| New Zealand EM/ET class | |
|---|---|
 EM 1367 leading a southbound four-car train on the Hutt Valley Line, 17 May 2003 | |
| In service | 14 June 1982 – 27 May 2016 |
| Manufacturer | Ganz-MÁVAG |
| Built at | Budapest, Hungary |
| Replaced | |
| Constructed | 1979 – 1982 |
| Entered service | 14 June 1982 – 1983 |
| Refurbished |
|
| Number built | 44 |
| Number preserved | 2 |
| Number scrapped | 26 |
| Formation | EM–ET |
| Fleet numbers |
|
| Capacity | 148 seats |
| Operators | Tranz Metro |
| Depots | Wellington |
| Lines served | Kapiti, Hutt Valley, Melling |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | 20.73 m (68 ft 1⁄8 in) |
| Train length | 43.06 m (141 ft 3+1⁄4 in) |
| Car length | 21.53 m (70 ft 7+5⁄8 in) over couplers |
| Width | 2.72 m (8 ft 11+1⁄8 in) |
| Height | 3.73 m (12 ft 2+7⁄8 in) without pantograph |
| Platform height | 730 mm (2 ft 5 in) |
| Doors | 8 electrically operated sliding twin doors (centrally controlled) |
| Maximum speed |
|
| Weight |
|
| Traction system | GEC Traction camshaft resistance control |
| Traction motors | GEC Traction G316AZ DC motor |
| Power output | 400 kW (540 hp) |
| Acceleration | 0.75 m/s2 |
| Power supply | Motor-alternator producing 230/400 V 50 Hz AC |
| HVAC | Electric heating |
| Electric system(s) | 1,500 V DC overhead |
| Current collector(s) | pantograph |
| UIC classification | Bo′Bo′+2′2′ |
| Braking system(s) | Westinghouse "Westcode" electro-pneumatic brakes (six-step) with automatic air brake backup |
| Multiple working | Within class only |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
The New Zealand EM/ET class (also known as Ganz-Mavag) electric multiple units were used on suburban services in Wellington, New Zealand from 1982 to 2016. They were owned initially by the New Zealand Railways Corporation and finally by the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) and operated by Tranz Metro, part of national railway operator KiwiRail.
The 44 two-car units of an EM motor car and an ET trailer car were introduced between 1982 and 1983 on the 1500 V DC electrified Kapiti, Hutt Valley and Melling lines. After the introduction of the Matangi FP/FT class EMUs in 2011–12, they were largely relegated to peak services only. In 2012, the GWRC ordered a second batch of Matangi units to replace the Ganz-Mavag units, and the last units were withdrawn from revenue service on 27 May 2016 after 34 years in service.
The name "Ganz-Mavag" comes from the units' manufacturer, Ganz-MÁVAG of Hungary. It was widely used by the GWRC and in the media to distinguish them from other electric multiple units used on the Wellington suburban lines; they were also referred to as Hungarian units.
Introduction
Tenders to replace Wellington's ageing and unreliable English Electric DM/D class electric multiple units, some of which dated back to 1938, and all carriage-hauled suburban trains in Wellington was announced on 6 March 1978. A total of 13 tenders were received and the response deadline was extended to July 1978.
On 16 March 1979 it was announced that the order had been placed with Hungarian firm Ganz-MÁVAG. The cost was NZ$33 million, then the single largest order by value of rolling stock in the then New Zealand Railways Department's history (the Railways Department became the New Zealand Railways Corporation or NZRC in 1982). This cost was partially offset by a trade agreement involving the Hungarian Government buying New Zealand farm products, chiefly lamb and butter.
The Chief Engineer of NZRC insisted on proven, reliable traction and braking systems being fitted to the new trains. The contract with Ganz-MÁVAG specified GEC Traction of Manchester, England, as traction equipment supplier and Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company of Chippenham, England as the brake equipment supplier.
The new units included radio telephones to enable drivers to speak with train control, an innovation at the time.
Their introduction resulted in the end of the carriage trains hauled by the EW class electric locomotives, though electric-hauled carriage trains were temporarily reintroduced behind the EO locomotives between 2008 and 2011, and Wairarapa Line carriage services are diesel-hauled. A number of the older DM class units were retained, mainly for use on the Melling and Johnsonville Lines.
The introduction of the units also coincided with the project to extend the electrification on the Kapiti Coast from Paekākāriki to Paraparaumu.
Service
The EM class served as the primary rail commuter vehicle since their introduction in 1982, running in anything from a single unit (2-cars) to an 8-car unit depending on the service being operated. They have also seen service beyond the electrification, being used behind diesel locomotives as carriages to carry people to the annual Toast Martinborough wine festival in the Wairarapa.
The introduction of the new Matangi units from 2010 saw a reduction in the number of services operated by the EM class, with most off-peak services handed over to the Matangi units in June 2012. Initially, only the EMs were able to run in an 8-car formation, something the Matangis were limited in doing owing to the amount of current that they drew from the overhead system; hence the EM class were used on heavily patronised peak services, particularly on the Kapiti Line.
