CountryLink Xplorer
Encyclopedia
The Xplorer is a Diesel Multiple Unit
train used on country passenger rail services in New South Wales
, Australia
. It is one of two types of passenger rollingstock used by CountryLink
, the government owned operator of country trains (the other type being the XPT). The Xplorer trains entered service in 1993, and are externally identical to CityRail
's Endeavour railcars. All 23 carriages were built by ABB Transportation in Victoria
, Australia
.
NSW State Government
was placed under considerable pressure from National Party
members of parliament to reintroduce passenger rail services over the Main North
and North- West
routes to Armidale
and Moree
respectively. Services over these lines had been withdrawn after the Booz-Allen Hamilton report into the State Rail Authority
in 1989 which recommended the rationalisation of country passenger train services and developing an all-XPT fleet. The government decided to reintroduce services over these lines, and soon after the decision was made to also introduce new trains to Canberra
. Tenders were placed on 8 August 1990 for new 'Explorer' self propelled diesel railcars to service these three routes. An option for interurban cars for CityRail was also added (which would lead to the Endeavour cars). In early 1991, a contract was signed with ABB Transportation to construct 17 Explorer cars based upon the five-railcar set built by Comeng
for the Australind
service in Western Australia
. In April 1992, the government announced that 14 2-car sets would be added on to the order for CityRail, these became known as the Endeavour cars. At this time, the name 'Explorer' was changed to Xplorer to better fit in with the marketing of the XPT.
These trains travel on four CountryLink daytime routes, two of which are daily and two of which are weekly. They operate from Sydney to the destination during the day, either returning on the same day or the next day. The following destinations from Sydney
are the Xplorer's destinations:
Carriage numbering is as follows:
EA #2508 and EC #2528 used to be Endeavour Railcars LE #2815 and TE #2865. They were rendered surplus when the Kiama Electrification took place, and were converted to Xplorers by Bombardier Transportation
Dandenong, Victoria
.
Each car is powered by a Cummins KTA 19R engine rated at 352 kW at 1800rpm, and an auxiliary engine.
and Countrylink. The refurbishment started in mid 2007 and concluded at the end of 2008.
Tenders closed on 20 December 2006, and there were three companies on the list:
In the end, Bombardier Transportation won the contract.
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...
train used on country passenger rail services in 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...
. It is one of two types of passenger rollingstock used by CountryLink
CountryLink
CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...
, the government owned operator of country trains (the other type being the XPT). The Xplorer trains entered service in 1993, and are externally identical to 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...
's Endeavour railcars. All 23 carriages were built by ABB Transportation in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, 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...
.
History
In the early 1990s the CoalitionCoalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
NSW State Government
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
was placed under considerable pressure from National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
members of parliament to reintroduce passenger rail services over the Main North
Main North railway line, New South Wales
The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...
and North- West
Mungindi railway line, New South Wales
The Mungindi railway line is a railway line in northern New South Wales, Australia. It branches from the Main North line at the town of Werris Creek and heads north-west through the towns of Gunnedah and Narrabri before reaching Moree which for many years was the railhead before the extension to...
routes to Armidale
Armidale, New South Wales
Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale Dumaresq Shire had a population of 19,485 people according to the 2006 census. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region...
and Moree
Moree, New South Wales
Moree is a large town in Moree Plains Shire in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Mehi River in the centre of the rich black-soil plains....
respectively. Services over these lines had been withdrawn after the Booz-Allen Hamilton report into the State Rail Authority
New South Wales State Rail Authority
The State Rail Authority was the government authority responsible for the operation and maintenance of railways in the Australian state of New South Wales between 1980 and 2003.-History:...
in 1989 which recommended the rationalisation of country passenger train services and developing an all-XPT fleet. The government decided to reintroduce services over these lines, and soon after the decision was made to also introduce new trains to Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. Tenders were placed on 8 August 1990 for new 'Explorer' self propelled diesel railcars to service these three routes. An option for interurban cars for CityRail was also added (which would lead to the Endeavour cars). In early 1991, a contract was signed with ABB Transportation to construct 17 Explorer cars based upon the five-railcar set built by Comeng
Comeng
The Comeng train is a type of electric train that operates on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. They first appeared on the network in VicRail "teacup" livery in 1981 to replace the last of the then-60 year old Tait trains. More were ordered after the failed refurbishment and...
