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Hitachi (train)
Encyclopedia
Hitachi is the name given for one of a set of electric multiple unit
train
s that operate on the suburban railway network of
Melbourne
, Australia
. Introduced to service in 1972, the trains are the oldest in the city's suburban fleet still in revenue
service. Electrical equipment
was supplied by Commonwealth Engineering
to designs by Hitachi
of Japan
, leading to their official name today, though no actual Hitachi-supplied components were used in their construction. Hitachi trains have been also known as Martin & King or Stainless Steel trains officially, and are one of the few trains still in operation that allows windows to be opened.
Based on a successful trial of longer Harris trailer cars built between 1967 and 1971, the Hitachi train used carriages 75 ft (22.9 m) long, up from the standard 59 ft (18 m) length of the earlier suburban cars. The revised carriage design enabled a six car Hitachi train to seat 560 passengers, up from 540 for a seven car Harris train. Maximum load for a Hitachi was 1500 passengers, 300 more than a Harris.
As delivered, Hitachi trains were composed of three types of carriage, M (motor carriages including a driver's cabin at one end), T (trailer carriages with no motors), and D (a trailer carriage with a small driver's cabin). These cars were arranged in sets of M-T-T-M and M-D, which could be arranged together to create a six car set. All but one of the #68 D carriages produced were later converted into T carriages. (The exception being D #353 was involved in a collision
at Pakenham, that also resulted in the scrapping of Guard's Van Z 286) The first M and D carriages delivered were provided with nose doors at the front of the cab. These were later removed from the early carriages, and the feature was omitted from later sets.
The previous carriage configurations
were replaced by the current symmetrical three- and six-carriage setup by the late 1970s
for the opening of the City Loop. A total of 355 carriages were built, although one of these was to replace a carriage written off in an accident while the fleet was still being delivered.
and Tait
trains, the stainless steel
Hitachi trains were the first Melbourne suburban trains to feature heated carriages and power-closing doors (operated by the driver, opened by the passengers by hand). The M and D carriages were built by Martin & King
, and the T carriages by the Victorian Railways
.
The first Hitachi train to operate in revenue service was the four-carriage set #1M-#901T-#902T-#2M, on the St Kilda line (now converted to light rail
), on 24 December 1972. The 237 motor carriages that have been in service have been numbered #1M through #237M, and the 117 trailer carriages, #1901T through #2017T. On the 15th of August 2009, the remaining Hitachi carriages were renumbered in order to make way for the second order of X'Trapolis trains, which would also start from #1. The remaining M cars were renumbered from 273M up to 300M, however the new numbering does not reflect the age of each car. The numbering reflects which T car is in each set, the lowest numbered T car receives the lowest numbered M cars, in order of which M car was already the lowest (for example, #2007T was the highest-numbered T car, so #23M was renumbered 299M as it was lower than #233M, which was renumbered #300M).
Carriages originally ran in a plain stainless silver livery, receiving green and gold side stripe with the introduction of the Metropolitan Transit Authority
, the side logos being altered with the re-branding as The Met
. The side logos were again altered with the introduction of Hillside Trains and Bayside Trains, with the latter also applying branding to the front.. When the carriages were refurbished under Connex, the green and gold livery was removed, restoring the carriages to their original 'silver' colour, with the addition of Connex blue and gold striping on the lower section of the leading cars, and two blue and gold panels behind the driver's cab. The seats in the passenger area also received new fabric, similar to that of an Alstom-refurbished Comeng. With the introduction of Metro
, the Connex logos have been covered up with Metro stickers. It is uncertain if these trains will receive a new Metro livery or remain in their 'silver' form. Because these trains are not flat-sided, this makes it difficult to create an all-over sticker based livery, as shown on Comeng trains where only the flat sections have been stickered.
