| Intercity V set | |
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V9 at Sydney Central in the 2005 'Intercity' livery. |
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The upper deck of a V set refurbished in the late 2000s with resprayed panelling and new carpet. |
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| In service | 1970–present |
| Manufacturer | Comeng |
| Constructed | 1970–1989 |
| Formation | 2, 3, 4, 6 (2 x 3-car or 1 x 2-, 1 x 4-car sets), 8 (2 x 4-car sets) |
| Capacity | 96 seated (driving cars), 112 seated (trailer cars). 192 in 2-car set, 304 in 3-car set, 416 in 4-car set. |
| Operator | RailCorp, as the product group CityRail |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 23.968 m (78 ft 8 in) |
| Width | 2.928 m (9 ft 7 in) |
| Height | 4.382 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 61 tonnes |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
The V set or DDIU (Double Deck Inter-Urban) is a class of electric multiple unit operated by CityRail in New South Wales, Australia. These stainless steel double deck trains operate on the Interurban lines of the CityRail network, serving the Blue Mountains, South Coast and the Central Coast to Newcastle.
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In 1968 the New South Wales Government Railways placed an order for the first batch 16 cars, with Commonwealth Engineering. Described at the time as the 'most luxurious commuter stock in the world',[1] they set new benchmarks for passenger comfort in Sydney. The cars made a first run from Sydney to Gosford on 10 June 1970, targeted as F111. This 4-car train was the first set to operate in revenue traffic from 22 June 1970, and all 16 cars were in operation by September of the same year.
These cars had many similar features to the later-built cars, including the one-piece moulded fibreglass front in royal blue & grey livery, semi-automatic doors, electronically controlled brakes and double-glazed windows. They did not have ditchlights (as they were considered unnecessary at the time), and had a different style of headlights.
There were:
The configuration of these cars was unsuccessful. The cars were fitted with AEI equipment, and the electrical equipment was split between the motor and trailer car. The cables were not able to provide the power needed to operate the train as proposed. This resulted in many failures of the train to operate and also failures in the air-conditioning system.
One class travel was introduced in September 1974, so the seating was all "economy class". This led to the refurbishment of the DDIU sets with the original luggage racks above the seating in the single deck section being removed. During this time the sets were targeted as U sets, the plates used on the then current single deck interurbans.
With the arrival of further V sets in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an excess of motor cars resulted and the decision was made to convert the 1970 cars to trailers and make them compatible with the later cars, thereby solving the reliability problems. The cars were rewired at Elcar Workshops, and the driver's compartment was removed and replaced by passenger toilets and luggage space.
The cars were subsequently renumbered:
During 1977 the second batch of DDIUs arrived, with many differences from the first batch. The electrical equipment was all mounted on the motor car, using Mitsubishi Electrical Equipment; they had stainless steel underframes; and they were fitted with vacuum retention toilets, used for the first time in NSW. These cars were the first of the "V sets", with the V showing that they were installed with vacuum retention toilets. They operated separately from the 1970 cars, as the two types were not compatible with each other.
The cars built were:
The driving trailers were not used that much, due to driver complaints about an uncomfortable "kick" when the motor car started to push the trailer. The controls in the DCTs were gradually stripped and replaced defective ones on the DCMs. However, during the "Citydecker" refurbishment by Goninan, DCT 9031–9036 were recabbed and recoded DTD. At the same time the DCMs were refurbished, receiving destination indicators and ditchlights. The refurbishment also saw the installation of air-conditioning in the driver's cabs of the DCMs: their lack of air-conditioning resulted in a union ban on using them as leading cars. DCM 8032–8036 were modified to have wheelchair seating, and recoded DTM. The DCMs that had destination indicators eventually had them removed and replaced with a metal blanking plate, after a decision not to use them on Interurban runs.
The first V sets were a success, and in 1982 DIM Motor Cars were introduced. There were no more driving trailers built, but new trailers, coded DIT, was built. These cars had increased seating compared with the DC series, up from 88 to 96 for the motor cars, and from 92 to 112 for the trailers.
The cars built were:
DIM 8037-8068 were built with a wood paneling interior, and without ditchlights. These were the last cars to be delivered in the 'Blue Goose' livery. They were eventually fitted with ditchlights during refurbishment.
DIM 8069-8092 were built with a slightly different style of interior arrangement, and newer air conditioning technology. These can be distinguished from the earlier DIMs by the air-conditioning grille cover, and were delivered with ditchlights.
Advancements in technology saw a thyristor chopper system fitted to the next batch of motor cars, coded DJM. The chopper cars gave a smoother and quieter ride. The chopper cars can be distinguished from the earlier "camshaft" cars by a large open grille at the pantograph end of the motor car, and by different hatch coverings over the driver's side of the motor car. DJM 8123–8137 had even larger open grilles on the pantograph end. These cars were the first V sets to be painted in the State Rail "Candy" Livery, and were delivered with the rest of the DIT trailer cars. Motor car DJM 8101 had its "Candy" livery repainted into a CityRail blue and yellow scheme in 1990 to form a special set, with the commemorative wording "celebrating 20 years of double-deck intercity services to Gosford" applied near the driver's cab window. In 2009 DJM 8101 was repainted into standard 'Intercity' livery.
The final V sets were introduced in 1989, and they were the last cars to come out from Commonwealth Engineering Granville Plant. These cars were coded DKM and DKT and are permanently coupled. There were several changes: the cars were finished in corrugated steel, instead of the previous inserted Budd fluting. Seating had separate seat backs. Instead of the push-pull doors inside the previous V sets, the DKs were fitted with an electronically operated vestibule door, and no door was installed at the gangway. This was done so that passengers could access the toilets more easily and the DKM and DKT cars were permanently coupled in 2-car configuration with another 2-car chopper V set, forming a 4-car set.
14 cars were built:
There was a proposal for 50 more to be built, but that order was never placed. Recently the DK Sets have had their vestuible doors fixed with a new button to open them
V sets operate on the following lines:
The V sets were a great success. In the 2000s a blue and yellow livery ("Intercity") was progressively applied to the fleet, largely unifying the appearance of the trains.
The first batch of cars was withdrawn in late 2005 due to corrosion in the underframes: these cars had low-carbon mild steel underframes instead of the stainless steel used on later batches). DMT 9204 was subsequently destroyed in an emergency services training exercise on 25 November 2008.
In January 2011 an additional 25 OSCAR cars were ordered to replace the 1977 batch of V sets, which are currently being withdrawn.[2]
Beckhaus, John; Halgren, Stephen (2007). Sydney's Electric Trains. Australian Railway Historical Society NSW Division. ISBN 978 0 9757870 8 3
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