The Sydney Trains A set or Waratah is a class of electric multiple unit trains operated by Sydney Trains in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The train was named Waratah by the NSW Government after the flower of the same name, which is the state's floral emblem.
The design is based on the M set and was the largest rolling stock order in Australia's history. The 626 carriages make up around half of the Sydney Trains fleet, and replaced two-thirds of the 498 S set carriages. Delivery commenced in July 2011 and was completed in June 2014. An order for an additional 24 eight-carriage trains of a very similar design was placed in December 2016, with these trains expected to be delivered in late 2018.
Video Sydney Trains A set
Public Private Partnership
The carriages were delivered by a joint venture between Downer Rail and Hitachi for Reliance Rail under a Public Private Partnership (PPP). As part of the PPP, Reliance Rail will also maintain the trains for a minimum of 30 years at the purpose built Auburn Maintenance Centre facility. At least 72 sets must be made available to Sydney Trains every day during the contract period.
Reliance Rail took on debts of $2.4 billion at cheap interest rates before the global financial crisis. Higher interest rates and changes in the financial sector after the GFC meant the company would have difficulty refinancing its debt, leading the Government of New South Wales into talks with Reliance Rail to resolve the financial status of the project. In February 2012 the Government agreed to bail out the project for $175 million by becoming the sole shareholder in 2018.
Maps Sydney Trains A set
Design
The Waratah was designed at the Downer EDI Rail design offices, then at Clyde, NSW, Australia. The sets are formed of eight carriages - a break from the previous standard Sydney practice of four car sets, which are then coupled to form eight car trains. The configuration is: trailer driving car + motor car + motor car + trailer car + trailer car + motor car + motor car + trailer driving car. This means that guards operate from the rear of the train rather than the centre and that commuters are able to walk through the entire train in an emergency. The trains include external CCTV cameras to assist guards.
Carriage interiors were designed by Transport Design International. The inside of the train includes additional Emergency Help Points and CCTV cameras compared to older classes. Improvements to the DVAs (Digital Voice Announcements) with differential pitch of the voice allow more natural sounding speech. 'Smart' air-conditioning automatically adjusts to the outside temperature and the number of passengers on board. Accessibility features include 16 wheelchair spaces, portable wheelchair ramps in the end cars, red fabric on priority seating and additional handrails compared to older trains in the fleet.
The A set is the first passenger train in the world to use LED lamps for all lighting (except headlights). In doing so, the designers managed to remove almost 800kg in reflectors and ballasts associated with fluorescent units, as well as reducing power consumption to around a quarter of that used by fluorescents. Woollen moquette fabric, a durable, vandal-resistant material, is used to cover the train's seats. The seats were a groundbreaking design, using specially developed shock absorbers such that the reversing feature is damped (try reversing the seats quickly and then slowly) - this was a safety feature added to allow reversible seats which would contain passengers in the event of an accident. Detailed design of the train was completed in July 2009.
Construction and delivery
The joint venture between Downer EDi Rail and Hitachi was established to design, manufacture and commission the trains. The stainless steel bodies are partially constructed by Changchun Railway Vehicles in China before being shipped to Downer EDI's Cardiff Locomotive Workshops facility for final assembly, testing and commissioning. The manufacturing facility at Cardiff received an upgrade of over $20 million to cater for the needs of the project. Other infrastructure works included the construction of the Auburn Maintenance Centre and new substations at various locations around the network.
A four car pre-production test train was built to test the train sub-systems and compatibility with the Sydney suburban network. This was intended to allow any issues with the train to be corrected before the production trains entered service. The test train was expected to perform trial runs from mid 2009, but did not begin network testing until April 2010. The pre-production train concluded testing in August 2010. The first production set began network testing in August 2010 and by November 2010, three sets were undergoing testing.
The first trains were scheduled to be introduced in late 2010, but a series of delays pushed back their introduction. The first train intended for service (A3) was delivered to then-operator CityRail for acceptance on 20 April 2011. CityRail had 20 business days to accept or reject the train, but a decision was postponed by two weeks to allow Downer EDi to correct further defects. CityRail rejected the train due to safety concerns and a number of defects. The defects included; 'Milky' effect windscreens - apparent when under direct sunlight, poor-quality steel welding as evident in the indents seen on some areas of the carriage exterior, gaps in the plastic moulding, handrails not lining up with stairs and software problems.