During the mid-1990s, over half of the Hitachi M cars received cab upgrades, with improved air-conditioning in the driver's cab and double-thickness windscreens with aluminium replacing the original rubber surrounds. After these upgrades were made, the non-upgraded M cars were no longer allowed to lead a train in revenue service, effectively making them B units
. Another minor refurbishment was made to the interior, replacing the woodgrain upper panels and bone-coloured roof with off-white panels. In addition to the panel replacement, luggage racks and advertising boards were removed and seat bases were repainted to match the off-white walls. Two M cars have since been preserved in their original unmodified form, while a third M car (#187M) as modified by the PTC is on static display at the AHRS Museum in Williamstown. In 2008, the remaining seven 6-car trains were again modified, mainly with a more powerful driver's air-conditioning system replacing the twin white 'pancake' vents on the roof, however three other 'leading' cars (#9M, #89M and #225M, now #277M, #281M and #296M respectively) were left without the 2008 modifications and relegated to being in the centre of the trains indefinitely.
and Siemens train
have been progressively introduced since 2002 to replace the ageing Hitachi fleet, which has been largely withdrawn from service. The X'Trapolis and Siemens trains have features such as push button operated doors and air conditioning
, the lack of the latter feature making the Hitachis unpopular with Melbourne commuters.
The final six 6-carriage trains were to be withdrawn after the 2006 Commonwealth Games
, but instead received a minor refurbishment and are being retained until a date that is yet to be confirmed, due to a high increase in patronage
. Withdrawn carriages have either been scrapped, sold to private buyers across Australia, stored, or acquired by railway museum
s and preservation groups.
A report in February 2007 (by which time 31 trains in the Siemens fleet were out of service due to safety concerns) said the Victorian Government was negotiating to lease one 6-carriage set from Elecrail, a rail preservation group and repurchase another 3 carriages from a private seller to supplement the fleet. An additional three 3-car Hitachi trains were purchased back from Australian businessman Mr Horne, by the Victorian
government in April 2007 to provide spare parts for the fleet. The Elecrail set re-entered service in December 2007.
Cab air conditioning
has since been rolled out to the remaining fleet. In late 2007, Hitachi set #37M-#1979T-#36M - #110M-#1910T-#42M was modified to meet driver union requirements and also re-stickered into Connex livery. All remaining sets have since received the same treatment, as well as a refurbished interior.
In September 2008 Public Transport Safety Victoria withdrew the remaining trains from service due to concerns over corrosion around the doors and floor. A series of tests will be carried out before the trains are sent to the Ballarat North Workshops
for repair work. It was decided to proceed with the repairs as the trains are required under a new timetable introduced in November 2008. The repair work is expected to cost $2 million.
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s that operate on the suburban railway network of
Railways in Melbourne
The Melbourne rail network is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise from the Government of Victoria. The network is based on a commuter rail model centred on the Melbourne Central Business District and Flinders Street Station, rather than a rapid transit model, with a focus on...
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 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...
. Introduced to service in 1972, the trains are the oldest in the city's suburban fleet still in revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
service. Electrical equipment
Electrical equipment
Electrical equipment includes any machine powered by electricity. They usually consists of an enclosure, a variety of electrical components, and often a power switch...
was supplied by Commonwealth Engineering
Commonwealth Engineering
The Commonwealth Engineering Company Limited is the brand name of a former Australian Engineering Company that designed Locomotives, Electrical Multiple Units , Diesel Multiple Units and Trams.-History:...
to designs by Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, leading to their official name today, though no actual Hitachi-supplied components were used in their construction. Hitachi trains have been also known as Martin & King or Stainless Steel trains officially, and are one of the few trains still in operation that allows windows to be opened.
Configuration
The single-deck Hitachi trains operate as "M-T-M-M-T-M" sets of six carriages (two coupled sets of three carriages arranged with two motorised carriages on either end of a motorless "trailer" carriage).Based on a successful trial of longer Harris trailer cars built between 1967 and 1971, the Hitachi train used carriages 75 ft (22.9 m) long, up from the standard 59 ft (18 m) length of the earlier suburban cars. The revised carriage design enabled a six car Hitachi train to seat 560 passengers, up from 540 for a seven car Harris train. Maximum load for a Hitachi was 1500 passengers, 300 more than a Harris.
