Engaging with Victorians
Targeted engagement
Through a targeted engagement program, hundreds of Victorians were given the chance to influence the design of Melbourne’s new X’Trapolis 2.0 train.
The four-phased engagement program ran from April 2022 to July 2023, and involved consultation with train drivers, accessibility groups and passenger representatives on early concept designs, followed by virtual reality tools and a life-size mock-up, to help inform the final design of the train.
During the final engagement phase, 1,632 diverse visitors experienced and provided feedback on a mock-up of one-and-a-half train carriages.
The mock-up
The mock-up featured life-like passenger features, allowing participants to experience passenger displays, seats, grab poles, accessibility spaces, and many other key elements of the design. We received 641 individual pieces of feedback, which resulted in 58 important design changes, including:
- improvements to the semi-automatic wheelchair ramp to make it easier for mobility aid users to get on and off the train, and make deployment of the ramp easier for drivers
- additional braille and tactile markings to priority seats
- lowered help point buttons to make calling for assistance easier
- increased space under companion seats to make it easier for guide dogs and support animals to fit
- installation of flashing lights on the doors and additional audio tones to signal doors opening and closing
- additional high-visibility markers on internal and external doors to improve accessibility.
Photo of a group of people in orange vests sitting on a train mock-up and recording their feedback.
Photo of a group of people on the X’Trapolis 2.0 train mock-up. One person is using a manual wheelchair, and another is using a mobility scooter.
Co-design
Co-design is vital to ensuring our new trains and trams are being built for all Victorians right from the beginning. By actively involving key stakeholder groups in the design process, we gain valuable insights into accessibility challenges and have been able to identify issues and opportunities for improvements before our new trains and trams start taking passengers.
These changes improve passenger and driver experience, making journeys more comfortable and accessible.
“Seeing some of the feedback included in the final design is a testament to the way the teams at DTP and Alstom, along with our partners, are working together to listen to the community and come up with the best possible product.”
Tricia Malowney, DTP Chief Accessibility Advocate
Victorians can expect to see the first X’Trapolis 2.0 trains testing on the network from 2025. These trains will be gradually introduced on the Craigieburn, Upfield and Frankston lines as we retire our long-serving Comeng Fleet.
For more information
Updated