The New South Wales opposition plans to build new trains locally and will begin the procurement process for a new fleet to replace the Tangara trains in its first term if elected.
It is part of Labor's policy platform ahead of the March election, which also includes a plan to transform thousands of temporary teaching positions into permanent roles.
Both policies will be unveiled on Sunday by leader Chris Minns at the party's annual conference in Sydney.
"The Liberals have always said that New South Wales is not good at building trains. They are wrong," Mr Minns said.
The pledge comes as the rail union plans to switch off Opal card readers as part of its ongoing industrial dispute with the state government over pay and conditions — including its safety concerns with the billion-dollar South Korean-made intercity fleet.
In August the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) refused to operate all overseas-made trains for 24 hours, reducing services by about 75 per cent and causing major delays for commuters.
Labor says the move to manufacture trains within NSW would create at least a thousand long-term jobs during the design and build phase.
"I am determined to bring back rail manufacturing to New South Wales after a decade of the Liberals sending thousands of jobs offshore and buying trains, trams and ferries filled with defects, faults and failures," he said.
By the end of its first term, Labor has promised to set a minimum target of 50 per cent of future rolling stock contracts to be assigned locally.
The Tangara fleet which began operating in the late 1980s was originally designed to run for 30 years, but Transport for NSW extended their design life for another decade.
Labor's plan will also apply to the Millennium fleet, which is set to be retired in 2035, with extensive consultation with manufacturers across the state commencing once elected.
Those manufacturers remain capable of building our state's fleet, according to one rail expert.
University of Wollongong Associate Professor and rail expert Philip Laird said not only is the state ready to take on manufacturing, but the facilities are also still in use.
"There are facilities in Sydney that build those trains and send them to other states," he said.
According Dr Laird, the facility at Clyde in Sydney's west — now closed— could be repurposed, along with sites in Auburn, Epping, and Cardiff in Lake Macquarie which are currently used for maintenance.
"We used to do all of it in Australia and in New South Wales, and we used to export the trains as well and we're quite capable of making them again.
"Back in the '30s, the Victorian government railways were making the finest and fastest trains in the southern hemisphere.
"That was called the spirit of progress. So I'd like to see a spirit of progress return."
'A job you want to stay in'
Mr Minns has also tabled plans to "back the NSW teaching workforce" by making changes to their employment status.
The plan would see 10,000 of the 27,506 temporary or casual roles, moved to permanent status.
"The parents and students of NSW deserve a government that will take decisive action to stop merged classes and turn around declining education outcomes," Mr Minns said.
"We can't have a situation where teachers are leaving our schools because they don't know whether they will have a job next term, or next year.
"Teaching should be a job you want to stay in for your entire career."
Data presented to a NSW parliamentary inquiry into teacher shortages in September showed that last year 2.9 per cent of first-year permanent teachers had resigned.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announced this morning that Liberal would also be starting a similar education scheme, making more than 10,000 temporary teachers permanent.
She said the government scheme will help secure teachers in areas and subjects that are in need.
"Because there is record funding going into public schools across the state, a lot of school principals are using that funding to create new positions but often they're putting them in as a temporary role as they look at the funding and make sure that that continues to flow," she said.
"We think there's a real possibility now to make sure that those roles are converted to permanent roles."
