| New Zealand EM/ET class | |
|---|---|
 EM 1367 leading a southbound four-car train on theHutt 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 – 11 February 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 ft1⁄8 in) |
| Train length | 43.06 m (141 ft3+1⁄4 in) |
| Car length | 21.53 m (70 ft7+5⁄8 in) over couplers |
| Width | 2.72 m (8 ft11+1⁄8 in) |
| Height | 3.73 m (12 ft2+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 DCoverhead |
| Current collector(s) | pantograph |
| UIC classification | Bo′Bo′+2′2′ |
| Braking system(s) | Westinghouse "Westcode"electro-pneumatic brakes (six-step) with automaticair brake backup[2] |
| Multiple working | Within class only |
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) |
TheNew Zealand EM/ET class (also known asGanz-Mavag)electric multiple units were used on suburban services inWellington,New Zealand from 1982 to 2016. They were owned initially by theNew Zealand Railways Corporation and finally by theGreater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) and operated byTranz Metro, part of national railway operatorKiwiRail.[3]
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 electrifiedKapiti,Hutt Valley andMelling lines. After the introduction of theMatangi 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 In 2012, the GWRC ordered a second batch of Matangi units to replace the Ganz-Mavag units, and the last units were withdrawn from revenue service on 27 May 2016 after 34 years in service.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 ofHungary. 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 asHungarian units.
Tenders to replace Wellington's ageing and unreliable English ElectricDM/D class electric multiple units,[4] some of which dated back to 1938, and all carriage-hauled suburban trains in Wellington was announced on 6 March 1978.[5] A total of 13 tenders were received and the response deadline was extended to July 1978.[6]
On 16 March 1979 it was announced that the order had been placed with Hungarian firmGanz-MÁVAG.[7] The cost wasNZ$33 million, then the single largest order by value of rolling stock in the thenNew Zealand Railways Department's history[8] (the Railways Department became theNew 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 specifiedGEC Traction ofManchester, England, as traction equipment supplier andWestinghouse Brake & Signal Company ofChippenham, England as the brake equipment supplier.[7]
The new units includedradio telephones to enable drivers to speak with train control, an innovation at the time.[9]
Their introduction resulted in the end of the carriage trains hauled by theEW class electric locomotives,[10] though electric-hauled carriage trains were temporarily reintroduced behind theEO locomotives between 2008 and 2011, andWairarapa Line carriage services are diesel-hauled. A number of the older DM class units were retained, mainly for use on theMelling andJohnsonville Lines.
The introduction of the units also coincided with the project to extend the electrification on the Kapiti Coast fromPaekākāriki toParaparaumu.
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.
The class were not operated on theJohnsonville Line as they wereout-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;[11] due to their limited braking power on the steep grades.[12]
Two units have visited Johnsonville on test trains; on 14 June 1992 EM1004 and its trailer ET3004 was towed behind shunting locomotiveDSC2285 to measure clearances at platforms and tunnels.[13] On 18 April 2010, EM1056 plus trailer ET3056 ran under its own power on a trial to check clearances for the Matangi units.[14]
Three units were involved in a collision north ofPlimmerton 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.[15]
The damaged units were initially towed back to the EMU depot north ofWellington 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 atHutt 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.[16] 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.[17]
Other incidents involving EM units include:
In 1995 a major refurbishment programme of the class began, with the EMUs repainted in the then standardTranz 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.[21] The prototype refurbished unit was completed at the end of 2010.[22]
EM 1373 and ET 3373 were fully refurbished to ascertain unit costs and gauge public opinion, including repainting into the newMetlink 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.[23] In August 2012 GWRC announced its preference for ordering 35 more Matangi units instead of refurbishing the remaining units.[24][25]
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 theHutt Workshops. GWRC called for expressions of interest in the disposal of these units.[26]
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 theDM/D "English Electric" units four years earlier.[27]
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.[28]
Seventeen units were shipped to South Africa in February 2014 aboard theMV Pangani where they will be converted into (unpowered) carriages for operation inTanzania andZimbabwe.[29][30] The remaining units were to be shipped once replaced by the second tranche of Matangi units from mid-2015.[31][32] 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.[33]
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 ofasbestos in the train wall's anti-drum coatings.[34]
EM 1373/ET 3373 was donated to theCanterbury Railway Society in Christchurch in 2016, while EM 1505/ET 3505 was purchased for $1 by theWellington Heritage Multiple Unit Preservation Trust.[35][36]
Upper Hutt's Maymorn Railway Society snapped up a bargain – buying one of the scrapped commuter trains for just $1.
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| Diesel locomotives |
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| Electric locomotives |
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| Diesel multiple units | |||||||
| Electric multiple units |
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| Steam locomotives |
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| Locomotive hauled carriages | |||||||
| Track evaluation, cranes, and maintenance | |||||||