In what will be bad news for Illawarra commuters, reversible seats will be a feature of the replacement for the ageing XPT fleet.
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But a Transport for NSW spokesman said the style of reversible seats would not be suitable for the new fleet of trains being built for the South Coast line.
The regional fleet, which also includes the XPLORER and Endeavour trains, travels to east coast capital cities, and country centres like Dubbo, Grafton and Casino.
Just before the last election campaign the government signed a $2.8 million contract with successful tenderer Momentum Trains to build 117 new carriages, as well as a maintenance facility at Dubbo.
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In a release from Transport for NSW, some of the features of the new regional fleet were "more comfortable, reversible seating, window blinds, charging points for electronic devices and overhead luggage storage similar to what is available on airlines".
The inclusion of reversible seats would be of interest to South Coast commuters.
The government had opted not to include flip seats in the New Intercity Fleet which are expected to reach the South Coast line in 2021.
This was despite Transport for NSW's own research showing commuters felt "reversible seating should be a requirement for the NIF train".
The research also found that fixed seating would be "perceived as a backwards step".
Transport for NSW has said the reversible seating on the new regional fleet is different from the seating that could have been used on the South Coast line.
The regional fleet's seating was not able to be moved by commuters; instead staff will flip them around at the end of each journey.
"Compared to the new regional rail fleet of trains, the New Intercity Fleet will carry significantly more customers," the Transport for NSW spokesman said.
"Intercity customers told us comfort was a priority, which is why we included two by two seating instead a three by two format used on Oscars, as well as amenities like charging points.
"Both comfort and capacity would have been compromised if reversible seating was included on the New Intercity Fleet."