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X'Trapolis 100

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The X'Trapolis 100 is a single deck electric multiple unit. It is part of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains, and is operated in Melbourne, Australia and Valparaíso, Chile.

Melbourne

X'Trapolis 100 (Melbourne)
First order X'Trapolis 100 in Metro Trains Melbourne livery in November 2009
2nd generation X'Trapolis 100 interior in February 2010 with 2+2 seating
ManufacturerAlstom
Built atLa Rochelle, France (complete first 10 units), La Rochelle, France (bodyshells for unit 11 onwards) and Alstom Ballarat, Australia (final assembly and fitout)
ReplacedHitachi trains
Constructed2002–2015
Entered service2002
Number under construction6 3-car trains
Number built144 3-car trains (4 under testing)
Formation3-car sets (driving motor, trailer, driving motor)
Fleet numbers851M–966M, 1M–212M, 1626T–1683T, 1301T–1406T
Capacity264 seated (3-carriage set)
DepotsBayswater, Craigieburn, Epping and Newport Workshops
Lines servedAlamein, Belgrave, Frankston, Glen Waverley, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, South Morang, Werribee (2015), Williamstown (2015)
Specifications
Car lengthDriving motor: 24.46 m (over couplers)
Trailer: 22.76 m (over couplers)
Width3.046 m
Height3.65 m (not including roof equipment)
Floor height1.185 m
Articulated sectionsBetween all carriages in unit
Maximum speed143 km/h (89 mph) by design, limited to 90 km/h (56 mph) due to technical issues
Weight43.34 tonnes (Driving motor), 35.47 tonnes (Trailer)
Traction system4 x Alstom 4ECA 1836 (per motor car)
Acceleration1.2 m/s2
Deceleration1 m/s2
Electric system(s)1.5 kV DC Overhead line
Coupling systemScharfenberg coupler
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)

First order

1st order X'Trapolis 100 interior in May 2008 with 2+3 seating

In 2000 Connex Melbourne ordered 58 X'Trapolis 100 trains to fulfill a franchise commitment to replace its fleet of Hitachi trains.[1] The first ten units were completely assembled at Alstom's, La Rochelle factory in France, however, from unit 11 onwards, only the body shells were assembled at La Rochelle, with the rest of the train being assembled in Victoria at Alstom's Ballarat facility.[2]

The trains differ from earlier trains on the Melbourne network in the following ways:

  • Doors open when button pressed
  • Sliding doors between carriages
  • 1 pantograph per 3-car train

In service

X'Trapolis 100 at Flinders Street in Connex Melbourne livery in September 2005

The first X'Trapolis 100 entered revenue service on 27 December 2002, the last in the first order on 17 December 2004.[3] It ran a special trip from Flinders Street to South Kensington and back to mark the event.

The X'Trapolis 100 trains are currently being ported to the former M>Train, or ‘Metro South’ lines for revenue service, as the X'Trapolis trains were confined to the former Hillside Trains network before the two networks merged in 2004. Although Melbourne's trains operate as either one or two 3-car units, it was not until September 2007 that the X'Trapolis 100s were permitted to operate as single-units in revenue service.

The trains have power-operated doors that open when a button on the door is pressed and are closed by the driver or closed automatically after approximately two minutes. The X'Trapolis 100s are the only suburban trains in Melbourne with external destination displays on the sides of the trains, however this feature is also on the Sprinter and VLocity rail motors. By 2013 all first-generation X'Trapolis 100s had been fitted with a newer display system.

Several trains were given names: Croydon West (primary school that won a naming contest), Don Corrie (deceased railway employee),[4] Flash, Flinders Flyer, Iramoo (primary school that won a naming contest), Melbourne Rocks and Westernport. X'Trapolis 100 863M-1632T-864M-897M-1649T-898M was the first Melbourne train to receive the new ‘Metro’ livery in November 2009, in preparation for the launch of the new suburban operator.[5] When the Connex livery was retired in place of the current Metro design, the Iramoo name (shown on units 851M and 852M) has been erroneously written as Imaroo. This spelling is still unchanged as of December 2013.

On 22 October 2014, the first X'Trapolis 100 operated on the Frankston Line.

From January 2015, X'Trapolis 100 will operate for the Frankston line, one stopping all stations and extras operate on express services.

From 2015, X'Trapolis 100 will operate for the Werribee and Williamstown lines.

