introduced progressively starting with the Central Coast and Newcastle Line, followed by the Blue Mountains Line and the South Coast Line.
"NSW TrainLink will begin training staff, including customer service guards on the New Intercity Fleet in the coming months.
"Staff will be trained progressively to align with the rollout schedule on the respective lines."
The NIF fleet, which includes 55 trains and 554 double-deck carriages, cost more than $2.3 billion.
The fleet will be maintained at a soon-to-be-complete $265 million facility in Kangy Angy, near Tuggerah.
READ MORE