Electric Trains

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. Can the minister inform the house whether, since the old 2000 Jumbo trains were taken out of service a few weeks ago, any department staff have reported the 4.23pm or 4.38pm Gawler trains departing Adelaide station as being dangerously full?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning, Minister Assisting the Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (15:00): Can I thank the member for Mitchell for his question. Mr Speaker, you will recall that yesterday we were canvassing the issue of the retirement of the 2000 class diesel trains, which are the oldest of the train fleet that we had in service, and we were talking about the government's policy to procure the new 4000 class electric trains (or the EMUs as they are called), to procure 22 of those EMU sets, which is roughly the equivalent of an extra 66 railcars.

We retired the 29 carriages of the 2000 class diesel trains and, given that we have, I am advised, taken into service approximately 20 of these three-car EMU sets or the equivalent of 60 single carriages, there is a substantial increase to the train fleet. That has been necessary, as obviously there is a growing demand for public transport services, including in particular the rail services, and that has been borne out by the fact that, in the last financial year, we had a record patronage level on our public transport services and significant increases on our train services.

Specifically, on the member for Mitchell's question, as to those two services, which I understand to be (I do not recall the exact times) before 5pm in the afternoon, being full, I do not know the exact consist configuration of those trains, but if they are departing the Adelaide Railway Station before 5pm, they are likely to be smaller consist trains than the ones that they will put on during peak hour. I will investigate the matter and come back to the Mitchell, but I should say that patronage has been increasing, as I indicated, certainly in the last financial year, but there is a growing trend of that. Carriages have been experienced by commuters as more and more full, which of course justifies the reason why we have invested in the additional rolling stock to grow capacity across the network.