4D (train)

This article is about the train used in Melbourne, Australia. For other uses, see 4D.

Double-deck Prototype
4D train at Spencer Street Station
In service	1992 - 1999, 2000, 2002
Manufacturer	A Goninan & Co.
Built at	Newcastle, New South Wales
Constructed	1991
Entered service	10 March 1992
Scrapped	2006
Number under construction	1 set (4 cars)
Number built	1 set (4 cars)
Number in service	1 set (4 cars)
Number scrapped	1 set (4 cars)
Formation	4-car set (driving trailer-motor-motor-driving trailer)
Fleet numbers	6000T-5000M-5002M-6002T
Capacity	T car: 76 seated, 149 standing M car: 97 seated, 165 standing Total (4-car set): 974 total (346 seated, 628 standing)
Operators	Public Transport Corporation, Connex
Lines served	Belgrave, Lilydale
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel
Car length	20.320 m
Width	2,890 mm
Height	4,270 mm
Doors	4x twin-leaf plug doors per car (2 either side)
Articulated sections	3 per set, enclosed gangway.
Maximum speed	130 km/h
Weight	186 tonnes
Traction system	8 x 170 kW, chopper control
Acceleration	0.75 m/s/s
Power supply	1500 V DC Overhead lines
Track gauge	1600

The 4D (meaning Double Deck Development and Demonstration) was a prototype double deck electric multiple unit train built for the Public Transport Corporation of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. It remains the only double deck train ever to have run in Melbourne.

Design

Inside the 4D train

Built by A Goninan & Co. in 1991, the train's design was based on that of the Tangara train used in Sydney. However it was similar only in terms of interior and exterior bodywork; the train's electrical system was much closer to that of a Comeng, and was incompatible with that of the Tangara. The design was further modified for use on Melbourne's broad gauge track, and its control system was designed specifically to allow in-service coupling and operation with Comeng sets.

It was manufactured from stainless steel, fitted with air-conditioning, tinted windows, and inter-car doors allowing passengers to access all carriages of the train. It had a total passenger capacity of 974 passengers: 346 seated and 628 standing.

As part of the trial, the Belgrave and Lilydale lines were selected as main testing grounds for the unit and necessary works were performed to accommodate the train's somewhat unconventional dimensions. Works were slated for other lines in the suburban system, but it is not known whether they were ever carried out; the train's confinement to the Belgrave and Lilydale lines suggests that they were not. It was known that the train was physically too large for the Jolimont tunnel between Jolimont and West Richmond railway stations on the Hurstbridge and Epping lines. Given that the train was a demonstrator, it was likely that production designs or future infrastructure plans would have dealt with this.

Service

The 4D was shipped to Melbourne from Goninan's workshops in Newcastle, New South Wales, in December 1991, where it then entered a period of testing.

The unit broke from Melbourne tradition by being configured as Driving Trailer-Motor-Motor-Driving Trailer (D-TM-TM-D); all other sets in service at the time were (and are still) configured as Driving Motor-Trailer-Driving Motor (M-T-M). In a further break from tradition, the 4D did not use the 'D' code for a driving trailer, instead it was coded simply as T-M-M-T. The car numbers were also placed far outside the usual range; the 4D was numbered as 6000T-5000M-5002M-6002T for its whole service life.

Most of the time the 4D was on the rails it was parked in the stabling facilities at Bayswater railway station, Melbourne on the Belgrave line.

It was first introduced into revenue service on 10 March 1992, after testing and a subsequent media launch. Eight trips were scheduled for its first day in service, the first being the 08:36am service from Flinders Street to Box Hill, followed by the 09:08am service back to Flinders Street, on which the train suffered the first of its many failures. This required the train to be removed from service at Camberwell and the cancellation of the remaining trips.

Initially the 4D was run coupled to a 3-car Comeng set until 1996 when, after a troubled conversion to driver-only operation, it was permitted to operate on its own. Often as not, though, it was towed or pushed by a 3- or 6-car Comeng set following a failure.

When the suburban system was split into two in 1998 in preparation for privatisation, it was allocated to Hillside Trains (which became Connex).

Throughout its 10 years in Melbourne, the 4D continued to be plagued by reliability issues that saw it constantly in and out of service. After its disappointing entry to service, the train saw little use and was in storage by 1999. It was revived in June 2000, but lasted only a year.

A final attempt was made in February 2002 to return the set to service, but after three days it again failed and was placed back in storage, never to run revenue service again.

Disposal

The 4D being cut up in March 2006

Ownership of the 4D was transferred back to the Victorian Government Department of Infrastructure, and the set was railed, ironically under its own power, to Newport Railway Workshops in December 2002 for long-term storage.

In 2006, the 4D was purchased by RailCorp (the New South Wales Government-owned corporation responsible for operating Sydney's suburban network) and United Group Rail, Goninan's successor company. From March of that year, the train was stripped of parts suitable for use in CityRail's Tangara fleet.

Following the removal of these components – mostly doors, seats and other interior furnishings – RailCorp wrote the train off its books and ordered it be scrapped. On 29 March 2006, the 4D was transferred by El Zorro Rail Services to metal recyclers Simsmetal in Brooklyn, where it was cut up and recycled.

External links

• 4D at Vicsig