Once the majority of the problems were resolved by Downer EDi, CityRail allowed A3 to commence service, though operating under special conditions. It entered service on 1 July 2011, operating its maiden run from Redfern to Macarthur via the City Circle and Airport. Initially, it operated two return services from the City to Macarthur via the Airport line during the off-peak period on weekdays, and all day on the Airport & East Hills and South lines on weekends. On 14 October 2011, A3 became the first Waratah set to operate during peak hours. As more Waratahs became available, the trains were progressively rolled out to most lines of the Sydney suburban network. On 2 June 2014, the State Government announced the final Waratah set (A80) had been delivered.
Originally, the Waratahs were intended to replace all 498 S set carriages, but in February 2013 it was revealed that some S sets would still be required in order to provide services on the South West Rail Link. An option existed to extend the order, but in March 2013 the government indicated it would not take this up. Instead, in May 2014, the government announced its intention to purchase new trains for the NSW TrainLink intercity network. These new trains are set to commence service in 2019 and will release at least some H sets from intercity services, allowing them to be transferred to Sydney Trains to replace the remaining S sets.
Sydney Growth Trains (2018)
Despite proceeding with the intercity train order, the New South Wales Government announced on 1 December 2016 that 24 new suburban trains had been ordered. The new trains share more than 90 percent of their design with the Waratahs. The trains are expected to be delivered from the end of 2018. The $1.7 billion contract was awarded to Downer EDI. CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles will manufacture and deliver the trains on Downer's behalf. Downer EDI will maintain the trains for a minimum of 25 years. As many as 45 additional sets may be added to the order at a future date. The trains were originally to be based at the Mortdale Maintenance Centre, but in late 2017 it was decided that the trains would instead be based alongside the A sets at the Auburn Maintenance Centre. Nevertheless, work to upgrade the Mortdale Maintenance Centre will continue.
In service
Formation
The 626 carriages form 78 eight car sets (numbered A1, A3 to A78 and A80) with 2 spare driving cars. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:
- A1: D6301-N5301-N5501-T6501-T6601-N5601-N5401-D6401
- A3: D6303-N5303-N5503-T6503-T6603-N5603-N5403-D6403
up to
- A78: D6378-N5378-N5578-T6578-T6678-N5678-N5478-D6478
- A80 (Former A2): D6380-N5380-N5580-T6580-T6680-N5680-N5480-D6480
The two spare driving cars are D6379 and D6479. These were the first vehicles delivered, along with N5342 and N5442, and are part of the four car testing and development train.
The first 40 sets were delivered to CityRail with the NSW Government's Waratah logo on each carriage. Following the formation of Sydney Trains in July 2013 these were replaced by the Sydney Trains logo and the sides of the train near the driver's cabs were covered with an orange wrap.
The A sets currently operate on these lines:
- Airport, Inner West & South Line: City Circle to Macarthur via Airport/Sydenham; City Circle to Campbelltown or Leppington via Granville
- Bankstown Line: City Circle to Lidcombe/Liverpool via Sydenham and Bankstown
- Olympic Park Line: Lidcombe/City to Olympic Park
- North Shore, Northern & Western Line: City to Chatswood, then Hornsby via Macquarie Park or Berowra via Gordon; City to Strathfield, then Epping via Rhodes or Emu Plains/Richmond via Parramatta
In service incidents
On 22 January 2018, Waratah A42 hit the buffer at the end of the track on platform 2 at Richmond station just before 10am. The train then lurched backwards, causing leading passengers who were readying to disembark, to fall and injure themselves. The impact caused some of the carriages to lift and gangways between carriages to crush. Sixteen patients in total, including the train driver and another crew member were treated. None of the injuries were considered life threatening.
Gallery
- A-set
References
External links
- Technical drawings and specifications
- Railcorp delivery progress reports
- Where the Waratah train is operating
- Rolling Stock Public Private Partnership - Summary of contracts
Source of article : Wikipedia
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