New Victorian trains to cost almost $1b

The Victorian government will spend almost $1 billion constructing 25 new trains in the state.

Acting Premier James Merlino on Tuesday announced the state budget will include the X'Trapolis 2.0 trains, which will gradually replace the ageing Comeng fleet.

Manufacturing will begin in late 2022, with the trains expected to be running on the Craigieburn, Frankston and Upfield lines by 2026.

Craigieburn's train maintenance facility will also be upgraded as part of the project.

About 60 per cent of design and manufacturing will be done in Victoria, supporting about 750 jobs across manufacturing and supply chains.

Some parts will be bought from China and Europe.

"These are trains made in Victoria, for Victorians, by Victorians, this is a wonderful announcement," Mr Merlino told reporters at Alstom's Ballarat workshop, where about 150 new jobs will be created.

A skeleton staff of 25 have been working at the facility, which has remained dormant since the last order of X'Trapolis 1.0 trains was completed in July 2020.

Alstom Australia director Mark Coxon said the workshop was an integral part of the community.

"We've seen many generations of workers come through this facility learning their craft and applying their trade, building trains for Victoria," he said.

He said 15 per cent of jobs at the site would go to apprentices, while seven per cent will go to disadvantaged Victorians.

Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the high-capacity trains were "more reliable, more accessible, more energy-efficient".

He said they were also designed with the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in mind.

"Coming out of COVID, we do know that many people have changed their travel options and one of the big things that people want is more space on the train," Mr Carroll said.

"People want to get in and out of the train a lot more easier and don't want to be in close contact."

He said the X'Trapolis 2.0 trains will have six carriages and a capacity of 1200, with plenty of room for people with a disability and parents with prams.

The Comeng fleet has a capacity of 760.

Shadow Transport Infrastructure Minister David Davis questioned whether the Victorian government ran a proper tender process for the project.

"Victorian jobs are good, but let's get the right jobs with the right trains," he said.

When asked about the genesis of the project, a Transport Department representative said it had been testing the Alstom-built trains for two years in Belgium laboratories.

"We've done this work to try to make sure that we can get a train that's proven, that can be adapted to a network, and not require infrastructure upgrades," head of rolling stock development Ben Phyland said.

It's not yet known how many seats will be on the new trains.

Treasurer Tim Pallas will hand down his seventh budget on Thursday.