New South Wales Xplorer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Xplorer is a class of diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains built by
ABB ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Excha ...
. Initially entering service in October 1993 with
CountryLink 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 (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of Ne ...
, 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 Dandenong rolling stock factory in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong South was opened in 1954 by Commonwealth Engineering. It has since been operated in succession by ABB, Adtranz and Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier and Alstom. His ...
. The Xplorers currently operate under
NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a regional train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and into Australian Capital Territory, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria (state), Victoria, Queensland and South Australia ...
, running on the regional Main North, Main Western and Main Southern lines throughout
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
.


History

Following the election of the Greiner Government in March 1988, consulting firm
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American company specializing in intelligence, AI, and digital transformation. It is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washing ...
was 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. If services were to be maintained, the report recommended an 'all XPT' option supported by an expanded coach network. This option was taken up by the government and a new timetable introduced in February 1990. One of the casualties was the '' Northern Tablelands Express'' from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
to
Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...
which was operated on alternate days by a locomotive hauled HUB/ RUB set and XPT. This was truncated back to Tamworth allowing it to be operated by one XPT as a day return service. A road coach from Sydney to Armidale was introduced. Another service to be replaced by coach was the
Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line to Armidale and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had a ...
to Moree connecting service that was operated by a DEB set.After suffering a number of losses in northern NSW electorates where services were cut during the March 1990 Federal Election, ensuring a decisive majority for the Hawke Labor government, the National Party decided a policy reversal was needed. In June 1990, the government announced that it would purchase 17 Xplorer carriages to reintroduce services to Armidale and Moree and replace locomotive hauled stock and coaches on services to
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
. This would release an XPT to operate a daily service to Grafton. The Xplorers entered service on the North Western service in October 1993 and on the Canberra service in December 1993. In November 1994, the government ordered a further four Xplorer carriages. From May 2000, Xplorers took over the weekly services to
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...
and
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
. All are scheduled to be replaced by the R sets. A contract with CAF was signed in February 2019, with the Xplorers to be replaced from 2027.


Service

The Xplorers currently operate on these services out of
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
: *
Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...
and Moree: the '' Armidale/Moree Xplorer'' daily service runs along the Main North line to
Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line to Armidale and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had a ...
where the train divides. One portion continues on the Main North line and proceeds to Armidale, while the other transfers onto the
Mungindi Mungindi is a town and locality on the border of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. The town is within Moree Plains Shire in New South Wales. Within Queensland, the locality is split between the Shire of Balonne (the western part) ...
line to Moree. The Armidale portion normally consists of three carriages and the Moree portion two. During times of high demand these can be built up to four and three carriages respectively. *
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
:Southern timetable
NSW TrainLink
3 services each direction per day, running along the Main Southern and
Bombala Bombala is a town in the Monaro, New South Wales, Monaro region of far southern New South Wales, Australia, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is approximately south-southwest of the state capital, Sydney, and south of the town of Cooma, Ne ...
lines. Normally operated by a three carriage set but during times of high demand these can be built up to four. *
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...
: service is attached to a Canberra Xplorer service until
Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...
on Saturdays and Wednesdays only, and operates to Griffith via the Main Southern,
Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...
and Yanco-Griffith lines. Service returns on Sundays and Thursdays joining an Xplorer from Canberra at Goulburn although on occasions when either train runs late, each will run separately to Sydney. Normally operated by two or three carriages. *
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
: the ''
Outback Xplorer The ''Outback Xplorer'' is an Australian passenger train service operated by NSW TrainLink between Central railway station, Sydney, Sydney and Broken Hill railway station, Broken Hill via the Main Western railway line, Main Western line. Commenc ...
'' service runs along the Main Western and
Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
lines to Broken Hill. Outbound service operates Monday, returning Tuesday. Normally operated by three carriages.


Carriages

Coding for the carriages are as follows: * EA First Class Driving Power Car: First Class seating, Buffet and Satellite Telephone. Capacity 42 passengers. * EB Economy Class Intermediate Power Car: Economy Class seating and Toilet. Capacity 66 Passengers. * EC Economy Class Driving Power Car: Economy Class seating, Disabled toilet with baby change facilities, wheelchair space and booked Luggage space. Capacity 38 passengers. Carriage numbering is as follows: * EA 2501–2508 * EB 2511–2517 * EC 2521–2528 EA 2508 and EC 2528 used to be Endeavour railcars LE 2815 and TE 2865. They became available following the electrification of the
South Coast line The South Coast Line (SCO) is an Regional rail, intercity rail service that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from , and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line, New South W ...
from
Dapto Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the western side of Lake Illawarra and covering . As at the , the suburb had a population of 10,954. History The name Dapto is said to be an Abor ...
to
Kiama Kiama may refer to: * Electoral district of Kiama, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Kiama, New South Wales, a town * Kiama (spider), a genus of spiders *Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government ar ...
in 2001, and were converted to Xplorers by
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
, Dandenong. The conversion of these two vehicles enabled the reintroduction of a rail service to Broken Hill as the ''
Outback Xplorer The ''Outback Xplorer'' is an Australian passenger train service operated by NSW TrainLink between Central railway station, Sydney, Sydney and Broken Hill railway station, Broken Hill via the Main Western railway line, Main Western line. Commenc ...
'', originally known as the Silver City Xplorer. Each car is powered by a
Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...
KTA-19R diesel engine rated at at 1800rpm coupled to a
Voith The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith trades in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport. Founded in 1867, Voith today has aroun ...
T311r hydraulic transmission driving both axles on one bogie via Voith Turbo V15/19 final drives. The transmission incorporates a Voith KB260/r hydrodynamic brake. This traction package gives the Xplorer a maximum speed of but in service this is limited to . An auxiliary Cummins LT10R(G) diesel engine drives a Newage Stamford UCI274F alternator to supply power for the air conditioning and lighting.


Refurbishment

In October 2006, RailCorp issued a tender for the refurbishment of the Xplorers and the Endeavour railcars. The contract specified new seating, buffet upgrades, new carpets, toilet upgrades, DVA upgrades, extended booked luggage section, and more wheelchair spaces for the trains.
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
, Downer Rail and United Group Rail responded, with Bombardier being the successful bidder. All units were repainted into new CountryLink colours. The refurbishment started in mid-2007 and concluded at the end of 2008. After the creation of NSW TrainLink, the CountryLink branding was removed from the trains.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xplorer class railcar ABB multiple units CountryLink Diesel multiple units of New South Wales NSW TrainLink Train-related introductions in 1993 Railcars of New South Wales