Eight carriages long and sporting an orange-coloured driver cabin, the arrival of a shiny new train for Sydney’s over-stretched rail network signals the end of the line for the state's old S-Set trains, dubbed “sweat sets” because of their lack of air conditioning.

The first of 24 new Waratah trains – designed in Australia but built in China as part of a $1.7 billion contract – was unveiled at a giant rail yard at Auburn in Sydney’s west on Thursday by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who conceded she too will be glad to see the back of the S-Sets.

“We're hoping this is the last we ever see of the S-Sets,” she said of the trains dating to the 1970s which will be replaced by the new Waratahs.