Johnsonville Line
The class were not operated on the Johnsonville Line as they were out-of-gauge and had insufficient braking capacity. While tunnel and platform clearances were improved in 2009, it was not envisaged that the units would be used on the line; due to their limited braking power on the steep grades.
Two units have visited Johnsonville on test trains; on 14 June 1992 EM1004 and its trailer ET3004 was towed behind shunting locomotive DSC2285 to measure clearances at platforms and tunnels. On 18 April 2010, EM1056 plus trailer ET3056 ran under its own power on a trial to check clearances for the Matangi units.
Incidents and accidents
Three units were involved in a collision north of Plimmerton on 30 September 2010. The northbound train (consisting of EM 1010, ET 3010, EM 1154 and ET 3154) derailed after hitting a slip caused by heavy rain and fouled the southbound line. Less than a minute later it was struck by southbound unit EM 1223 and ET 3223, which did not derail, but the collision caused extensive damage to both cabs. Sixty passengers and crew were on the two trains. Two people were hospitalised. The drivers of the trains were father and son.
The damaged units were initially towed back to the EMU depot north of Wellington station, where later the two undamaged halves - EM 1010 and ET 3223 (renumbered to ET 3010) were marshalled together as a unit. The damaged cars, EM 1223 and the original ET 3010, were towed to storage at Hutt Workshops and used as parts sources.
On 20 May 2013, ET 3309 derailed crossing Wellington Distant Junction, puncturing a hole in the floor. It was the rear car in a two-unit consist operating the 07:43 Porirua to Wellington service, subsequently stranding thousands of morning peak commuters across the network as it blocked both the Kapiti and Hutt Valley lines. All units were temporarily withdrawn after the derailment for urgent safety inspections, but most were back in service for morning peak the next day. Preliminary investigations suggest when one of the unit's spring park brake assemblies was replaced in March 2013, two split pins were not inserted into the bolts securing the assembly to the undercarriage, allowing the assembly to come loose over time and ultimately caused the derailment. Two air reservoir tanks came loose in the accident and pushed the air compressor behind them upwards through the floor, creating the hole.
Other incidents involving EM units include:
- 22 March 1997 – EM 1079 and ET 3079 travelling northbound hit a car on the Sutherland Avenue level crossing, between Heretaunga and Trentham stations. The train had passed the signal immediately before the crossing while at danger, and therefore failed to trigger the crossing alarms.
- 25 August 2011 – EM 1315 and ET 3315 travelling southbound came within metres of hitting two track gangers working on the line south of Paekākāriki. The person in change of the work site let the unit through the work area on the advice that the line was clear; he was subsequently found to be under the influence of cannabis.
- 28 March 2013 – EM units 1246/3246, 1102/3102 and 1315/3315, operating a Wellington to Taita service, started from Wingate station with the doors open and no passenger staff on board. A trainee driver and their minder thought they heard the "right-away" buzzer and proceeded without double-checking the door open light had gone out. Unlike the later Matangi units, there is no interlock on the EM units preventing the train moving with the doors open.
Refurbishment
In 1995 a major refurbishment programme of the class began, with the EMUs repainted in the then standard Tranz Rail Cato light blue and yellow livery with new seats and brighter interiors. This refurbishment programme was completed by 2002.
Other minor upgrades were made in the mid-2000s, replacing the original diamond pantographs with single-arm ones and adding ditch lights.
In 2008 a proposed refurbishment was deferred until the new Matangi units were available. The projected expenditure was $23.3 million in 2008 - 2009. The prototype refurbished unit was completed at the end of 2010.
EM 1373 and ET 3373 were fully refurbished to ascertain unit costs and gauge public opinion, including repainting into the new Metlink livery. A decision to refurbish others in the fleet was made on 10 March 2011 as part of an $88 million rail upgrade package, instead of purchasing more Matangi. In August 2012 GWRC announced its preference for ordering 35 more Matangi units instead of refurbishing the remaining units.
Disposal
The introduction of the Matangi units allowed for the withdrawal of several EM units, with those in the best mechanical condition retained for running peak services only. Those units that were withdrawn were stored initially at Thorndon before most were relocated to the Hutt Workshops. GWRC called for expressions of interest in the disposal of these units.
The EM fleet operated their last revenue services on 27 May 2016, operating the 14:17 Wellington to Melling service and the return 14:39 Melling to Wellington service. This paralleled the last revenue service by the DM/D "English Electric" units four years earlier.
In June 2013 GWRC announced that it had come to terms for both the purchase of an additional 35 Matangi units and the sale of 42 of the Ganz units to a South African buyer, with one unit to be retained in New Zealand for preservation.
Seventeen units were shipped to South Africa in February 2014 aboard the MV Pangani where they will be converted into (unpowered) carriages for operation in Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The remaining units were to be shipped once replaced by the second tranche of Matangi units from mid-2015. In November 2015, and in January and February 2016 several more units were withdrawn from service. In March 2017, many were still held in the Wellington rail yards.
