Subscribe to RSSToday is Matangi Day
Today is Matangi day in Wellington.
The first Matangi train will be available for public viewing at Platform 9, Wellington Railway Station, from 1.15pm – 3pm.
Before the train is open to the public, there will be a formal launch of the new trains by transport minister Steven Joyce.
Wayne Hastie, Greater Wellington Regional Council’s General Manager, Public Transport, expects people to be impressed.
“The stainless steel exterior is shiny and sleek and, inside, the train feels very comfortable and modern.
“One car of each two-car unit has a low floor area, which greatly improves access for people in wheelchairs and people with buggies and pushchairs. There is no step up to the door of the low floor area.
“The new trains have the same number of seats as the Ganz Mavag trains, but there is substantially more standing room. The doors are manually operated, so those wanting to get on or off will have to press a button. This will help maintain constant air-conditioning temperatures inside the train.
“All the new trains will have high quality electronic passenger information display and public address systems.”
He said the afternoon viewing is the only thing that can be put aside for public viewing.
“We know that people are really keen to get up close to the train and have a look inside but the commissioning process for the train is very comprehensive and we’re working to a very tight timeframe. The top priority is to ensure that the new trains are fit for service as soon as possible.”
The first of the Matangi trains is due to go into service in December. They will start running on the Johnsonville line next April and will be running on all three lines in July 2011.
The entire new fleet is expected to be in Wellington by the end of next year. Even when all the new trains are running, the Ganz Mavags will be needed to help meet peak hour demand. A decision on whether the Ganz Mavag fleet will be refurbished or replaced will be made early next year.
* Not a good start to the morning for Wellington trains though - this txt from Tranz Metro at 8.05- The Capital Connection service is currently disabled at Paraparaumu,
Photo Credit: Greater Wellington Regional Council
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Auckland, NEW ZEALANDYour Latest Comments
6 Comments
it might not be the most nicely coloured, but it is bound to be comfortable. And making it fit for even more people per carriage is fantastic! I can’t wait to ride it when she starts using the Hutt City Line in December!!
I think that the Ganz Mavang should be Replaced, It has been wearing out for a long time now, I don’t think an overhaul would help much with the constant breakdowns it currently has.
The reason that the Ganzs have been constantly breaking down is that they dont have enough spare peak capacity to take them our for deep-cycle maintenance- hence the increase in breakdowns .
The increased fleet capacity generated by the Matangis will allow Ganzs to be rotated out for long term upgrades/maintenance,
They are less than 30 years old, so still have at least another 10 years good life, probably a bit more
I do hope they replace the Ganzs, I have heard there isn’t much difference in price refurbishing them and purchasing more Matangis. If they do get refitted lets hope to god they don’t become like the ADKs up in Auckland - even the new coat of paint and interiors a few years back couldn’t hide the wear and tear mechanically.
Am in Welly today.. so will have a look at them up close.
@Akarana
If the refurb is more than 750K per car, the costs start to get equivalent, but I think they will need it to reach $1 /car before they commit to more Matangis.
But if the refurb is 550-600K it is cheaper than new units.- It will be interesting to see what the final cost comes out as.
There are presumably a whole lot of intangibles from having a single class of EMU for the whole fleet in terms of positioning and peak load requirements,but I guess it comes down to whether the regional council can find the $$$
http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/council-reports/Report_PDFs/2010_262_1_Report.pdf
(a) If the GM unit cost is $2 million per 2 cars then the costs of the two options are similar and the “no refurb” can be justified on the grounds of its additional benefits (ie. more modern train, higher performance, passenger amenity etc)
(b) If the unit cost is $1.1 million per 2 cars the “no refurb” option costs around $29 million extra, almost twice the estimated additional benefits, so it cannot be justified
(c) If the unit cost is $1.5 million then the additional cost of the “no refurb” option is roughly equal to the estimated benefits.
@welly
Cheers, thanks for the clarification, was looking for that exact document but could not find it!
Yes will be interesting to see what happens, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they go for the refit.