The New South Wales XPT (short for eXpress Passenger Train) is a class of diesel-powered passenger trains built by Comeng and ABB. Based on the British Rail-designed High Speed Train, each XPT set comprises two XP power cars in a push-pull configuration and, between them, between four and seven passenger carriages.[1]
The XPT was procured following a competitive tendering process under an initial contract for 30 trainsets, comprising 10 power cars and 20 carriages, in March 1980. The design of the InterCity 125 was substantially modified. Testing commenced in August 1981 and the first set entered service under the State Rail Authority during January 1982. The XPT proved to be considerably faster than existing rolling stock, reducing the journey time between Sydney and Melbourne by up to two hours.
Throughout the 1980s, additional XPT sets were procured, permitting the launch of services such as the Northern Tablelands XPT and the Riverina XPT. An XPT fare surcharge was discontinued in May 1985. During the early 1990s, sleeping cars were procured, permitting the XPT to effectively take on overnight services such as the Sydney/Melbourne Express. There were also advanced plans made for additional XPTs to be produced for Thailand, but these were later abandoned. The XPTs are presently operated under NSW TrainLink, running on long-distance regional and interstate North Coast, Main Western and Main Southern line services throughout New South Wales and interstate into Victoria and Queensland.
The trains have been subject to refurbishments and overhauls to permit their use into the twenty-first century. During October 2016, the NSW government announced the XPT fleet would be entirely replaced as part of the Regional Train Project. The replacement fleet, originally set to enter service in 2023, has encountered delays (now scheduled for around 2025–2027), thus the XPT will operate longer than originally anticipated with the potential for them to be retained after the new trains enter service.
During January 1978, the Public Transport Commissioninvited tenders for 25 high-speed railcars, which were to be broadly similar to Western Australia'sProspector railcars delivered by Comeng in 1971. The tender allowed bidders to suggest alternative types of high-speed train. Comeng submitted a tender for a train based on the British Rail designed High Speed Train, which had entered service in the United Kingdom in 1976.[4] During August 1979, Comeng was announced as the successful bidder and, although the tender had called for 100 vehicles, by the time the contract was signed in March 1980, the order was only for 30: 10 power cars and 20 carriages, enough to form four five-carriage trains with two spare power cars.[5][6][7][8]
Locomotives and passenger cars of the XPT (click to enlarge)
The High Speed Train design was significantly modified, with the power cars being 50cm (19.7in) shorter, the Paxman Valenta engine downrated from 2250 to 2000bhp (1680 to 1490kW), gearing lowered for a top operating speed of 160km/h (100mph), suspension modified to operate on inferior track, and air filters and a cooling system modified to cater for hotter, dustier Australian conditions. The passenger cars, built to a loading gauge bigger than that of railways in Britain, were based on a Budd design.[6] Nonetheless, the passenger car bogies were based on the British Rail BT10 design;[9] later trailer cars used an ABB design.[citation needed] The XPT is theoretically capable of reaching speeds of 200km/h (125mph).[10]
During August 1981, the first power car and trailer commenced testing with a stainless steel luggage van.[11] The initial XPT livery was red, black and orange with InterCity XPT signwriting on the power cars. On a demonstration run to Albury on 6 September 1981, the XPT set a new Australian rail speed record of 183km/h between Table Top and Gerogery in southern NSW, breaking that set by the Western Australian Government Railways' Prospector railcar in 1971. On a test run to Albury on 18 September 1992, the XPT reached 193km/h between Table Top and Yerong Creek.[12][13] This record was broken by Queensland Rail's Electric Tilt Train in May 1999.[14]
In January 1982, the first full test XPT set started running. The first four sets entered service on the Central West XPT to Dubbo during April 1982, the Mid North Coast XPT to Kempsey in May 1982 and the Riverina XPT to Albury in August 1982.[6] The XPT cut one hour and 54 minutes off the travel time from Sydney to Dubbo.[15]
In 1983, a further five power cars and 15 trailers were ordered; these allowed the Canberra XPT to commence in August 1983 followed by the Northern Tablelands XPT to Glen Innes and Tenterfield (two times per week only) in June 1984.[16] The XPT cut 50 minutes off the trip between Sydney and Canberra.[17] By tightening up the diagrams, an overnight South XPT to Albury was introduced, but was withdrawn in June 1985 due to low patronage.[18][19][20] During 1985, an additional 12 trailer carriages were ordered to allow six sets of 7 carriages to be formed.[21][22] From October 1985, the Mid North Coast XPT to Kempsey ceased, being replaced by the Holiday Coast XPT to Grafton. The Northern Tablelands XPT also was cut back to Armidale and only ran on alternate days with a HUB/RUB set operating on the other days.[23]
Initially, the XPT carried a fare surcharge compared to parallel locomotive hauled services; however this charge was abolished from May 1985.[24]
It was proposed to extend operations to Melbourne with costs to be shared with V/Line. A five-carriage promotional train ran to Melbourne on Sunday 17 February 1985, running four free return shuttles to Tullamarine Loop.[25] Crew training commenced on the North East line between Albury and Benalla in July 1985 with services scheduled to commence on 3 August, however agreement could not be reached with the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees over crewing and the plan was shelved.[26][27][28] Another promotional train ran to Melbourne in November 1990.[29]
Following the election of the Greiner government in March 1988, consultants Booz Allen Hamilton were commissioned to prepare a report into NSW rail services. On purely economic grounds, the report recommended closing all country passenger services as they were judged unviable; however this was not politically acceptable.[30][31] If services were to be maintained, the report recommended operating a reduced rail service, all with XPTs.
