Subscribe to RSSReplacement Parts For Matangi
KiwiRail reports that replacement auxiliary power units are being freighted to Wellington to overcome the fault which led to new Matangi Metro passenger units being briefly withdrawn from service.
Last month, after two Matangi units experienced some overheating faults in the auxiliary power unit, electrical engineers from Korean manufacturer Hyundai Rotem, carried out an investigation and confirmed the issue lies with the inductor coil, KiwiRail were told in their weekly newsletter.
They have since been working on a redesign and type testing is underway in Korea. Once they’re satisfied the new design will be fit for purpose in Wellington conditions, a prototype will be brought back for further testing before it enters production.
The replacement units will be freighted out to retrofit to the Matangi units already in Wellington, and it’s expected all Matangi in Wellington will have the new unit in September.
In the meantime a number of measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the units currently operating with the old design, according to the newsletter.
These include:
- installation of cooling fans
- Changes to the train management system
- Lowering of overhead line voltage in the depot
- Changes to the “switching frequency” in the APU
- Additional inspections by engineers..
4 Comments
Er… yes. Let’s hope Mitsubishi/Spaniards win the contract in Auckland.
Rotem took this failure very seriously and an engineer from the company supplying the APU’s was on board a flight to NZ within twelve hours.
The Rotems continue to give good service though more drivers are needed to work them more intensively.
Looks like Hyundai Rotem handled the situation very well. Good on them for stepping up to the plate and working through the problem quickly. I haven’t rode their new Matangi trains yet, but I’m very much looking forward to it, what I’ve seen so far of them and their history thus far has been very positive and encouraging for myself, soon to be a regular train commuter in Wellington (when university kicks in).
My cynical side thinks that them in the middle of trying to win a tender to build Aucklands trains might have helped get things done fast, providing bad support would have been a sure fire way to lose that business.