The design of the Hunter Railcars is derived from the Transwa Prospector - the major difference being the driving cars are each single-engined instead of dual-engined, due to the lower top speed requirement for the Hunter line. Reversible seating is covered with durable, vandal proof woollen moquette fabric in 3x2 formation, and have retractable footrests. CCTV is installed. The cars have been fitted with Dellner SP couplers. They are able to absorb the impact of a collision, and the anti-climbers will also reduce the force of impact. They also have a different body design. Instead of the entire body being of the same design, such as the Tangara, the driver's cab is built as a protective cage, made of fibreglass, which stretches to the end of the guard's door. The stainless steel paneling starts at the guard's door. The guard's door is designed to operate separately from the passenger doors. The Hunter Railcar has multiple-unit capability with the earlier Endeavour and Xplorers, however this feature is generally only used in the event of failure or for empty coaching stock movements. These cars normally operate as two-car sets, however during peak periods they can operate as four-car sets. Each car is powered by a Cummins QSK19-R diesel engine rated at 559 kW at 1800rpm coupled to a Voith T312bre hydraulic transmission driving both axles on one bogie via Voith SK-485 final drives. An auxiliary 150 kW Cummins 6ISBe-G1 diesel engine drives a Newage Stamford UCI274H alternator to supply power for the air conditioning and lighting. Hunter Railcars are capable of 160 km/h but in service are limited to a maximum of 145 km/h.
History
In 2001, the Government of New South Wales called for tenders for seven two-carriage railcar sets to replace the remaining 620/720 railcars on Hunter Line services, with a contract awarded to Goninan in 2002. Each set comprises two powered cars with one having a toilet. The first set entered service on 23 November 2006, operating a small number of Newcastle to Telerah services on Thursday and Fridays only. The second set entered service on 8 January 2007 also operating a limited number of services. By September 2007, all seven had entered service. They operate services from Newcastle to Dungog and Scone alongside the Endeavours. All passed from CityRail to NSW TrainLink with the Hunter line services in July 2013. In 2014/15, all received refurbished seats, improved toilet facilities, anti-graffiti interior paint and NSW TrainLink vinyls.