During February 1990, both the Brisbane Limited and Pacific Coast Motorail were withdrawn and replaced by XPT services to Brisbane and Murwillumbah. To provide rolling stock for these, the Canberra XPT was withdrawn and replaced by a locomotive hauled train and the Northern Tablelands Express was truncated to become a day return service to Tamworth.[32][33]
In June 1990, the government announced that it would purchase a fleet of Xplorers to reintroduce services to Armidale and Moree. When these were introduced in October 1993, the Northern Tablelands XPT ceased and the stock replaced a locomotive hauled set on a service to Grafton.[34]
During October 1990, the government announced that eight sleeper carriages would be ordered for use on overnight services to Brisbane, Murwillumbah and Melbourne.[35][36] These were included in an order placed with ABB in 1991 for four power cars and 13 trailers that was jointly funded by the New South Wales and Victorian governments.[37][38][39][40] At the same time, the earlier stock was repainted in CountryLink livery.[41] The power cars were repainted by Clyde Engineering at Kelso while the carriages were done in Breemar.[42][43]
In November 1993, XPTs replaced locomotive hauled stock on the overnight Sydney/Melbourne Express.[44] In December 1994, an XPT daylight service to Melbourne was introduced by extending the Riverina XPT from Albury.[45] The XPTs reduced the travel time to Melbourne by up to two hours.[46]
During 1995, CountryLink trialled three Swedish RailwaysX2000 tilting train carriages. After conducting a statewide tour in March, they were used on Canberra services from 23 April until 18 June 1995 with modified XPT power cars XP2000 and XP2009.[47]
A total of 19 XP power cars were built, originally powered by a Paxman Valenta 12RP200L engine with a single turbocharger. These were replaced from June 2000 by Paxman VP185 12-cylinder, diesel engines with four low-pressure turbochargers and two high-pressure turbochargers boasting 1,492kW or 2,001 horsepower that had been successfully used by some British RailHigh Speed Trains since 1994.[53][54] Traction equipment was manufactured in England by Brush Traction of Loughborough.
Power cars comprise five main compartments at the platform level. At the front is the drivers' cab, followed by the clean air compartment, engine room, cooling group, and compressor room at the rear of the locomotive.
The XP power cars were named after cities and towns that the XPT served:[55]
In November 2022, power car XP2011 was named "Kimbo" in honour of retiring driver Kim Andronicus. During late 2023, power car XP2008 received the name “2 Dads”. Both XP2011 and XP2008 display their names as decals under the side cab windows.
The XPT carriages were refurbished between 1992 and 1993, which included their repainting in CountryLink livery.[41] All were refurbished again between 2005 and 2008.[56][57][58][59]
After two carriages were written off after the Wallan derailment in 2020, UGL Rail was contracted to convert two XF economy sitting cars to an XAM sleeper and XBR first buffet.[60][61]
As at June 2023, the carriage fleet of 58 carriages comprised[62]
7 Sleeping cars: XAM2175-2178, 2180–2182
8 First class saloon cars XL 2228, 2230-2236
8 First class saloon/buffet cars XBR 2150–2158
25 Economy class saloon cars XF2200-2223
9 Economy class saloon/luggage cars XFH 2104–2110, 2112, 2113
Formations
Initially, all services operated with five carriage sets. Following the purchase of extra carriages, this was increased to seven. In 1998, each set was reduced to six carriages.[63] During 2001, all were reduced to five carriages outside of school holiday periods.[64][65] Presently, XPTs operate with four carriages to Dubbo (formed from the country end as XL, XBR, XF and XFH), and five (formed from the country end as XAM, XL, XBR, XF and XFH) on the North Coast and Melbourne services, with six during peak times when an extra XF is added (formed from the country end as XAM, XL, XBR, XF, XF and XFH) The Dubbo set can operate with one power car if required, with the power car turned at its destination.
