<p>New South Wales’s RailCorp may do an about-face and purchase the third tranche of the Millennium train that it opted to defer last year in preference for a public-private partnership (PPP) fleet overhaul.</p> <p>RailCorp is understood to be reconsidering the 60-carriage third stage of the project as a stop-gap measure before it receives the 498 new cars under the PPP arrangement, the <em>Australian Financial Review</em> reports.</p> <p>Millennium train manufacturer EDI Rail said it had submitted a revised proposal for the tranche, the paper reported.</p> <p>The contract for the $1.5bn PPP fleet replacement – which EDI Rail is also bidding for – is not expected to be awarded until 2006, with new carriages arriving in 2010.</p> <p>Last year, transport services minister Michael Costa deferred the final stage of the Millennium train with a view to including the 60 carriages in the PPP contract.</p> <p>But RailCorp is said to need the 60 carriages sooner than the scheduled PPP fleet replacement. </p> <br />