The 3000/3100 class are a class of diesel railcars operated by the
State Transport Authority and its successors in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. They were built by
Comeng and
Clyde Engineering
Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products.
It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...
between 1987 and 1996 and are the workhorse of the non-electrified suburban rail network in Adelaide.
History
In March 1985, the
State Transport Authority (STA) awarded a tender for 20 diesel railcars (eight 3000 class units with a cab at each end and twelve 3100 class with a cab at one end only) to
Comeng in
Dandenong, Victoria
Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...
. The design was based on the stainless steel shell of the
Comeng electric train then in production for
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's
Public Transport Corporation
The Public Transport Corporation (PTC) was a Victoria State Government owned statutory authority formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services.
The PTC was also responsible for directly ...
, but longer and with only two doors per side. Because of a contractual requirement to maximise local content, the fit out was conducted at Comeng's
Dry Creek facility. The first commenced testing in May 1987, entering service in November 1987. The eight 3000s were built first with the first 3100 class completed in mid-1988.
The last entered service in December 1988.
In the original contract, there was an option to order 76 further examples. However Comeng came back to the STA with a significantly higher price, so the work was put out to tender and a contract for 50 awarded to
Clyde Engineering
Clyde Engineering was an Australian manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, and other industrial products.
It was founded in September 1898 by a syndicate of Sydney businessmen buying the Granville factory of timber merchants Huds ...
in November 1989. Comeng concluded a deal to sell the 3000 class design and tooling. However by the time construction commenced, Comeng had sold its Dandenong plant to
ABB
ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...
who backed away from an agreement to hand over the jigs and tooling, so they were built between 1992 and 1996 by Clyde Engineering's
Martin & King
Martin & King was a manufacturing company based in Melbourne, Australia. The company specialised in motor vehicle bodies factory in
Somerton, Victoria
Somerton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Somerton recorded a population of 6 at the 2021 census.
Somerton is predominantly ...
.
["The Adelaide 3000 class railcars" ''Railway Digest'' March 2006 pages 20-23]
All were delivered with unpainted stainless steel offset by blue and orange stripes. In April 2002 the first was repainted by
Bluebird Rail Operations
Rail First Asset Management (RailFirst), formerly known as CFCL Australia (CFCLA), is an Australian rolling stock leasing company operating in the rail freight market. It leases assets to a number of private rail operators in the local rail indus ...
in Adelaide Metro's yellow, blue and red.
Originally they operated on all
Adelaide suburban lines, however since the electrification of the
Seaford and
Flinders
Flinders may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
Australia New South Wales
* Flinders County, New South Wales
* Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour
* Flinders, New South Wa ...
lines in 2014, they have been confined to the
Belair,
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
,
Grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
and
Outer Harbor lines. They have on occasions ventured beyond the Adelaide metropolitan area, operating special services to
Nuriootpa on the
Barossa Valley line and
Riverton on the
Roseworthy-Peterborough line. These tours stopped in the mid 2000s.
Mechanics
Only one of the axles per multiple unit are powered, originally with 2 Stromberg Electric Motors, which have now been replaced since the 2018 life extension.
The 3000 class bodies were built by Comeng and feature airbag secondary suspension. All 3000 class railcars are fitted with electro-magnetic
track brake
A magnetic track brake (Mg brake) is a brake for rail vehicles. It consists of brake magnets, pole shoes, a suspension, a power transmission and, in the case of mainline railroads, a track rod. When current flows through the magnet coil, the ma ...
s, which are comparatively rare on trains, though they are commonly found on
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
s. These are operated separately from the normal mechanical and dynamic braking.
Trains are equipped with automatic
Scharfenberg coupler
The Scharfenberg coupler (german: Scharfenbergkupplung, abbreviated ''Schaku'') is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling.
Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Königsberg, Germany (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the coupler ...
s which are operated from the driver's cab. Coupling operations are sometimes performed at
Adelaide station, requiring an extra staff member to flag the driver as well as to connect the safety chains. This feature allows sets of up to six cars to be formed.
Two headlights are mounted at the top of the car in the centre on driver's cab ends. There are no marker lights at the front; however, there are red marker lights for the rear located on the upper corners. There are metal steps up the side of the car to each door, but they are not used by passengers, however in emergency situations, they may be used to allow passengers to disembark from the train. They are illuminated by lights at night. All cars are air-conditioned.
During May 2020, 50 out of 70 railcars were taken out of service on the
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
,
Belair and
Outer Harbor rail lines due to a significant mechanical fault regarding the servicing of the cars. These trains were out of service for 2 weeks whilst servicing on the turbochargers and other defective parts were repaired/replaced, therefore, a decision was made by DPTI to shift all affected train services to a weekend timetable. The
Seaford and
Flinders
Flinders may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula
Australia New South Wales
* Flinders County, New South Wales
* Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour
* Flinders, New South Wa ...
lines were not affected due to electrification having been completed on those lines in early 2014. During these critical repairs, the
Grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
line was closed.
Refurbishment
In the 2008/09 State Budget, it was announced that five out of six of Adelaide's railway lines were to be
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
commencing with the
Noarlunga and
Gawler
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
lines. This was to have resulted in 58 of the 3000/3100 class railcars being converted to electric operation with the remaining 12 to be retained as diesels for operation on the
Belair line. However with the electrification project scaled back, the conversions were cancelled.
Commencing in April 2018, all 3000/3100 series railcars began a life extension program which included new
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
engines, upgraded bogies, enhanced upholstery and a repaint into the a red and blue livery similar to the
4000 class units. The modernised livery features silver borders around the headlights and tail lights to allow for better illumination throughout light hours.
[3000 Series Railcar Upgrade ''Catch Point'' issue 245 May 2018 pages 12/13]
Starting from May 2021, Adelaide Metro began to gradually refurbish the interior of the 3000/3100 class railcars, commencing with car 3019. The 2021 refurbishment includes:
* brighter lights
* new wheelchair spaces to provide room for two wheelchairs
* new floor materials designed for better graffiti cleaning, removal of existing graffiti, and deep interior cleaning
References
Further reading
Further information on the 3000 and 3100 series railcar, including several interior photographs
External links
{{South Australian Railways locos, state=collapsed
Diesel multiple units of South Australia
Train-related introductions in 1987
Transport in Adelaide