CityRail A set
Encyclopedia
The CityRail A set or Waratah is a class of electric multiple unit
operated by CityRail
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 is the largest rolling stock order in Australia's history. The 626 carriages will replace all 498 non-airconditioned L, R & S set carriages and provide additional capacity for passenger and network growth. Delivery commenced in July 2011 and is expected to end in 2014.
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 a purpose built facility at Auburn
. At least 72 sets must be made available to RailCorp every day during the contract period.
Reliance Rail is having difficulty refinancing its debt. Treasurer Mike Baird and the NSW Government are in talks with Reliance Rail to resolve the financial status of the project.
The trains include external CCTV cameras to assist guards.
Inside, the train includes additional Emergency Help Points and CCTV cameras. Axis Communications
was awarded the contract to install the train's extensive system of 98 CCTV cameras, which are linked together with Power over Ethernet
and utilise Progressive scan
ning technology to allow capturing of events in clear high resolution, with no distortion in quick movement individual frames.
The CCTV cameras are designed to withstand vibration and features intricate technologies such as, an in-built heater to prevent condensation and alarms to alert of removal or obstruction.
The train flooring utilises Treadmaster TM8, made from a polymer-based material that is designed to be durable, vandal and graffiti resistant. They are also designed with safety in mind, being highly fire resistant with low smoke toxicity output.
Improvements to the DVAs (Digital Voice Announcements) with differential pitch of the voice allow more natural sounding speech. All the stations included in the stopping pattern are also announced prior to or soon after departure from a terminus stop. ‘Smart’ air-conditioning will automatically adjust 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.
The A set is the first passenger train in the world to use LED lamps for all lighting (except headlights). Woollen moquette fabric
, a durable, vandal-resistant material first used in the OSCAR trains, Hunter Railcars, and later adopted in the refurbishments of both the Tangara and Endeavour railcars, is used to cover the train's seats. Detailed design of the train was completed in July 2009.
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.
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 Millennium trains initially experienced poor reliability due to insufficient testing. The test train was expected to perform trial runs from mid 2009, but began network testing in April 2010. The pre-production train concluded testing in August of that year. 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 handed over to RailCorp for acceptance on 20 April 2011. RailCorp 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. RailCorp rejected the train due to safety concerns and a number of defects. The defects included; 'Milky' effect windscreens - apparent when under direct sunlight, no padding in the carriage ceilings, cables obstructing the driver's view, poor-quality steel welding as evident in the indents seen on some areas of the carriage exterior, gaps in the plastic molding, handrails not lining up with stairs and unreliable software - evident in the internal destination indicator system, as they suffer from a timeout during extended periods of train travelling in between wider distanced stations.
Once the majority of the problems were resolved by Downer EDI, RailCorp decided to allow A3 to commence service, though operating under special conditions.
It entered service on the 1st of July, 2011, operating its maiden run from Redfern to Macarthur via the City Circle and Airport. The train commenced service by operating 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 and East Hills and South lines on weekends. On 14 October, A3 became the first Waratah to operate during peak hours.
There are currently five sets which have achieved "Practical Completion" and are available for service. When a new set is delivered it becomes a standby train. Once the following set is delivered, the train operates during the off peak. It then moves into peak hour operation.
The trains had a further setback with 2 of it's trains having an electronic failure keeping the trains on the East Hills Line.
The trains will be used on the:
A1 D6301 N5301 N5501 T6501 T6601 N5601 N5401 D6401
up to
A78 D6378 N5378 N5578 T6578 T6678 N5678 N5478 D6478
The two spare driving cars are D6379 and D6479. These were actually the first vehicles delivered, along with N5342 and N5442, and were part of the 4 car testing and development train.
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
operated by CityRail
CityRail
CityRail is an operating brand of RailCorp, a corporation owned by the state government of New South Wales, Australia. It is responsible for providing commuter rail services, and some coach services, in and around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, the three largest cities of New South Wales. It is...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The train was named Waratah by the NSW Government after the flower of the same name
Waratah
Waratah is a genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees in the Proteaceae, native to the southeastern parts of Australia...
, which is the state's floral emblem.
The design is based on the M set and is the largest rolling stock order in Australia's history. The 626 carriages will replace all 498 non-airconditioned L, R & S set carriages and provide additional capacity for passenger and network growth. Delivery commenced in July 2011 and is expected to end in 2014.
Public Private Partnership
The carriages are being delivered by a joint venture between Downer Rail and HitachiHitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
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 a purpose built facility at Auburn
Auburn, New South Wales
Auburn is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Auburn is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Auburn Council.-History:...
. At least 72 sets must be made available to RailCorp every day during the contract period.
Reliance Rail is having difficulty refinancing its debt. Treasurer Mike Baird and the NSW Government are in talks with Reliance Rail to resolve the financial status of the project.
Design
The trains consist of eight car sets - a break from the previous standard Sydney practice of two four car sets, which are then coupled into 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. Nightshine Australia was selected to produce luminescent arrow signs line, which are affixed on the base of outer seats on the lower and upper decks to direct passengers the most appropriate route of exit.The trains include external CCTV cameras to assist guards.