As delivered, Hitachi trains were composed of three types of carriage, M (motor carriages including a driver's cabin at one end), T (trailer carriages with no motors), and D (a trailer carriage with a small driver's cabin). These cars were arranged in sets of M-T-T-M and M-D, which could be arranged together to create a six car set. All but one of the #68 D carriages produced were later converted into T carriages. (The exception being D #353 was involved in a collision
Collision
A collision is an isolated event which two or more moving bodies exert forces on each other for a relatively short time.Although the most common colloquial use of the word "collision" refers to accidents in which two or more objects collide, the scientific use of the word "collision" implies...
at Pakenham, that also resulted in the scrapping of Guard's Van Z 286) The first M and D carriages delivered were provided with nose doors at the front of the cab. These were later removed from the early carriages, and the feature was omitted from later sets.
The previous carriage configurations
Configurations
Configurations is an academic journal establlished in 1993 and the official publication of the Society for Literature, Science, and Arts. It covers the study of discourse in science, technology, and medicine and investigates the relationship between literature and the arts and science and...
were replaced by the current symmetrical three- and six-carriage setup by the late 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
for the opening of the City Loop. A total of 355 carriages were built, although one of these was to replace a carriage written off in an accident while the fleet was still being delivered.
Service
Intended to replace the first generation of electric trains, the Swing DoorSwing Door (train)
Swing doors, more commonly known as "Dogboxes" or "Doggies" are a wooden bodied Electric Multiple Unit train that operated on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
and Tait
Tait (train)
The Tait trains, also referred to as the "Red Rattlers", were a wooden bodied Electric Multiple Unit train that operated on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They were introduced in 1910 by the Victorian Railways as steam locomotive hauled cars, and converted to...
trains, the stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
Hitachi trains were the first Melbourne suburban trains to feature heated carriages and power-closing doors (operated by the driver, opened by the passengers by hand). The M and D carriages were built by Martin & King
Martin & King
Martin & King was a manufacturing company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company specialised in car and railway coachwork.-History:...
, and the T carriages by the Victorian Railways
Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
.
The first Hitachi train to operate in revenue service was the four-carriage set #1M-#901T-#902T-#2M, on the St Kilda line (now converted to light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
), on 24 December 1972. The 237 motor carriages that have been in service have been numbered #1M through #237M, and the 117 trailer carriages, #1901T through #2017T. On the 15th of August 2009, the remaining Hitachi carriages were renumbered in order to make way for the second order of X'Trapolis trains, which would also start from #1. The remaining M cars were renumbered from 273M up to 300M, however the new numbering does not reflect the age of each car. The numbering reflects which T car is in each set, the lowest numbered T car receives the lowest numbered M cars, in order of which M car was already the lowest (for example, #2007T was the highest-numbered T car, so #23M was renumbered 299M as it was lower than #233M, which was renumbered #300M).
Carriages originally ran in a plain stainless silver livery, receiving green and gold side stripe with the introduction of the Metropolitan Transit Authority
Metropolitan Transit Authority (Victoria)
The Metropolitan Transit Authority was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body that operated suburban passenger trains,trams and buses in Victoria, Australia. It was set up under Section 15 of the Transport Act 1983 and commenced operation on 1 July 1983...
, the side logos being altered with the re-branding as The Met
Public Transport Corporation
The Public Transport Corporation was a State Government of Victoria owned corporate body formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services in Victoria, Australia....
. The side logos were again altered with the introduction of Hillside Trains and Bayside Trains, with the latter also applying branding to the front.. When the carriages were refurbished under Connex, the green and gold livery was removed, restoring the carriages to their original 'silver' colour, with the addition of Connex blue and gold striping on the lower section of the leading cars, and two blue and gold panels behind the driver's cab. The seats in the passenger area also received new fabric, similar to that of an Alstom-refurbished Comeng. With the introduction of Metro
Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains Melbourne is the current franchise operator of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture led by Hong Kong based MTR Corporation together with John Holland Group and United Group Rail .Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 381...
