UGL Rail is an Australian rail company specialising in building, maintaining and refurbishing diesel locomotives, diesel and electric multiple units and freight wagons. It is a subsidiary of

UGL Limited UGL, formerly known as United Group, is an engineering company. The company provides construction, maintenance, and asset management services to the rail, resources, and infrastructure sectors, and corporate real estate, facilities management, a ...

and is based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, with a staff of 1,200 across Australia and Asia. It operates factories in

Broadmeadow Broadmeadow is the geographic center of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".Maintrain Auburn, Spotswood and Bassendean. While it used to operate a factory in

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

, the plant was shut down and the equipment sold off.

History

Hunter railcars 2751 & 2701 (45512879812)

Founded in Australia in 1899 by Cornish brothers Alfred and Ralph Goninan as an engineering and manufacturing company for the coal industry, A Goninan & Co Limited was incorporated as a public company in 1905.Goninan, Alfred (1865–1953)
Australian Dictionary of Biography It entered the rail business in 1917 via Commonwealth Steel Products Company of

Waratah Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is ''Telopea speci ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, a wheel and axle manufacturer, because those items could no longer be imported from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A Goninan & Co moved to more convenient freehold land at

Broadmeadow Broadmeadow is the geographic center of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the "Nineways".Howard Smith. In August 1999, A Goninan & Co was sold to

United Group United Group is an alternative telecom provider in Southeast Europe that operates both telecommunications platforms and mass media outlets. History United Group was formed in 2007, as a Luxembourg-registered multinational entity, in a merger o ...

and re-branded United Goninan. In 2005, it was renamed United Group Rail, as part of a reorganisation following United Group's purchase of

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

's Australian subsidiary, Alstom Transport Australia and New Zealand.

Factories

While most items were manufactured at Broadmeadow, it did purchase Comeng's Bassendean, Western Australia plant. This plant rebuilt many

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a glo ...

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

locomotives with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

components in the 1990s as well as building 17

Westrail P class The P class are a class of diesel locomotives built by A Goninan & Co, Bassendean for Westrail between 1989 and 1991. History In 1988, Westrail placed an order for 15 CM25-8 Dash 8 locomotives for bulk grain and general freight haulage with ...

and 60

NR class The NR class are a class of Australian diesel locomotive built by A Goninan & Co for National Rail between 1996 and 1998. They are currently operated by Pacific National. The C44aci model locomotives built by UGL Rail at Broadmeadow adopted ...

locomotives. In 1983, a factory was established in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

to fulfill a contract for

Queensland Railways 2600 class The 2600 class were a class of diesel locomotive built by UGL Rail, A Goninan & Co, Townsville for Queensland Rail in 1983-1984. History The 2600 class entered service on the McNaughton and Newlands coal mine, Newlands lines. They were based a ...

locomotives that required them to be built locally. It later built the 2800 class.

Products

National

*14

Australian National EL class The EL class are a class of diesel locomotives built by A Goninan & Co, Broadmeadow for Australian National in 1990–1991. History In June 1989, Australian National awarded a contract for 14 Dash 8 locomotives to A Goninan & Co with the fi ...

diesel locomotives *120

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

diesel locomotives *137 C44aci diesel locomotives

New South Wales

*6 New South Wales 43 class diesel locomotives *20 New South Wales 47 class diesel locomotives *5 stainless steel power vans *150 S set EMU carriages *160 K set EMU carriages *56 C set EMU carriages *455 Tangara EMU carriages *196

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

EMU carriages *14 Hunter Railcar DMU carriages *12

QR National 5000 class The 5000 class are a class of diesel locomotive built by United Group Rail, Broadmeadow for QR National between 2005 and 2007. History In 2004, QR National ordered twelve 5000 class locomotives from United Group Rail. They were a heavy haula ...

diesel locomotives *19 QR National 5020 class diesel locomotives

Victoria

*4 4D EMU carriages *22

V/Line Sprinter The Sprinter is a diesel railcar built by A Goninan & Co in Broadmeadow, NSW for V/Line between 1993 and 1995. Design origins The Sprinter concept dates back to 1989, when the Public Transport Corporation, having seen a substantial increase i ...

DMU carriages

Queensland

Queensland Railways 1150 class The 1150 class were a class of diesel locomotive built by GE Transportation and UGL Rail, A Goninan & Co for Queensland Railways between 1952 and 1956. History The 1150 class were the first mainline diesels purchased by Queensland Railways. Ten ...

diesel locomotives *13 Queensland Rail 2600 class diesel locomotives *50 Queensland Rail 2800 class diesel locomotives *3 UGL Rail PH37ACmai diesel locomotives

Western Australia

*20 Western Australia ADL/ADC class DMU carriages *17

diesel locomotives *9 Prospector/Avonlink DMU carriages *3

GE C36-7 The GE C36-7 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems, GE do Brazil and A Goninan & Co between 1978 and 1989. It is an updated GE U36C with a 16-cylinder FDL engine. It is externally similar to the GE C30-7 but h ...

diesel Locomotive, built in 1978 for

Hamersley & Robe River railway The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than ...