Second and third orders

In July 2007 the Government of Victoria announced that Alstom was one of two companies invited to bid to build 10 new six-car trains for the existing network. Siemens Transportation Systems was the other company, and both were limited to supplying trains that were the same as those already supplied to Melbourne.[6] The Department of Infrastructure found that the new trains delivered less than one additional peak-hour service across the entire network, and had initially lobbied the Government to buy 20 six-carriage trains.[7] In October 2007 the tender was extended to 18 six-car trains, to be delivered by 2010.[8] The tender was awarded to Alstom in December 2007 and the trains were delivered in a staged roll-out from early 2010.[9] In February 2009 an additional order was placed, with 20 more six car trains added, taking the total to 38 trains.[10]

The first of 19 trains that were built by Alstom in Italy were loaded onto a ship in July 2009,[11] with the first set arriving at Newport Workshops on 24 August 2009.[12][13] The remaining 19 trains were assembled at United Group's Ballarat plant, under a state government requirement for a minimum of 40% local content.[3] The new trains were originally used in revenue service on lines already cleared for their operation, with Comeng trains on these lines being cascaded across to the other side of the network leaving a few of them in operation on the Burnley and Clifton Hill groups as they would be used during peak hours.[14]

From a passenger perspective the new trains differed little from the existing X'Trapolis 100s, but there are minor technical improvements for drivers.[13] By late September the new units, numbered 1M-1301T-2M and 3M-1302T-4M, were moved into the open at the Newport Workshops and had been taken out on test runs without any livery applied. By October the train had received carriage numbers and names, with compatibility testing being carried out with a modified member of the existing fleet.[15] By December 2009 the first set had received the Metro Trains Melbourne livery, and was running stopping-all-stations test runs without passengers on the Epping line.[15]

The second train to be imported was taken to Ballarat immediately after arrival due to floor damage, with Alstom and United Group Rail spending two months making repairs.[16] This train was transferred to Melbourne on 28 February.[17]

The first train entered revenue service for a few hours on 30 December 2009 despite the claims that train drivers were still having issues with the train, including getting the onboard passenger information display units to work,[18][19] the train being taken out of service the next day.[20] On 15 February 2010 rail operator Metro planned to reintroduce the train into service, but drivers refused to drive it citing unresolved safety issues. As a result Metro took the Rail, Tram and Bus Union to the federal industrial tribunal.[21] On 18 February union representatives and Metro management met for private talks before Fair Work Australia,[22] on 20 February an agreement was reached for the train to enter service that afternoon, an event that became a media circus.[23]

The final train set comprising units 151M-1376T-152M entered service in April 2012.

Fourth order

A further order of 42 carriages was made by the government in 2011. The first train from this order was delivered in September 2012, five months ahead of schedule.[24]

The final set in this order, comprising units 179M-1390T-180M entered service on 14 June 2013.[3]

Fifth order

In April 2013, a further 48 carriages were ordered which like the fourth order will have the body shells imported and fitted out at Alstom's Ballarat Workshops, these are expected to be in service by 2015.[25][26]

Sixth order

In the lead up to the 2014 state election, then opposition leader Daniel Andrews promised to order 30 trains for the Melbourne Metro System if his Labor Party won in the election. The Labor Party won that election, and orders have been placed.[27]

Seating layout modifications

As part of its franchise agreement, Metro Trains Melbourne was required to modify the seating layout of all X'Trapolis 100s to have 2+2 seating which allows better passenger flow through the train and more standing room. Later orders of X'Trapolis 100s were delivered with this modified layout. Passengers on the Lilydale/Belgrave Line refer to trains made of these cars as the 'Kosky Express' in reference to the late Lynne Kosky MLA whose indifference to the needs of the eastern suburb's populace resulted in less seats for the 40km trip into Melbourne by train. [28]

Mechanics

Mechanically, these trains are very different from the previous generation Melbourne trains. The X'Trapolis 100 was the first EMU in Melbourne to have computer-controlled traction, braking and safety systems. A continuous electrical circuit runs along the length of the train, which, when energised allows the train's emergency brakes to release. The circuit will be de-energised by a number of events, such as the driver releasing a vigilance control, applying an emergency brake or passing a signal at stop. This will cause the train to apply all brakes.

