Industrial unrest has struck Melbourne's high-tech next-generation trains two years before the first of them is due to hit the tracks.
The union that represents Metro's train drivers has instructed its members not to co-operate with the rail operator in its preparations for the arrival of the 65 trains to Melbourne's network from mid-2019.
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Preparing for High Capacity Metro Trains
Rail systems on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines are being upgraded in preparation for the new high capacity metro trains.
The high-capacity trains will relieve peak-hour overcrowding on two of Melbourne's busiest lines, in part by prioritising standing room over seating space in their internal configuration.
They will be built to carry between 1200 and 2000 passengers each, depending on their configuration.
But it is the trains' impact on drivers rather than passengers that has vexed the union.
The high-capacity trains will include a number of "semi-automated" features, which the union fears could usher in a de-skilling of drivers and subsequent loss of conditions among its ranks.
It is intended that each of the new trains will be capable of semi-automated operation of some functions that are currently the exclusive preserve of qualified train drivers, including turnbacks, train preparation and stabling.
Some train functions will also be capable of being remotely controlled.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union's assistant divisional secretary, Jim Chrysostomou, said the union merely sought a "transparent conversation" with Metro about what impact the new trains would have on drivers' roles, but had been given the cold shoulder.
"It could lead to a replacement of the driver's role," he said.
In an act the union took as a sign the company intends to freeze it out of planning, Metro Trains blocked Mr Chrysostomou from attending a meeting it held on June 7 with a group of its drivers and with Evolution Rail, the consortium that will deliver the 65 trains.
In two circulars issued to union members this week and seen by The Age, Mr Chrysostomou said Metro had "refused the union entry to the building and would not enter into discussions about the next generation train".
The company had also sought to sidestep the union and directly appoint its own employee representatives in planning for the trains' arrival, he said.
He advised the locomotive division's 1700-strong membership base to reject any such approach from Metro.
"If you are requested to participate in matters relating to the next generation train, kindly decline and refer the matter to the union," Mr Chrysostomou said.
Metro responded that Mr Chrysostomou, who is not a Metro employee, showed up unannounced and uninvited. The RTBU had a forum for raising industrial concerns, the company said.
"We regularly support our drivers' learning and development with any new process, system or fleet types and the introduction of High Capacity Metro Trains is no different," Metro spokeswoman Sammie Black said.
The union took strike action that shut down Melbourne's rail system during EBA negotiations in 2015, and Metro is already preparing for the risk of potential industrial action by its train drivers over this issue.
It has produced an industrial relations strategy, which the union has obtained, which notes that the high capacity trains project will require changes to drivers' established work practices.
"These include restrictive provisions around rostering, route running, training, depots, train preparations, demarcation issues around the performance of work and provision of contract labour," the strategy states.
The 65 trains are to be built as part of a $2.3 billion public-private partnership with the Victorian government that also includes construction of a state-of-the-art maintenance depot in Pakenham East.
The trains will initially run on the Cranbourne-Pakenham corridor, then through the new Metro rail tunnel once it opens in 2026 and on the Sunbury line.
Metro is also preparing to operate Australia's first fleet of driverless passenger trains on the Northwest Line in Sydney from 2019.