Alstom To Revolutionise Rail Travel In New Zealand With €538 Million Deal For 18 Battery-electric Trains And Decades Of Maintenance Excellence

Published on September 9, 2025

Alstom, a world leader successful sustainable and smart mobility, has won a €538 cardinal (NZD $1.065 billion) statement from nan Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC). The statement includes nan design, production, and transportation of a caller fleet of commuter trains, on pinch 35 years of wide fleet attraction offered nether Alstom’s FlexCare Perform program.

The woody comprises 18 five-car Adessia Stream B battery-electric aggregate portion (BEMU) trains to beryllium introduced successful New Zealand for nan first time. The move is simply a important measurement guardant for New Zealand’s obstruction evolution, substituting diesel substance pinch cleaner artillery technology, enhancing rider experience, and enhancing ratio successful work passim nan network.

Replacing Ageing Diesel Trains

The caller fleet will switch nan existent diesel locomotive-hauled trains that are nearing retirement, expected to beryllium phased retired betwixt 2028 and 2029. Manufactured astatine Alstom’s Savli installation successful India, these trains will bring cutting-edge creation and sustainable exertion to New Zealand’s railways.

One of nan biggest advantages of battery-electric units is their expertise to run seamlessly connected non-electrified sections of nan network. For Wellington, this intends cleaner, emission-free services connected nan Wairarapa and Manawatu lines, which person agelong relied connected diesel traction. This alteration is group to importantly trim c emissions, aligning pinch New Zealand’s broader ambiance goals.

Comfort-Centric Design: Introducing Tūhono

The caller fleet is designed to transportation up to 475 passengers per train and scope apical speeds of 120 km/h. Built connected Alstom’s proven Adessia commuter platform, nan trains are being specifically customised to meet nan unsocial demands of Wellington’s obstruction network.

Ensuring a comfortable travel is cardinal to nan creation philosophy, pinch each train equipped to include:

Dedicated spaces for wheelchairs, bicycles, luggage, and prams.

Onboard toilets for convenience during longer journeys.

Onboard vending machines and h2o dispensers will beryllium provided to cater to rider convenience.

The fleet will beryllium named Tūhono, a te reo Māori connection meaning “to connect” aliases “to unite.” Reflecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s taste heritage, nan livery and creation will incorporated Te ao Māori elements. The activity will beryllium led by Māori creation agency Indigenous Design and Innovation, ensuring nan trains not only service communities functionally but besides resonate profoundly pinch taste identity. Community engagement will further guideline creation choices, embedding section values into nan last product.

Purpose-Built Maintenance successful Masterton

To guarantee semipermanent reliability, Alstom will oversee attraction from a recently built installation successful Masterton. Developed by nan Greater Wellington Regional Council, nan centre will location precocious systems for train upkeep and artillery management, ensuring nan fleet remains dependable and businesslike passim its 35-year operational lifespan.

Alstom’s FlexCare Perform attraction programme has been developed to present predictive, condition-based support. By adopting this forward-looking strategy, nan strategy reduces downtime, prolongs nan lifespan of assets, and ensures safe, reliable capacity passim mundane operations.

Deploying State-of-the-Art Technology

Several Alstom technologies will debut successful New Zealand arsenic portion of this project. Among them is nan HealthHub, a predictive and condition-based monitoring strategy that allows real-time study of train health. This helps operators reside imaginable issues earlier they origin work disruptions.

Additionally, nan fleet will incorporated a connected driver advisory system, enabling intelligent power and optimisation of power use. The trains’ artillery systems will play a important domiciled successful emission-free operations done nan 9 km Remutaka Tunnel—a cardinal carrier corridor linking Wellington pinch nan Wairarapa.

Sustainability and Future Impact

The modulation to BEMUs represents a milestone successful New Zealand’s ambition to modernise nationalist carrier and trim greenhouse state emissions. By replacing diesel locomotives pinch clean, battery-powered trains, nan region will little its c footprint and lend to nationalist targets for net-zero emissions.

Beyond biology benefits, nan Tūhono trains are designed to elevate nan rider experience. Faster, much reliable, and much comfortable journeys are expected to boost nationalist assurance successful obstruction travel, perchance encouraging much commuters to displacement from backstage cars to sustainable wide transit.

A Vision for Integrated Communities

The title Tūhono captures nan principle of nan project—linking people, communities, and cultures. It serves to constituent to nan double domiciled of obstruction arsenic some a carrier work and a unifying constituent betwixt regions. With its operation of cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and taste responsiveness, nan fleet embodies not only a carrier renewal but a imagination for nan early of mobility successful New Zealand.

As nan task progresses, Tūhono’s presence successful nan years up will usher successful a caller section successful Wellington’s carrier history. These trains are much than conscionable transport; they are emblems of progress, sustainability, and taste practice that merge generations and pave nan measurement for a greener, smarter future.