Hong Kong

*Refurbishment of 762 MTR Metro Cammell M-stock carriages for MTR *

Hong Kong Light Rail The Light Rail, also known as the Light Rail Transit (LRT), officially the North-West Railway, is a light rail system in Hong Kong, serving the northwestern New Territories, within Tuen Mun District and Yuen Long District. The system opera ...

20 Phase 3 LRV *UGL and

CSR Corporation Limited CSR Corporation Limited (CSR), formerly known as China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp was a Chinese manufacturer of locomotive and rolling stock. In 2015, the company merged with China CNR to form CRRC. History In 2007 the China Sout ...

22 Phase 4 LRV (Design)

New South Wales

Sydney Metro

UGL is a part of

Metro Trains Sydney Metro Trains Sydney Pty Ltd (MTS) is the operator of the Sydney Metro. It is a joint venture between Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation, John Holland Group and UGL Rail formed in September 2014. It operates the network with a fleet of 22 Alstom Met ...

which constructed and now operates the

Sydney Metro Northwest Sydney Metro Northwest was a rapid transit project involving the construction of a rail line through the north-western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The line included the conversion of the existing Epping to Chatswood Ra ...

New Intercity Fleet

UGL is a member of the RailConnect NSW consortium, a joint venture between UGL,

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...

and

Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...

, which has designed and will build and maintain more than 500

NSW TrainLink D set The NSW TrainLink D sets, also referred to as the ''Mariyung'' trains, are a class of electric multiple units being built to replace NSW TrainLink's Intercity electric multiple unit fleet, slated to replace the entire V set fleet and allow ...

train carriages. Delivery commenced in the second half of 2019. Maintenance will be carried out at the

Kangy Angy Maintenance Centre The Kangy Angy Maintenance Centre is a railway depot at Kangy Angy on the Central Coast, New South Wales to maintain the NSW TrainLink D sets. The depot was officially opened on 24 February 2021, and is located off Enterprise Drive. The depot i ...

UGL Unipart

UGL Rail has been responsible for the maintenance of all of

CityRail CityRail was a passenger railway brand operated by the State Rail Authority from 1989 to 2003 and by RailCorp from 2003 to 2013 with services in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities in New South Wales, Australi ...

's EMU fleet at Maintrain, Auburn since March 1994 following the closure of

Electric Carriage Workshops The Electric Carriage Workshops, often abbreviated to Elcar, was the principal maintenance centre for the New South Wales Government Railways electric multiple unit fleet. Construction commenced in 1922, coinciding with the electrification of th ...

and

Eveleigh Carriage Workshops The Eveleigh Carriage Workshops were built by the New South Wales Government Railways in 1888 as a depot for its passenger carriage fleet. The workshops are located west of what is now Redfern station on the northern side of the Main Suburban r ...

. In the early 1990s A Goninan & Co refurbished S and V sets at Broadmeadow as part of the Citydecker program. Since December 2011 UGL Unipart, a 70:30 joint venture with

Unipart Unipart Group is a multinational logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sector ...

, has maintained most of CityRail and later

Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban- suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...

and

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary interc ...

's EMU fleet. Maintenance on H sets was initially carried out at

Eveleigh Eveleigh is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eveleigh is located about 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...

but from 2018 is done at other depots with major work done at Maintrain, Auburn as for other types of Sydney Trains sets. The contract to maintain 1,050 Sydney Trains carriages including H and V sets was extended for two years from 1 July 2019.

Country Regional Network

UGL Rail has been responsible for maintaining the NSW Country Regional Network since January 2022.

Metro Trains Melbourne

UGL Rail owns 20% of

Metro Trains Melbourne Metro Trains Melbourne, often known simply as Metro, is the franchise operator of the electrified suburban passenger service on the Melbourne rail network. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture between Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation (60% ...

, the consortium that has run

's metro railway network since November 2009.

Adelaide

In July 2020, UGL Rail became responsible for maintenance of the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

as part of the

Torrens Connect Torrens Connect is a public transport operator in Adelaide, Australia that commenced operating bus and tram services as part of the Adelaide Metro network under contract to the Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure in July 2020. It is ...

consortium.UGL and John Holland to operate Adelaide trams
''

Metro Report International ''Metro Report International'' is a business journal for urban transport professionals which covers the metro, light rail, tram and commuter rail industries worldwide. It includes news and articles looking at urban transport around the world, ...

'' 12 March 2020

References

External links

Company website
* ttp://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/855.html Alfred Goninan {{DEFAULTSORT:Ugl Rail Locomotive manufacturers of Australia Rolling stock manufacturers of Australia Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1899 Australian companies established in 1899 Alstom Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne