Outer Suburban services are peak hour trains that run into the heart of the city underground, rather than terminating at Central. They are designed for people living outside the metropolitan area who commute to the CBD for work – rather than changing at Central, they can go straight to Wynyard or Town Hall. Outer Suburban services run to/from Springwood (Blue Mountains Line), Wyong (Central Coast) and Kiama/Port Kembla (South Coast Line). Due to the longer travel times required, special rolling stock is used on these routes, although due to unforseen problems, occasionally Suburban trains stand in on these trains.
Although a number of K-Sets were fitted with high backed seats for this purpose, the first dedicated “Outer Suburban Train” wasn’t introduced until 1994, with the end of the Tangara order. Even then, it was only a modified Tangara – The OSCARs are the first train designed and built specifically as Outer Suburban Cars.
G Set Tangaras (1994 to present)
The last 80 Tangara cars delivered were modified slightly to be better suited to “outer suburban” runs, as opposed to normal suburban services. While maintaining the same size for the cars (unlike the V-Set interurban cars, which are notably longer 
than suburban rolling stock), so that 8-car trains could use existing suburban platforms, especially in the underground, the interiors were fitted with high back, reversible seating and one toilet per 4-car set. Designed as “G-Sets”, these Tangaras were designed for runs to and from Springwood, Wyong and Wollongong.
Towards the end of 2005, 15 V-Set interurban cars were withdrawn from service earlier than expected, as their mild-steel underframes were showing signs of corrosion. This caused problems with an already-stretched fleet, and as result, more G-set Tangaras were placed on longer runs, to Kiama and even as far as Newcastle. As the G-Set Tangaras were being used on more and more “Intercity” trains, T-Set Tangaras were being used on their original rosters, resulting in outer suburban services running with suburban stock!
H Set “OSCAR” (2006 – present)
Late 2006, Cityrail began trialling their latest passenger train – The OSCAR (Outer Suburban CAR), H-Set. Externally similar to a Millennium Train, and with all the same features (LED display boards, next station announcements, similar seat fabric, etc), with an internal design similar to the G-Set (high backed reversible seating, one toilet per 4-car set, luggage racks). Initially, they entered service on South Coast trains, displacing all T-Set Tangaras running 4-car trains in the off peak.
Currently, they have replaced all but one of the existing Tangara rosters (by 2006, it was a coin toss to determine if your train was a T-Set or G-Set Tangara on the South Coast) on off-peak South Coast trains, and a number of 8-car services have begun running to/from Bondi Junction/Sydney Terminal in the peak hours.
As a result, this has allowed more G-Set Tangaras to return to the role that they were initially intended, running to and from Springwood and Wyong, as well as peak hour services to/from Wollongong/Port Kembla. This, in turn, has freed up more T-Set Tangara trains to work suburban services.
While the future of the OSCAR is certain, it is uncertain what role the G-Sets will play in years to come. Many rumors abound, such as that they will be converted to suburban rolling stock, or that they will replace V-Sets in a new timetable on shorter runs to Gosford and similar destinations, freeing up more V-Sets for better services on longer runs. Time will tell.
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