Trackside

Cityrail

Cityrail currently operate all commuter and interurban passenger services in the Sydney Metro Area, as well as a number of regional services beyond the borders of the metro area. Cityrail operate these services with a mixture of double deck suburban and interurban electric multiple units (EMU’s) in 2/3/4/6 or 8-car sets, and a number of 2-car regional diesel multiple units (DMU’s) for use outside the reach of electrification.

Authors note: This is not meant to be a definitive guide to Cityrail trains, just a brief overview and background. I’m well aware that a number of trains had different set designations on introduction to what they are known as today, for example.

Suburban Stock

The oldest operating suburban trains on the Cityrail system are the L/R/S Set trains. These are made up of varying numbers of old Goninan or Comeng (Commonwealth Engineering) built stainless steel double decker, non air conditioned stock. Introduced from 1972, they are due to be withdrawn from 2010. L-Sets are three car sets (Motor-Trailer-Motor) used for local services around the Wollongong area. S-Sets are four car sets (Motor-Trailer-Trailer-Motor) which are doubled up to form 8-car trains, or used with a K-Set to form an 8-car train. R-Sets are six car trains (either M-T-M-M-T-M or M-T-T-M-T-M). These cars are maintained in all of the Cityrail depots, located at Hornsby, Mortdale and Flemmington, and can be seen on all suburban lines in the network.

The next train to be introduced onto the Cityrail network is the K-Set. K-Sets are externally very similar to R/S/L sets, the main difference being the inclusion of air conditioning, and the moving of the pantograph to the trailer car (resulting in these cars being permanently coupled into 2-car blocks). They are coupled into 4-car sets (with the K-Sets used in Newcastle operating as 2-car sets, as they have a driving cab at the end of the trailer car), which are doubled up to form 8-car trains, or combined with an S-Set to form an 8-car train. All are maintained at Hornsby Depot.

Following the K-Set suburban trains, another batch of stainless steel suburban cars were ordered from Goninans, known as the Chopper, or “C” Sets. The chopper control differs to the camshaft control used on earlier series of suburban stock, and is said to give smoother acceleration. C-Sets also have a fiberglass front that gives them a very distinctive appearance. All are maintained at Flemmington Car Sheds. (Photo still to come, but meanwhile, Fred Sawyer has some excellent photos on his Flickr!)

Built to replace the last single deck electrics on the network, and introduced from 1988, the T-Set Tangaras are one of the most common types of EMU in the suburban fleet. The Tangara was the first “named” train on the Cityrail fleet, and also the first train in many years not to follow the stainless steel exterior of the R/S/L Set cars. T-Set cars are maintained at Hornsby and Mortdale sheds.

Introduced in 2002, the Millennium Train was not an initial success. With a number of problems, the trains were very unreliable and withdrawn for a short period in 2004. Following this withdrawal, they are now amongst the most reliable trains on the network, and are certainly the most advanced suburban train in the fleet. They are arguably the safest train on the network, with many security cameras inside the train, as well as very bright lighting through the train. The Millennium trains were built by EDI Rail, at Cardiff, and are maintained by EDI at Eveleigh, near Redfern. This is due to a 15-year maintenance clause in the original contract for the trains construction, back in 2001. Due to the increased power demanded by these trains, they currently only run on the South, Inner West, Bankstown and East Hills/Airport Lines, with occasional runs on the Carlingford and Cumberland lines, although they can run on any line in the network (Photo still to come, but meanwhile, have a look at some of Fred Sawyers excellent photos on his Flickr!).

*Despite the suburban boundary extending to Cowan and Oftord, suburban trains normally terminate at Berowra and Waterfall respectively. The boundary exists largely for ticketing reasons.