Re: Millennium Train sets

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Matthew Geier (matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au) won a Nobel Prize for literature by writing:
> In article <8c11ug$cdh$1@nnrp1.deja.com>,  <eikkert@my-deja.com> wrote:
> >About the "GT4" sets dubbed Millennium is there actually anything whizz
> >bang new about them or merely a progression of tangara technology? Is it
> >really an entire generation different from the Tangaras?

>  I presume they will have VVVF AC drives and not DC choppers like the Tangara.
> But other than updating the traction package, just how 'wizebang' can a new
> double deck suburban train be ?

If you look at the history of CityRail rollingstock, you'll note that
capacity went down when air conditioning was introduced. There are space
and weight considerations which limit the gross weight. If equipment is
heavy, naturally you have to lower the passenger capacity to maintain
gross weight. Progress in component design means that components are light
enough for the GT4 to have a similar capacity to non-aircon trains.

The Tangaras are also using technology which is essentially 15 years old.
Compare the computers of 1999 (probably the specifications used for
construction) with computers of 1985 and see the advance in traction
control.

The specifications provided by CityRail on ride quality are also stricter
than G and V sets.

Cheers
David