Transperth B-series train

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Transperth B-series

Entered service	October 4, 2004
Built by	EDi/Bombardier
Built / In service	31 / 30
Fleet numbers	49 - 79
Depots	Nowergup, Mandurah
Weight
Tare	120 t
Dimensions
Length	73 m
Width	2.9 m
Height	3.1 m
Articulated sections	3
Motors	4 in 'A' railcar 4 in 'B' railcar

The Transperth B-series trains are the newest model of electric trains that run on the Transperth metropolitan transit system in Perth, Western Australia.

The new trains run in configurations of 3 or 6 carriages. Each 3 car set is semi-permanently coupled together and consists of two opposing drivers' carriages, and a third middle carriage dedicated to passengers.

1 History
2 Improvements
3 Future
4 Accident at Nowergup Depot
5 See also
6 References

[edit] History

Perth's first electrified trains, the A-Series, commenced service in 1990. The new B-series was introduced on October 3, 2004 as part of the New MetroRail project. The trains were bought to service the Joondalup Line and Mandurah Line at a cost of $AUD 8 999 999 each (~9 Million), and are stored and cleaned primarily at the Nowergup railway depot.

The B-series trains are capable of service on the Midland, Armadale/Thornlie and Fremantle lines and have been used occasionally during special events (eg. football matches). However the stations on these lines are not capable of handling double (6 car) sets as the platforms are not long enough. Platforms on the Northern Suburbs line had to be lengthened to accommodate the 6 car trains. The Mandurah line stations will be built with the longer platforms for the double trainsets.

[edit] Improvements

Mounting of traction motors to the sprung body of the railcar rather than to the bogies, resulting in less noise and vibration
Faster operation with running speeds of 130 km/h, but are capable of speeds up to 142km/h (however not designed to, but could be upgraded in the future) compared with the older sets' maximum of 110 km/h)
Regenerative braking
Distinctive styling, with a more contoured exterior
Other minor aesthetic alterations
New automatic onboard announcement system (AOA)
Auxiliary secondary communication via floor to air (FTAC)

[edit] Future

Public Transport Authority have negotiatied to buy 45 extra new railcars (15 sets) to accommodate the New MetroRail (Mandurah/Clarkson Lines) and have greater frequencies[1]. The purchase cost is $AUD 160 Million , with the delivery of completed rollingstock expected in 2011.The fleet numbers of the new B series railcars will be BEA/B/T 4/5/680 - BEA/B/T 4/5/694. ^[1]

[edit] Accident at Nowergup Depot

On August 23, 2006 at approximately 6pm, two B Series sets, numbered 53 and 60, were involved in a head-on collision at Nowergup Depot [2]. The cost of the repairs is AU$ 1,240,000, which will be paid for by the Public Transport Authority after a settled resolution between the Public Transport Authority and EDI-Bombardier. The reason for this is due to the fault of this accident. The fault of the accident was concluded to be that of an Public Transport Authority employee, and that the accident site was on EDi-Bombardier property (as Nowergup Depot is run by and the property of EDi Rail - Bombardier). An investigation was conducted, and both PTA and EDi-Bombardier have not taken any further action and are happy with this outcome. The damaged B Sets will remain in Western Australia until EDi-Bombardier finish their current contract with another party, which at that stage the damaged cars will be sent to EDi Queensland and fixed and re-tested.^{[citation needed]}

The two damaged sets (53 and 60) will be "unclamped" and this process will separate the cars of the Set. Set 53 and 60 will be "combined" to make a full working set and thus will be renumbered to 53. The then set 53 will need to be re-tested. This re-test will take place on the Clarkson Line. The damaged cars (set 53 and 60) both cars with driver compartment will be joined and sent to Queendsland via Freight train. The Trains will be lifted onto a train and secured with cranes and ready for its journey back. Hence, Transperth will be one set short, this is the best possible scenario. The proposed date for the repair is 22 February, however it is EDi-Bombardier's discretion when they will repair as there is no contract made to get the sets repaired on a set time and date.^{[citation needed]}

The incident did not require investegation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau as it did not occur within "part of the Defined Interstate Rail Network", defined by the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.^{[citation needed]}