On 20 February 2020, a Sydney to Melbourne bound XPT derailed in the Wallan derailment, killing the train's driver and pilot and injuring twelve.[68][69] The leading powercar, XP2018 was rebuilt as XP2019, re-entering service in February 2023.[70] Two carriages were written off.[61]
Replacement
In October 2016, the NSW government announced the XPTs would be replaced as part of the Regional Train Project.[71][72][73][74] Two months later, it was announced that several different train manufacturers had been shortlisted to supply the replacement trains.[75] During February 2019, a contract with the Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) was signed for a new fleet of bi-modeCivity trains; these are to replace the XPTs.[76] Originally scheduled to enter service sometime in 2023, the Civity fleet has been delayed, allegedly due to requested design changes.[77][78] The government has not ruled out retaining XPTs after the introduction of the new trains.[79]
The Dubbo set is captive and operates a daily return service. The other seven sets rotate on a seven-day repeating cycle as follows:[83]
Day 1: 07:42 Sydney to Melbourne arrives 18:30, forms 19:50 Melbourne to Sydney
Day 2: arrives Sydney 06:58, forms 11:41 Sydney to Grafton arrives 22:15
Day 3: 05:15 Grafton to Sydney arrives 15:45, forms 20:42 to Melbourne
Day 4: arrives in Melbourne 07:30, forms 08:30 to Sydney arrives 19:59
Day 5: 07:08 Sydney to Casino arrives 18:41, forms 19:30 Casino to Sydney
Day 6: arrives Sydney 07:01, forms 14:41 Sydney to Brisbane
Day 7: arrives Brisbane 04:53, forms 05:55 Brisbane to Sydney arrives 20:10
Between each duty in Sydney, trains are serviced at the XPT Service Centre south of Sydenham station. This pattern has led to the XPT being one of the most utilised train fleets worldwide with only three significant periods of downtime in the cycle. This includes one overnight stabling in Grafton, between days 2 and 3, and two overnight stablings in Sydney, between days 4 and 5, and days 7 and 1.
Potential export sale
During 1986, an agreement was reached to build a fleet of XPTs for the State Railway of Thailand. To allow the train to be built to the narrower 1,000mm (3ft3+3⁄8in) metre gauge while retaining the same fuel capacity, it was proposed to extend the power cars by 2.7 to 20 metres (8ft 10in to 65ft 7in) and mount them on Bo′Bo′Bo′ bogies. The negotiations were sufficiently advanced for the Prime Minister of Thailand to announce the agreement on television, however the Australian Department of Trade withdrew its support at the last moment and the deal fell through.[40][84][85]
CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas of New South Wales, and to and from Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it later became a subsidiary of RailCorp. CountryLink operated rail services using XPT and Xplorer rolling stock, with connecting coach services operated under contract by private operators.
Broadmeadows railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, and opened on 1 February 1873.
The 4D was a prototype double deck electric multiple unit built for the Public Transport Corporation in Victoria, Australia, for operation on the Melbourne railway system. It remains the only double deck train to have ever operated in Melbourne. The train's name stood for "Double Deck Development and Demonstration."
The Spirit of Progress was the premier express passenger train on the Victorian Railways in Australia, running from Melbourne to the New South Wales border at Albury, and later through to Sydney.
Benalla railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Benalla, and it opened on 18 August 1873.
The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne central business district to Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury-Wodonga, serving the cities of Wangaratta and Seymour, and smaller towns in northeastern Victoria.
The railways of New South Wales, Australia, use a large variety of passenger and freight rolling stock. The first railway in Sydney was opened in 1855 between Sydney and Granville, now a suburb of Sydney but then a major agricultural centre. The railway formed the basis of the New South Wales Government Railways. Passenger and freight services were operated from the beginning. By 1880, there was a half hourly service to Homebush.
