The order, which is included in the 2016-17 Victorian state government budget, will bring the total VLocity fleet to 264 cars operating as 88 three-car-sets when the new cars enter service in 2019.

The cars will be manufactured at Bombardier’s plant in Dandenong, Victoria, and will include around 69% local content.

As part of the Victorian government’s recently-announced $A 18m Regional Rail Connectivity Project, Bombardier will enhance passenger connectivity across the regional fleet through the installation of 4G telecoms technology following the successful completion of a pilot programme this year.

V/Line regional rail services in Victoria carried 17.9 million passengers for the 12 months to June 30 2017, an increase of 10.2% on the previous year.

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