Ballarat North Workshops
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway engineering and maintenance |
| Founded | April 1917 |
| Headquarters | Ballarat , Australia |
Area served | Victoria, Australia |
| Products | Locomotive and wagon repair, train and tram refurbishment, component overhaul, manufacturing of rail vehicles and components |
| Owner | Alstom |
Number of employees | 150 |
| Parent | Alstom |
Ballarat North Workshops is a railway engineering center located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, and is currently owned by Alstom. Covering an area of 5.5 hectares, it is situated close to the intersection of the Mildura and Serviceton rail lines.
History
Victorian Railways inaugurated the workshops in April 1917, responding to political demands for decentralisation despite their initial preference to enlarge the Newport Workshops in Melbourne. The facility originally concentrated on the upkeep and repair of locomotives and wagons. Between 1919 and 1922, it constructed thirteen steam locomotives, comprising eight DD class and five A2 class units. By the 1960s, production had broadened to include goods wagons, and during the 1980s, work extended to servicing Melbourne's suburban electric multiple units.
The decade of the 1980s saw significant modernization efforts with upgrades to the infrastructure, although this period also involved a reduction in workforce from 540 employees. Following the dissolution of Victorian Railways, control of the workshops passed to the State Transport Authority, then later to the Public Transport Corporation. In 1999, the facility was privatized and acquired by Alstom.
In 2005, Alstom divested its Australian and New Zealand operations to United Group (UGL) and its subsidiary UGL Rail, which took over leasing of the workshops. When UGL’s lease expired in 2012, Alstom resumed direct management of the site.
Operations
Currently staffed by approximately 150 employees, the workshops offer maintenance services to multiple Victorian rail operators. Their activities encompass manufacturing, refurbishment, and component overhaul for Melbourne’s train and tram systems as well as for V/Line, Pacific National, and Rail First Asset Management.
Notable projects have involved refurbishing Comeng and Hitachi trains for Connex Melbourne, fitting Train Protection & Warning System devices on V/Line’s fleet, and producing 61 new bulk grain hoppers with a 100-tonne capacity for Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia. Additionally, the workshops completed outfitting X'Trapolis 100 trains imported from France and are set to manufacture their successor model, X'Trapolis 2.0 trains, starting in 2024.
Separately, Alstom manages a Ballarat East facility acquired from Bombardier Transportation. This site is responsible for maintaining V/Line’s VLocity and heritage train fleets under a decade-long contract valued at approximately 900 million euros.