for the Australind
Transwa Australind
The Transwa Australind is a diesel railcar train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the south-west city of Bunbury on the South Western Railway . The Australind fleet consists of three powered railcars ADP101, ADP102 and ADP103, with two non-driving trailers ADQ121...
service in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. In April 1992, the government announced that 14 2-car sets would be added on to the order for CityRail, these became known as the Endeavour cars. At this time, the name 'Explorer' was changed to Xplorer to better fit in with the marketing of the XPT.
Service
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...
are the Xplorer's destinations:
- Canberra -via Goulburn, 2-3 services each way per day. Normally a 3 car Xplorer service, under certain circumstances the train will be a 4 cars.
- Armidale and Moree -via Werris Creek. This is usually a five car set that divides at Werris Creek, 2 cars proceeding to Moree via Narrabri and 3 cars proceeding to Armidale via Tamworth daily. Sometimes this has been extended to a seven car set with 4 proceeding to Armidale and 3 proceeding to Moree or with merely 4 cars proceeding to Armidale or 3 cars proceeding to Moree with the normal number of cars retained for the other destination
- Griffith -via Goulburn and Junee. This train divides from the Canberra Xplorer service at Goulburn on Saturdays only, and heads to Griffith via the Main Southern railway line, New South WalesMain Southern railway line, New South WalesThe Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Riverina regions.- Description of route :...
, the Hay railway line, New South WalesHay railway line, New South WalesThe Hay railway line is a partly closed railway line in New South Wales, Australia. The line branches from the Main South line at Junee, and passes in a westwards direction through the towns of Coolamon and Narrandera to Yanco. The first train arrived in Hay on 4 July, 1882...
and the Yanco-Griffith railway line, New South Wales. The train stays overnight at Griffith and the next day heads back to Goulburn and rejoins the Canberra Xplorer service on the next day at Goulburn to make the return leg to Sydney although on occasions when either train has run late the trains make the journey to Sydney by themselves. This train is usually a two car Xplorer. - Broken Hill -via Blue Mountains and Orange. Usually a 3 car set consisting of units which have additional protection to underfloor equipment and couplers due to hazards which are encountered on the line (such as kangaroos). Operates on Mondays heading to Broken Hill and heads back to Sydney the next day.
Carriages
Coding for the carriages are as follows:- EA- First Class Driving Power Car: First Class seating, Buffet and Satellite Telephone.
- EB- Economy Class Intermediate Power Car: Economy Class seating and Toilet.
- EC- Economy Class Driving Power Car: Economy Class seating, Disabled toilet with baby change facilities, wheelchair space and booked Luggage space.
Carriage numbering is as follows:
- EA- #2501-#2508
- EB- #2511-#2517
- EC- #2521-#2528
EA #2508 and EC #2528 used to be Endeavour Railcars LE #2815 and TE #2865. They were rendered surplus when the Kiama Electrification took place, and were converted to Xplorers by Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
Dandenong, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Each car is powered by a Cummins KTA 19R engine rated at 352 kW at 1800rpm, and an auxiliary engine.
Refurbishment
Railcorp has released a tender regarding the refurbishment of the Xplorer and Endeavour railcars. The contract specifies: new seating, buffet upgrades, new carpets, toilet upgrades, extended booked luggage section, and more wheelchair spaces for the Xplorer Railcars. Included in the contract, is a provision of an Entertainment System being retrofitted onto the Xplorer units, however this is only pending a report and may not be installed in the refurbishment. All units will be repainted to the new corporate scheme of CityrailCityRail
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...
and Countrylink. The refurbishment started in mid 2007 and concluded at the end of 2008.
Tenders closed on 20 December 2006, and there were three companies on the list:
- Bombardier TransportationBombardier TransportationBombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
- United Group Rail
- Downer Rail
In the end, Bombardier Transportation won the contract.