For the public private partnership (PPP) project of the Reliance Rail Consortium (consisting of Downer EDI, ABN Ambro, Babcock & Brown and AMP Capital) for the public metropolitan and suburban commuter system in Sydney, the joint venture of the vehicle manufacturers Downer EDI Rail (Australia), Hitachi (Japan), Changchun Railway Company and John Holland appointed FOGTEC Rail Systems as supplier for the required fire protection system.

With a volume of 78 eight-car trains, it is one of the largest rail vehicle procurement programmes ever implemented in Australia. In addition to the development and manufacture of the vehicles, their operation on behalf of Rail Corp, the local provider of transport services, is also included in this contract for the whole consortium.

The leading member of the consortium for vehicle development, Downer EDI, opted for FOGTEC Brandschutz on the basis of its technical concept and because of the specific technical experience of the rail systems team. Its fire protection system for fire detection is based on the smoke aspiration systems of the 7000 series.

Thus, with the largest new procurement project in Australian railway history, FOGTEC has been successful in entering the market of railway-land Australia.