Inside, the train includes additional Emergency Help Points and CCTV cameras. Axis Communications
Axis Communications
Axis Communications AB is a Swedish manufacturer of network cameras for the physical security and video surveillance industries. It focuses on the vertical market segments transport, infrastructure, retail, banking, education, government and industrial....
was awarded the contract to install the train's extensive system of 98 CCTV cameras, which are linked together with Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet
Power over Ethernet or PoE technology describes a system to pass electrical power safely, along with data, on Ethernet cabling. The IEEE standard for PoE requires category 5 cable or higher for high power levels, but can operate with category 3 cable for low power levels...
and utilise Progressive scan
Progressive scan
Progressive scanning is a way of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence...
ning technology to allow capturing of events in clear high resolution, with no distortion in quick movement individual frames.
The CCTV cameras are designed to withstand vibration and features intricate technologies such as, an in-built heater to prevent condensation and alarms to alert of removal or obstruction.
The train flooring utilises Treadmaster TM8, made from a polymer-based material that is designed to be durable, vandal and graffiti resistant. They are also designed with safety in mind, being highly fire resistant with low smoke toxicity output.
Improvements to the DVAs (Digital Voice Announcements) with differential pitch of the voice allow more natural sounding speech. All the stations included in the stopping pattern are also announced prior to or soon after departure from a terminus stop. ‘Smart’ air-conditioning will automatically adjust 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.
The A set is the first passenger train in the world to use LED lamps for all lighting (except headlights). Woollen moquette fabric
Moquette
Moquette is type of fabric with a thick, dense pile. It is a particularly versatile and hard-wearing material, predominantly wool with a small percentage of polyester. Moquette is renowned for its attractive, hard-wearing, durable, and fire-resistant qualities, hence it is commonly used for...
, a durable, vandal-resistant material first used in the OSCAR trains, Hunter Railcars, and later adopted in the refurbishments of both the Tangara and Endeavour railcars, is used to cover the train's seats. 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 plant in the Newcastle suburb of CardiffCardiff, New South Wales
Cardiff is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located west-southwest of Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area....
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.
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 Millennium trains initially experienced poor reliability due to insufficient testing. The test train was expected to perform trial runs from mid 2009, but began network testing in April 2010. The pre-production train concluded testing in August of that year. 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 handed over to RailCorp for acceptance on 20 April 2011. RailCorp 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. RailCorp rejected the train due to safety concerns and a number of defects. The defects included; 'Milky' effect windscreens - apparent when under direct sunlight, no padding in the carriage ceilings, cables obstructing the driver's view, poor-quality steel welding as evident in the indents seen on some areas of the carriage exterior, gaps in the plastic molding, handrails not lining up with stairs and unreliable software - evident in the internal destination indicator system, as they suffer from a timeout during extended periods of train travelling in between wider distanced stations.
Once the majority of the problems were resolved by Downer EDI, RailCorp decided to allow A3 to commence service, though operating under special conditions.
It entered service on the 1st of July, 2011, operating its maiden run from Redfern to Macarthur via the City Circle and Airport. The train commenced service by operating 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 and East Hills and South lines on weekends. On 14 October, A3 became the first Waratah to operate during peak hours.
There are currently five sets which have achieved "Practical Completion" and are available for service. When a new set is delivered it becomes a standby train. Once the following set is delivered, the train operates during the off peak. It then moves into peak hour operation.
The trains had a further setback with 2 of it's trains having an electronic failure keeping the trains on the East Hills Line.
In service
The Waratah trains will gradually replace the non-airconditioned L, R & S sets. The trains will be introduced to the Airport & East Hills line & South Line followed by the North Shore and Western, Northern, Bankstown and Inner West lines.The trains will be used on the:
- Airport & East Hills Lines: City Circle to Macarthur via Airport/Sydenham
- South LineSouth railway line, SydneyThe South Line is a railway line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is part of the CityRail suburban network...
: City Circle to Campbelltown via Granville - Inner West Line: City Circle to Liverpool/Bankstown via Regents Park
- Olympic Park Line: Lidcombe to Olympic Park
- North Shore and Western LinesWestern railway line, SydneyThe Western Line is part of the CityRail metropolitan rail network in Sydney, and is the suburban section of the Main West line which connects Sydney with the west of New South Wales. It connects the Sydney CBD to the employment centre of Parramatta and the outer western suburbs, terminating at Emu...
: Berowra to Emu Plains / Richmond via City - Northern LineNorthern railway line, SydneyThe Northern Line is part of the metropolitan rail network in Sydney known as CityRail. It serves the northern suburbs of Sydney and the Lower North Shore, along with parts of the Inner West and the Hills District. The line utilises the Epping to Chatswood Line and parts of the Main Northern Line,...
: Hornsby to Epping via Macquarie Park, City & Strathfield - Bankstown Line: City Circle to Lidcombe / Liverpool Via Bankstown
Current service
The trains currently run on the following lines:- Airport and East Hills Line
- South Line
- Inner West Line
- Olympic Park Line
Numbering
The 626 carriages will form 78 eight car sets (numbered A1 to A78) with 2 spare driving cars. Individual vehicles are numbered as follows:A1 D6301 N5301 N5501 T6501 T6601 N5601 N5401 D6401
up to
A78 D6378 N5378 N5578 T6578 T6678 N5678 N5478 D6478
The two spare driving cars are D6379 and D6479. These were actually the first vehicles delivered, along with N5342 and N5442, and were part of the 4 car testing and development train.