Railways and Tramways of Australia

Double trouble

 

The official launch and first demonstration runs of Melbourne’s double-deck suburban train took place on 5 March 1992.

 

Melbourne considered the introduction of double-deck trains as a way of catering for increasing passenger numbers. A single four-car train to be used for evaluation was built by Goninan at Broadmeadow in New South Wales.

 

The train was based on the Tangara suburban trains that had been in service in Sydney since 1988. However, its dimensions were smaller and it had different bogies. It was named 4D, which represented ‘Double-Deck Development and Demonstration train’.

 

For the official launch, 4D picked up Minister for Transport Peter Spyker and media representatives at Parliament station. It then ran to Ringwood, where speeches were made and lunch was held, before returning to the city. During the afternoon and over the following days the 4D operated trips around the City Loop, initially for Public Transport Corporation employees and their families, and then for the public. The train entered revenue service on 10 March. It was put to work on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines.

 

Despite the public launch and high expectations, the 4D was unsuccessful. Issues with reliability emerged soon after it began service. The train became unpopular with its operators and the general public. In 1993 it was announced that no further double-deck trains would be obtained. Thus, the 4D was Melbourne’s only double-deck train.

 

The 4D struggled on but was frequently out of service for repairs. Various attempts to keep it running came to an end when it operated for the last time in 2002. After being set aside at Newport Workshops it was finally scrapped in 2006.

 

Melbourne’s troublesome double-deck experiment was over.

 

Bibliography

‘A new double-decker’, Network, vol. 29, no. 2, April-May-June 1992, pp 52–4.

P Clark, ‘Melbourne’s double-deck experiment and Sydney’s Millennium trains’, Railway Digest, vol. 41, no. 3, March 2003, pp 15–20.

J Scott, ‘4D: Double-Deck Development and Demonstration train’, Newsrail, vol. 39, no. 3, March 2011, pp 78–9.

R Smith, ‘Double-deck trains’, Rail News Victoria, no. 32, April 1992, pp 1–6.