Lines operated

Since delivery the X'Trapolis 100s have been confined to the former Hillside Trains network, namely the Alamein, Belgrave, Glen Waverley, Hurstbridge, Lilydale and South Morang lines. Due to the Bayside Rail Project they also started running on the Frankston line from the 22nd of October 2014,[29][30] and as of June 2015 they will start running on the Werribee line.[31] Coming soon in 2015, X'Trapolis 100s will be on the Williamstown line.

Valparaíso

X'Trapolis 100 (Valparaíso)
ManufacturerAlstom
Number in service27 two-car sets
FormationOne or two 2-car sets (motor-trailer)
Capacity144 seated per 2-car unit
Specifications
Articulated sectionsBetween all carriages in unit
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)

Valparaíso had an interurban passenger train system since the 19th century, but it could not be called a metro due to infrequent train service and a number of other shortcomings. In 1999 construction began on the current system, tearing down the old stations and building new ones with a homologous design shared between them. In Viña del Mar, a tunnel more than five kilometres in length was constructed. The new trains, specially made for the new system, arrived in Chile on 22 February 2005 and the old system was decommissioned on 30 June 2005.[32]

References

  1. ^ "X'Trapolis Welcomed to Melbourne's Railways". Minister for Public Transport. 18 December 2002. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  2. ^ "$150 Million Investment in Rail Manufacturing". Minister for Manufacturing Industry. 17 August 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  3. ^ a b c X'Trapolis Vicsig
  4. ^ "XTrapolis unit 38 named Don Corrie after the Epping foreman that passed away in April 2004". Vicsig. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  5. ^ "Metro Trains Melbourne launch". Wongm's Rail Gallery. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  6. ^ "Tender for New Trains on Melbourne Tracks". Minister for Public Transport. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  7. ^ Stephen Moynihan (3 October 2007). "Melbourne buying fewest new trains". The Age. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  8. ^ "New trains for Melbourne's congested rail network". ABC News. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  9. ^ "18 More Trains Ordered for Metropolitan Rail System". Minister for Public Transport. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  10. ^ "Melbourne orders 20 more X'Trapolis EMUs". Railway Gazette International. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
  11. ^ Nick Higginbottom (28 July 2009). "Pirate threat could delay arrival of new trains to Victoria". Herald Sun.
  12. ^ "First of 38 new trains arrive". Connex Melbourne. 26 August 2009.
  13. ^ a b Ashley Gardiner (25 August 2009). "First of new trains arrives in Melbourne". Herald Sun. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  14. ^ "Limited run for new Melbourne trains". ABC Melbourne. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
  15. ^ a b "Wongm's Rail Gallery - New XTrapolis EMUs". wongm.railgeelong.com. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  16. ^ Paul Austin, Clay Lucas and Sarah-Jane Collins (15 February 2010). "Brumby rail promise stalls". The Age. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Wongm's Rail Gallery: XTrap transfer - February 2010". wongm.railgeelong.com. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  18. ^ "Melbourne's New Train Begins Taking Passengers". Premier of Victoria. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  19. ^ Clay Lucas (30 December 2009). "New train set to go, despite drivers' claim of problems". The Age. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  20. ^ Clay Lucas (31 December 2009). "New train: catch it if you can". The Age. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  21. ^ Clay Lucas and David Rood (16 February 2010). "Metro at war with its drivers over new train". The Age. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  22. ^ Ashley Gardiner, Stephen McMahon (18 February 2010). "Metro drivers face legal action if they continue to refuse to drive Melbourne's new trains". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  23. ^ Lucie van den Berg (20 February 2010). "Chaos and expletives as Metro's' new X'Trapolis train pulls into Melbourne's Flinders St Station". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  24. ^ "New trains to join Melbourne fleet in time for new November timetable". The Minister for Public Transport. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  25. ^ New trains ordered for Melbourne rail network ABC News 10 April 2013
  26. ^ Alstom to provide an additional eight Xtrapolis trainsets for Melbourne's Metropolitan Rail Network in Australia Alstom 21 June 2013
  27. ^ Carey, Adam (3 March 2015). "Ballarat rail jobs saved as Daniel Andrews orders new trains for Melbourne". The Age (Victoria). Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  28. ^ Train Franchise Agreement Volume 2 Public Transport Victoria
  29. ^ $100 million Bayside rail upgrade brings newest trains to Frankston line Premier of Victoria 5 May 2013
  30. ^ $100m works begin on Frankston line Herald Sun 20 November 2013
  31. ^ Victorian minister fumes after train sabotaged before launch ninemsn 22 October 2014
  32. ^ Alstom in Chile Alstom
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