Melbourne’s new G Class trams carry first passengers

Melbourne’s next generation of trams has entered passenger service, with the city’s new G Class vehicles beginning limited runs on key western suburbs routes and signaling a major shift in how the tram network will operate over the coming decade.

A quiet debut for a long-anticipated fleet

After years of planning, construction and testing, the first G Class trams are now carrying paying passengers on the Melbourne network. Reports from local transport observers indicate that initial services began in late July on Route 59 between Airport West and Flinders Street, with a single tram operating selected trips as part of a controlled roll-out.

Publicly available information from the Victorian Government shows that the G Class program covers 100 low-floor trams, backed by an investment package of more than a billion dollars and supported by complementary works across the network. Earlier budget documents and official project updates had flagged early to mid 2026 as the target window for entry into service, with trial operations ramping up through the first half of the year before passengers were welcomed aboard.

The first passenger runs have been kept deliberately modest, with only a small number of services operating and some vehicles returning to driver training duties between outings. Discussion among Melbourne tram enthusiasts suggests that this staged approach is designed to bed down operations, gather performance data in real-world conditions and ensure drivers are fully familiar with the new technology before a broader deployment.

Even in this early phase, sightings of the new trams in regular traffic are being seen as a symbolic moment for a city whose tram network is often described as the world’s largest. For passengers on the first services, the new fleet represents a visible shift toward a more accessible and higher-capacity system.

Designed for accessibility, comfort and capacity

Project material released over recent years describes the G Class trams as a step-change in design compared with the older high-floor vehicles they will progressively replace. Each tram is articulated into three sections, with a fully low-floor interior and multiple wide doors aimed at speeding up boarding and alighting. Capacity figures published during earlier planning indicate room for around 150 passengers, roughly twice that of some long-serving high-floor models still operating in Melbourne’s west.

The low-floor layout is intended to work in tandem with new and upgraded platform stops to make travel easier for passengers using mobility aids, prams or luggage. Government budget papers for 2026/27 highlight a program of level-access stop upgrades and associated power and infrastructure works, framed as “critical priorities” to prepare the network for next generation trams and to help meet national accessibility standards.

The interior of the G Class, as shown in project imagery and public video coverage, focuses on wider aisles, more multi-purpose spaces and improved passenger information systems. Handrails and seating are arranged to open up circulation space, while modern air-conditioning, LED lighting and surveillance systems reflect contemporary expectations for urban transport fleets.

Energy efficiency has also been promoted as a core feature. Project documentation and sustainability reporting link the new trams to cleaner transport objectives, with regenerative braking and modern traction systems designed to reduce energy use per passenger compared with the ageing high-floor fleet.

Local manufacturing and jobs in Victoria

The G Class program has been positioned as both a transport upgrade and an industrial investment. Public information on the project notes that the trams are being built at Alstom’s facility in Dandenong, with a requirement for at least 65 percent local content. Government reporting and financial disclosures connected to Victoria’s sustainability bond program state that the project is supporting up to around 1,900 local jobs across manufacturing, maintenance and the broader supply chain.

Construction of the dedicated Maidstone Tram Maintenance Facility in Melbourne’s west has been a key enabler of the new fleet. The depot, completed ahead of the first vehicles arriving in 2025, provides stabling, heavy maintenance and testing infrastructure tailored to the G Class design. Early test runs from Maidstone onto the wider network have been a familiar sight over the past year, with vehicles trialed on various corridors to validate clearances, power demand and interaction with existing stops and junctions.

The focus on local content aligns with previous rolling stock programs on Melbourne’s rail network, including the more recent X’Trapolis 2.0 trains. Together, these projects are being promoted as a way to maintain a skilled workforce in Victoria’s rolling stock sector, smooth out production cycles for manufacturers and build up expertise that can be applied to future transport initiatives.

For communities near the Maidstone facility and the lines served by the first G Class trams, the program also brings ancillary economic activity, from construction work on depots and substations to the gradual renewal of tram stops and associated streetscapes.

Western routes first, with more lines to follow

From the outset, planning documents have identified routes 57, 59 and 82 in Melbourne’s inner and western suburbs as the first beneficiaries of the new trams. These lines, serving areas such as West Maribyrnong, Airport West, Moonee Ponds and Footscray, have long relied on older high-floor vehicles and experience heavy demand at peak times. Government budget material released in May 2026 reiterates that the first 50 G Class trams will be progressively rolled out on these routes.

Subsequent stages will extend the fleet to routes 12, 48 and 58, according to the same budget announcements and associated route summaries. These lines run through busy inner-city corridors including Collins Street and key interchange locations near the new Town Hall Station, where crowding has intensified as rail and tram networks become more integrated.

Recent public commentary by transport watchers suggests that the early rollout pattern will focus initial vehicles on Route 59 before cascading additional trams to Routes 57 and 82 as more units are delivered and more drivers are trained. Online discussions among passengers and enthusiasts indicate that the presence of G Class trams on any given day remains somewhat unpredictable at this stage, with vehicles sometimes taken out of passenger service to support training and testing cycles.

Delivery schedules outlined in community forums and earlier project briefings point to an expected rate of around 30 trams per year, meaning the full replacement of high-floor trams across the nominated routes will take several years. This staged approach allows time for stop upgrades, power system enhancements and operational adjustments across the network.

Accessibility upgrades and ongoing challenges

While the arrival of the G Class trams has been widely welcomed by passengers and advocacy groups, attention is already turning to the supporting infrastructure that will determine how accessible the network becomes in practice. The 2026/27 budget includes funding for new level-access tram stops on corridors such as High Street in Northcote and Thornbury, as well as planning work for upgrades along Sydney Road in Brunswick and Coburg and Keilor Road in Niddrie.

However, public debate captured in local media coverage and online forums suggests concern that many stops on current and future G Class routes remain non-compliant with modern accessibility standards. Comments from passengers highlight locations where boarding still requires stepping up from street level, undercutting the benefits of low-floor trams for people using wheelchairs or pushing prams.

Transport planning documents describe accessible stops as a multi-year task involving complex trade-offs between road space, heritage streetscapes, parking and traffic management. Additional works, including new substations such as the one planned at Wattle Park, are also needed to ensure the power network can support the higher demand from larger, modern trams.

Advocacy groups and community members are using the G Class rollout as a platform to push for clearer timelines on when particular routes and stops will be upgraded. The early entry into service of the new trams has sharpened those calls, with many arguing that rolling stock and stop works need to progress in lockstep if Melbourne is to deliver a truly accessible tram network by the end of the decade.