The Government of South Australia entered into a performance-based franchise contract for the operation of the State's train services in 2020 for an eight-year period, with options to extend to 10 years. Under the model the Government:
- retains ownership of rail assets
- sets requirements for levels of services
- sets fare prices, and
- retains the revenue.
In April 2023, the newly elected Government announced a termination of the contracts bringing the service back to public operations. The agreement will see train operator Keolis Downer hand back operational functions by January 2025.
The Government will invest around $15 million a year under an alliance model from 2023-2025 to prepare for full operational control of the train fleet, along with $3 million in transitional arrangements for the tram services.
Key Dates
| Oct 2019 | EOIs Open |
| Nov 2019 | EOIs Close |
| Dec 2019 | RFT Open |
| Mar 2020 | RFT Close |
| Sep 2020 | Contract Award |
| Jan 2021 | Commence Franchise Operations |
| Apr 2023 | Early termination of franchise agreement announced |
| Jan 2025 | Operations/Service Completion - Trains |
| Jul 2025 | Operations/Service Completion - Trams |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | SA Department for Infrastructure and Transport |
| Shortlist: | Adelaide Next (comprising DB Engineering & Consulting, Bombardier Transportation and John Holland), Keolis Downer, and TrainCo (comprising Transdev Australasia and CAF Rail Australia). |
| Successful Tenderer: | Keolis Downer - Trains Torrens Connect - Trams |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jul 2019 | Government of SA announced intention to franchise train services. |
| Oct 2019 | Expressions of interest opened. |
| Dec 2019 | Shortlisted consortia announced. |
| Feb 2020 | Invitation to Supply released to shortlisted consortia. |
| Sep 2020 | Keolis Downer was awarded the $2.14 billion contract and will commence operations of Adelaide’s train services from January 2021. The performance-based contract is for an initial eight year term. |
| Apr 2023 | The Government of South Australia announced it has reached an agreement to transfer the Adelaide Metro Services contract back to public operations. The agreement will see train operator Keolis Downer hand back operational functions by January 2025. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2020)
Sector
Other Transport
Procurement approach
Service Contract |
Location
South Australia |
Resources
