AUSTRALIA: Melbourne’s first G Class tram has entered passenger service on Route 59, starting a 100-vehicle rollout designed to expand low-floor access across six routes over coming years.

Melbourne G Class Tram Enters Passenger Service
Melbourne’s new next-generation G Class tram at Maidstone depot (Copyright: Victorian Department of Transport and Planning – Adam Chandler | Flexity™)

Route 59 opens a 100-tram rollout

The first vehicle began carrying passengers on 30 July 2026, leaving Essendon Depot at 8:30 a.m. for Flinders Street Station. The Victorian Government’s launch announcement describes it as Melbourne’s first new tram design in more than a decade.

Route 59 links the CBD with Airport West. The fleet will next expand to Route 57 between the CBD and West Maribyrnong and Route 82 between Footscray and Moonee Ponds, before moving onto Routes 12, 48 and 58 over coming years.

Transport Victoria says the broader A$1.85 billion program covers 100 trams and supporting infrastructure. Vehicles will enter service progressively as more units are delivered and driver training is completed.

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Low-floor design expands accessibility

Developed from Alstom’s Flexity 2 platform, the 25-metre G Class has low-floor access, dedicated spaces for wheelchairs and mobility aids, more doors, wider aisles, heating and cooling, improved passenger information and regenerative braking.

Each tram can carry up to 150 passengers, around twice the capacity of the Z and A Class vehicles it will replace. More than 1,000 stakeholders, including disability groups, drivers and passenger representatives, contributed to the design.

Local production and maintenance in Victoria

Alstom’s service-launch announcement values its 2022 contract at €700 million. The vehicles are being assembled at Dandenong with more than 65% local content, while Alstom has invested more than A$40 million (€24 million) at the site.

Alstom will maintain the fleet at a purpose-built facility in Maidstone. As deliveries continue, the new vehicles will allow some of Melbourne’s longest-serving high-floor trams to be retired and extend low-floor access across more of the network.

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