The Xplorer is a class of diesel multiple unit trains built by ABB. Initially entering service in October 1993 with CountryLink, the Xplorers are mechanically identical to the Endeavour railcars, though feature a higher level of passenger amenity. All 23 carriages were built in the Dandenong rolling stock factory. The Xplorers currently operate under NSW TrainLink, running on the regional Main North, Main Western and Main Southern lines throughout New South Wales.
The Silver City Comet was a train service that operated from September 1937 until November 1989 between Parkes and Broken Hill in western New South Wales. It was the first air-conditioned train in Australia.
The Southern Aurora was an overnight express passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. First-class throughout, including the dining facilities, the Southern Aurora featured all-sleeper accommodation. The train first ran on 13 April 1962 after the opening of the North East standard gauge line from Melbourne to Albury, eliminating the break-of-gauge between the capital cities.
The Inter-Capital Daylight was a passenger train that operated between Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne from March 1956 until August 1991.
The Sydney–Melbourne Express was an overnight intercapital passenger train service that operated between Australia's largest two cities, Sydney and Melbourne, between August 1986 and November 1993. Operated jointly by State Rail Authority and V/Line the name depended on the direction of travel, with the train nicknamed the 'Sex' or 'Mex'.
The 900/800 class railcars were diesel multiple units built by the New South Wales Government Railways between November 1951 and November 1960.
The Riverina Express was a passenger train operated by the New South Wales Government Railways between Sydney, Griffith and Albury from September 1949 until November 1993.
NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Its primary intercity and regional services are spread throughout five major rail lines, operating out of Sydney's Central railway station.
The New South Wales stainless steel carriage stock was a type of passenger carriage operated by the New South Wales Government Railways from 1961 until 1993.
The Western Mail was an Australian passenger train that ran from Sydney to Dubbo and Parkes from 1973 until November 1988.
The NSW TrainLink fleet of trains serves the areas outside Sydney, Australia, mainly interurban and interstate lines. The NSW TrainLink fleet consists of both diesel and electric traction, with the oldest of the fleet being the V sets and the youngest being the H sets.
The R type carriages were a series of locomotive-hauled carriages proposed to be built for the Victorian country rail network in the early and mid 1980s.
On 20 February 2020, a NSW TrainLink XPT passenger train derailed while passing through a turnout at Wallan, Victoria, Australia. Of the 162 total on board, there were two fatalities and 61 passengers were injured, eight of whom sustained serious injuries.
References
↑ Transport for NSW, Customer Experience Division. "XPT Regional Trains". transportnsw.info. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
↑ "New Trains for Country Services". Network. March 1979. p.16.
↑ "XPT – New South Wales' political train". Modern Railways. No.399. December 1984. pp.544–546.
↑ "The New Timetable". Railway Digest. March 1990. p.94.
↑ "Xplorer Enters Service". Railway Digest. November 1993. p.458.
↑ "XPT sleepers for North Coast trains". Railway Digest. November 1990. p.385.
↑ "XPT revamp". Railway Gazette International. November 1990. p.823.
↑ "NSW/Vic to share XPTs". Railway Digest. January 1991. p.7.
↑ "Sydney-Melbourne to go XPT". Railway Gazette International. January 1991. p.9.
↑ "XPT trailer cars to be built in Victoria". Railway Digest. August 1991. p.273.
1 2 Dunn, John (2013). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 5 1985–2012. Kenthurst: Rosenberg Publishing. pp.13–15, 203–219. ISBN9781922013521.
↑ "Market". Railway Gazette International. April 2000. p.210.
↑ "An Express Passenger Train 40 years – Part 2". Australian Railway History. No.1007. January 2022. pp.4–13.
↑ "Enhancements underway for CountryLink's XPT fleet". Railway Digest. March 2005. p.6.
↑ "XPT Passenger Cars new livery in service". Railway Digest. February 2006. p.12.
↑ "The CountryLink XPT Refurbishment". Railway Digest. July 2006. pp.22–27.
↑ "XPT carriage refurbishment completed". Railway Digest. October 2008. p.9.
↑ "Rolling Stock contracts and deliveries". Railway Digest. April 2022. p.50.
1 2 "XPT power car XP2018 from Wallan derailment returns to service as XP2019, two XF economy to XAM and XBR underway at UGL Unipart". Railway Digest. April 2023. p.10.
↑ "The locomotive hauled passenger car fleet". Railway Digest. July 2023. p.47.
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