The Sydney Trains suburban passenger rail network is the backbone of the city’s daily mobility, spanning 919 kilometres of electrified track and 169 stations. It delivers approximately 720,000 passenger journeys across 3,200 timetabled services each day.

A cornerstone of this system is Reliance Rail, part of the Dexus Diversified Infrastructure Trust portfolio, which was established to finance, deliver, and maintain one of Sydney’s largest and most reliable fleets of suburban passenger trains: the 78-strong Waratah fleet. These trains make up one-third of Sydney Trains’ suburban fleet and carry half of all passenger journeys. Not only does Reliance Rail play a central role in supporting the NSW Government’s transport objectives, but its responsibilities comprise fleet maintenance, renewal and servicing, financing and asset management.

Transforming the PPP

In 2017, Dexus led a recapitalisation that simplified the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) which underpins Reliance Rail. This led to the co-location of the Waratah, Sydney Growth Trains (SGT) and Millennium fleets to the Reliance Rail owned Auburn Maintenance Centre (AMC), which, since 2017, has improved in operational efficiency, enabled shared servicing capabilities and future-proofed the site for fleet upgrades.

In 2022, the recapitalisation was followed by the execution of a $1.8 billion Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL) with a 21-year tenor. The SLL removed refinancing risk from the PPP and embedded Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) incentives into the capital structure, enabling reinvestment into its workforce capability, system upgrades and environmental initiatives. This structure reflects the evolution of PPPs in Australia, which increasingly incorporate ESG mandates, availability-based payment models and community engagement. Reliance Rail’s transparent ESG-linked financing positions it ahead of emerging regulatory standards focused on net-zero alignment.

Dexus Infrastructure’s majority board position has also enabled strategic oversight and alignment with long-term objectives. Through active ownership, Dexus has shaped the PPP’s business plan, driven operational enhancements and strengthened stakeholder relationships across government and industry.

Auburn Maintenance Centre

A critical asset of Reliance Rail is the Auburn Maintenance Centre (AMC), operated by Downer. Strategically positioned within NSW’s high-growth transport corridor, where annual infrastructure investment has more than doubled over the past decade[1], AMC operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with approximately 150 staff, including mobile technicians, providing round-the-clock support to the Waratah, SGT and Millenium fleets in service. The facility includes a 14,000 square metre maintenance shed with seven maintenance roads, an automatic train wash plant, underfloor wheel lathe and wheel condition monitoring equipment. Its hybrid maintenance model, combines preventive, predictive and reactive approaches and is underpinned by advanced diagnostics and a skilled workforce.

Reliance Rail acts as the key intermediary between Downer and Sydney Trains, embedding ongoing ESG initiatives and driving improved reliability and performance through oversight and continuous monitoring. 

Enhancing operational and environmental performance

Reliance Rail’s approach to operational performance is defined by proactive engineering and predictive maintenance practices. The fleet is governed by a comprehensive suite of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), with a strong focus on availability and reliability, for example reliability is assessed by measuring the Mean Distance Between Incidents, which are tracked in kilometres. These and other operational metrics are aligned with the customer impact metrics used by Sydney Trains, ensuring that performance outcomes are aligned with passenger experience, service consistency, energy usage and incident response times.

Through the implementation of a data-driven reliability plan, the reliability of the of the fleet has significantly improved with the noticeable reduction in failure rates and incidents, marking a turning point in operational resilience for a fleet approaching its midlife refurbishment. Information from train systems is continuously monitored to enable early intervention and predictive maintenance, improving customer outcomes and minimising disruptions.

Environmental performance is also a core focus across its operations. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system upgrades across the fleet have delivered a 25% reduction in HVAC energy use, equating to a 13% reduction in total energy consumption. Real-time data monitoring and targeted initiatives at AMC have driven a 33% reduction in waste and supported ongoing efficiency gains in water and energy, including piloting trials on site solar power. These outcomes are directly supported by the capital strategy.

In 2025, Reliance Rail achieved a five-star GRESB rating, with an overall score of 100 (out of 100). The company ranked first out of 650 globally, and the first out of 112 PPP projects globally - an improvement on its 2024 rating of 97 points. The score combines management practices (30%) and asset-level performance (70%), offering a clear, data-driven view of ESG excellence.

Ultimately, Dexus Infrastructure’s rigorous active management demonstrates how disciplined stewardship, data driven predictive analysis and ESG-linked capital strategies can drive long-term value in infrastructure. It is a model for how infrastructure investors can deliver resilient, high-performing transport assets that align with public policy and community expectations, while meeting the evolving demands of investor capital.

[1] Infrastructure 2025 | CBRE