On Monday morning this week, I boarded one of the first trains from the Mariyung fleet, also known as the new intercity fleet, to travel from the Blue Mountains to Central. People in my community are excited to see these new trains. As we farewell the comfortable old V‑set trains and start to see this not‑so‑new intercity fleet on our tracks, I felt it was important to cover a bit of history. I have become known in this place for asking questions on notice, bringing petitions, talking to the media, making private member's statements and moving notices of motion, from 2016 through to 2022, about the "fat trains"—the botched train fleet that was purchased off the shelf from South Korea by the previous Government. They were not fit for purpose.

Having spoken about those fat trains for eight of the 10 years that I have been a member of this Parliament, I felt it was important to get up again tonight to give a bit of a history lesson—a reminder—to those people who are complaining about some of the features of the new trains or wondering why they took so long to get on the tracks. The Berejiklian Government purchased a fleet of low‑quality cut‑price trains from South Korea. They were an off‑the‑shelf design with inefficient heating and rigid seats that were not reversible. A number of incredibly large infrastructure projects were commenced to widen the tracks along the Blue Mountains line so that these fat trains could pass one another. The previous Government relaxed the safety standards in tunnels, so that the trains could pass, because it is very difficult to carve out heritage sandstone tunnels.

The previous Government told us when it purchased this new intercity fleet that it would be a 25 per cent saving for the taxpayer. I have just checked some numbers. There was a $4 billion cost blowout and a five‑year delay to make these trains fit the tracks and fit through the tunnels. I told the Minister of the day, "You need to measure twice and cut once." He must have forgotten his tape measure. I reminded the government of the day, many times over, that those trains should have been built fit for purpose. They should have been manufactured in New South Wales. We have the expertise. We could have provided those jobs to local workers. When the union that represents railway workers said that long distance commutes should not be in driver‑only mode, that we needed our guards, I ran that fight as well on behalf of those workers.

I provide that bit of historical context today and also acknowledge that, as we farewell the ageing V‑set trains, people are looking forward to travelling on the new trains. They love the big windows. I boarded the train with Eddie, who uses a wheelchair. He was so excited because it makes his travel far more comfortable. He can sit comfortably, and he can use a toilet that is wide and built for people with mobility issues. People love being able to put the trays down to sit their laptop on and do some work as they travel. It takes a couple of hours to get from my place in Lawson to Central on these trains, so it needs to be a comfortable ride. People also like the fact that they can charge their phones and laptops. I welcome the Mariyung fleet. I hope we have smooth travel, and I look forward to this Government providing reliable and efficient train travel into the future.