The agreement to sell the remaining units fell through later in 2017 and in May 2018 the remaining 26 units started being transported to Wellington's Southern Landfill where they will be scrapped. The carriages were crushed and buried due to the use of asbestos in the train wall's anti-drum coatings.
EM 1373/ET 3373 was donated to the Canterbury Railway Society in Christchurch in 2016, while EM 1505/ET 3505 was purchased for $1 by the Wellington Heritage Multiple Unit Preservation Trust.
References
Citations
- McGavin 1982, p. 57.
- Sinclair, Roy (1992). Rail, the Great New Zealand Adventure. Grantham House Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86934-013-1.
- "$168m Wellington Rail Package Signed". The Dominion Post. 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- "Railways in New Zealand Still Have a Bright Future". Rails. Southern Press Ltd: 14. August 1976. ISSN 0110-6155.
- "Tenders Invited for New Suburban Rolling Stock". New Zealand Railway Observer. 35 (2). New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society: 65. Winter 1978. ISSN 0028-8624.
- "Kelburn Cable Car Ceases Operation". New Zealand Railway Observer. 35 (4). New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society: 144. Summer 1978–79. ISSN 0028-8624.
- ^ McGavin 1982, p. 56.
- "New Multiple-Unit Electric Trains Ordered for Wellington". New Zealand Railway Observer. 36 (2). New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society: 51. Winter 1979. ISSN 0028-8624.
- McGavin 1982, p. 59.
- "Changes in Wellington Suburban Train Services". New Zealand Railway Observer. 39 (3). New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. Spring 1982. ISSN 0028-8624.
- "Northern Courier". 17 February 2010. p. 5.
- ONTRACK staff comment on Johnsonville Line Open Day 4 February 2009
- Hermann, Bruce J (2007). North Island Branch Lines. Wellington: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-908573-83-7.
- "Express, KiwiRail staff newsletter - Issue 39". KiwiRail. 22 April 2010.
- "Two with spinal injuries after train crash". The New Zealand Herald. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- "Wellington trains stopped after derailment". Fairfax NZ News. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- Chapman, Katie (25 October 2013). "Train fault undetected for 63 days". The Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- "Investigation 97-103 -- Electic [sic] Multiple Unit 3656, collision with motor vehicle, Trentham, 22 March 1997". Transport Accident Investigation Commission. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- "Investigation 11-103 -- Track workers nearly struck by passenger train near Paekakariki, North Island Main Trunk, 25 August 2011". Transport Accident Investigation Commission. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- "Investigation 13-102 -- Passenger train travelled with doors open, Wingate - Taita, 28 March 2013". Transport Accident Investigation Commission. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- GWRC 2008/09 Annual Plan, approved 30 June 2008
- "Agency Progress Report on implementing the Regional Land Transport Strategy" (PDF). Greater Wellington Regional Council. 14 April 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
- "Capital gets $88 million rail upgrade". The Dominion Post. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
- "Wellington's trains: replace or refurbish?". Greater Wellington Regional Council. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- "Hutt railway workshops won't get $80 million contract". Stuff/Fairfax. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- Michael Forbes (12 March 2013). "Council puts stripped down trains up for sale". The Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- "Ganz Mavag train makes last trip on Friday". The Dominion Post. 23 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- Forbes, Michael (17 June 2013). "Train deal a 'win-win' for commuters, ratepayers". The Dominion Post (via Stuff.co.nz). Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- 34 Ganz Coaches Shipped from New Zealand 2014 Archived 18 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Locomotives for Africa
- Africa Update Railways Africa 3.2014 page 18
- "Ganz Mavags bound for new African lease of life". Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- "Next stop Africa for Capital's well-used trains". Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- Hunt, Tom (1 March 2017). "Going, going ... still here: Wellington rail workhorses gathering graffiti with no departure date set". The Dominion Post (via Stuff.co.nz). Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- "Wellington's asbestos-laden trains being scrapped and buried at dump". Stuff. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- "Diesel Locomotives Register". New Zealand Rolling Stock Register. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- Long, Jessica (8 June 2018). "Scrapped Wellington commuter train ripped apart at landfill". Fairfax NZ. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
Upper Hutt's Maymorn Railway Society snapped up a bargain – buying one of the scrapped commuter trains for just $1.
Bibliography
- Gregor, Alex W (July 1981). New suburban electric trains for Wellington. Vol. 8. New Zealand Institute of Engineers Transactions.
- Hurst, A. W. (Tony) (2020). Retro Reds to the Rescue: The last years of Wellington suburban train variety. Lower Hutt: New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISBN 978-0-9951385-1-3.
- Parsons, David (2002). New Zealand Railway Motive Power 2002. New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-908573-78-3. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- T. A. McGavin (Winter 1982). "New Electric Train-Sets Enter Service". New Zealand Railway Observer. 39 (2). New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society. ISSN 0028-8624.
External links
- New Zealand Railways Rolling Stock Lists - EM class (1982)
- New Zealand Railways Rolling Stock Lists - ET class (1982)
