Millions to fix M>Trains

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Millions to fix M>Trains

Taxpayers will have to pay millions of dollars to modify the brakes on M>Train's fleet of new Siemens trains, the State Government confirmed yesterday.

Drivers have complained that they have insufficient control over the force of the brakes and that the new trains, which feature electric brakes, restrict the way they can be removed from the scene of a breakdown.

The electric brakes, which lock up in a breakdown, are not compatible with the air brakes of older trains, meaning the older trains cannot be used to push the newer models out of the way.

Rain, Tram and Bus Union state president Marc Marotta said it would require two trains, front and back, to haul a broken down new train out of trouble, something usually reserved for removing train wrecks.

The brakes are the latest controversy involving the 62 three-car trains worth $500 million. In December it was reported that the trains could not fit past some platforms on some stations.

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But Siemens spokeswoman Jeni Coutts defended the company's trains yesterday.

"Dead (broken down) trains don't happen every day, it's not a regular occurrence," she said.

New trains could recover one another and the company was finalising a design for a modification to enable older trains to operate the new trains' brakes. Converter boxes would be fitted to allow older trains to work Siemens's electric brakes.

The State Government yesterday confirmed that taxpayers would have to pay for the modifications.

Ms Coutts said a rumoured $8 million bill "wasn't out of the ballpark".

But she said the company would cover the cost of modifying the brakes to make their force more gradual. Revised software was being installed to deal with the problem.

Three of the trains were being tested with the new software yesterday, with eight in the workshop awaiting reprogramming, and another 13 trains awaiting assembly.

The State Opposition yesterday described the situation as "another Batchelor muck-up", blaming Transport Minister Peter Batchelor for causing delays to the commissioning of the trains.

"Up to $200 million in new trains is idle when they should all be carrying passengers or being tested," said Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder.

Mr Batchelor's spokesman denied there was a delay, saying the reprogramming should only take about a week, with brake-compatibility issues not affecting the roll out of the new trains.

Mr Marotta blamed the former National Express management for ordering "the cheapest train they could get".

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