, the Connex logos have been covered up with Metro stickers. It is uncertain if these trains will receive a new Metro livery or remain in their 'silver' form. Because these trains are not flat-sided, this makes it difficult to create an all-over sticker based livery, as shown on Comeng trains where only the flat sections have been stickered.
During the mid-1990s, over half of the Hitachi M cars received cab upgrades, with improved air-conditioning in the driver's cab and double-thickness windscreens with aluminium replacing the original rubber surrounds. After these upgrades were made, the non-upgraded M cars were no longer allowed to lead a train in revenue service, effectively making them B units
B unit
A "B" unit, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive unit which does not have a driving cab, or crew compartment, and must therefore be controlled from another, coupled locomotive with a driving cab . The term booster unit is also used. The concept was largely confined to North America...
. Another minor refurbishment was made to the interior, replacing the woodgrain upper panels and bone-coloured roof with off-white panels. In addition to the panel replacement, luggage racks and advertising boards were removed and seat bases were repainted to match the off-white walls. Two M cars have since been preserved in their original unmodified form, while a third M car (#187M) as modified by the PTC is on static display at the AHRS Museum in Williamstown. In 2008, the remaining seven 6-car trains were again modified, mainly with a more powerful driver's air-conditioning system replacing the twin white 'pancake' vents on the roof, however three other 'leading' cars (#9M, #89M and #225M, now #277M, #281M and #296M respectively) were left without the 2008 modifications and relegated to being in the centre of the trains indefinitely.
Retirement and refurbishment
New X'TrapolisX'Trapolis 100
The X'Trapolis 100 is a single deck electric passenger train, one of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains, used in Melbourne, Australia and Valparaiso, Chile.-First order:...
and Siemens train
Siemens (train)
The Siemens Nexas comprises 72 triple car electrical multiple unit trains built by Siemens Mobility for the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia from 2002-2005. The design of the trains was based on the Siemens Modular Metro concept built in Austria...
have been progressively introduced since 2002 to replace the ageing Hitachi fleet, which has been largely withdrawn from service. The X'Trapolis and Siemens trains have features such as push button operated doors and air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
, the lack of the latter feature making the Hitachis unpopular with Melbourne commuters.
The final six 6-carriage trains were to be withdrawn after the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
, but instead received a minor refurbishment and are being retained until a date that is yet to be confirmed, due to a high increase in patronage
Patronage (transportation)
In public transportation, patronage or ridership is a type of forecasting or statistic for studying the average quantity of passengers carried per certain time in a mode of public transit system. The concept should not be confused with the maximum loading capacity of one particular vehicle or the...
. Withdrawn carriages have either been scrapped, sold to private buyers across Australia, stored, or acquired by railway museum
Railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives , railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment.See List of railway museums...
s and preservation groups.
A report in February 2007 (by which time 31 trains in the Siemens fleet were out of service due to safety concerns) said the Victorian Government was negotiating to lease one 6-carriage set from Elecrail, a rail preservation group and repurchase another 3 carriages from a private seller to supplement the fleet. An additional three 3-car Hitachi trains were purchased back from Australian businessman Mr Horne, by the Victorian
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....
government in April 2007 to provide spare parts for the fleet. The Elecrail set re-entered service in December 2007.
Cab air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
has since been rolled out to the remaining fleet. In late 2007, Hitachi set #37M-#1979T-#36M - #110M-#1910T-#42M was modified to meet driver union requirements and also re-stickered into Connex livery. All remaining sets have since received the same treatment, as well as a refurbished interior.
In September 2008 Public Transport Safety Victoria withdrew the remaining trains from service due to concerns over corrosion around the doors and floor. A series of tests will be carried out before the trains are sent to the Ballarat North Workshops
Ballarat North Workshops
Ballarat North Workshops is a railway workshop located in the provincial city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. They are located in the suburb of North Ballarat on Creswick Road, and occupy 5.5 hectares of land beside the junction of the Mildura and Serviceton railway lines.-History:The workshops...
for repair work. It was decided to proceed with the repairs as the trains are required under a new timetable introduced in November 2008. The repair work is expected to cost $2 million.