NSW TrainLink Hunter Set

Hunter railcars (coded J Sets) are a class of diesel multiple unit operated by NSW TrainLink. The railcars were built by United Group Rail (UGL) and were brought into service between November 2006 and September 2007. They replaced the 620/720 railcars, built in the 1960s. In 2014-15, they underwent a refurbishment.

Features
The design of the Hunter Railcars is derived from the new generation 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.

The passenger cabin is arranged similar to other commuter trains - with tip-up (for wheelchairs and prams) longitudinal seats at the ends of the carriage and seats arranged in a 3x2 configuration elsewhere. There are small luggage racks near the doors. The standard intercity seat is used - vandal-proof woollen moquette seats, with headrests and footrests. As with all 4th generation trains, the trains are fitted with interior CCTV and have internal next stop displays and announcements. Unlike other trains, the external destination boards are not at the front of the train, but are instead on the sides.

There is a large front windscreen for crew to look out onto the tracks, and all controls are ready at hand.

The cars have been fitted with “Dellner SP” couplers, compatible with the OSCAR and Millennium train’s couplings for emergency towing. They are able to absorb the impact of a collision, and the anti-climbers, which are also installed on all other 4th generation rolling stock, will also reduce the force of impact. The new trains 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 like 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 Xplorer DMUs, however this feature is generally only used in the event of failure or for empty coaching stock movements. These cars normally operate as a two-car set like the Endeavours but however during peak in the mornings or on special events on that line they will operate as 4 car sets (two 2-car sets joined together).

Each car is powered by a Cummins QSK19-R diesel engine rated at 559 kW at 1800rpm coupled to a Voith T312bre hydraulic tranmission 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.

Configuration
The 14 cars are arranged into 7 sets in a HM-HMT configuration:

History
Like the OSCARs, the railcars were delivered late. The first 2 car set entered service on the Hunter Line on 23 November 2006, operating a small number of Newcastle to Telarah services on Thursday and Fridays only. The second set entered service on 8 January 2007 also operating a limited number of services. All seven trains had been delivered by September 2007.

In 2014, sets began receiving the NSW TrainLink livery, with a repaint both inside and outside, new woollen moquette fabric and the full car number (eg. HMT 2752) intact. The first set to receive the refurbishment was J7.

Service
All 7 sets currently run on the Hunter line, although in rare cases of rail car shortages, they have been sent to other diesel lines, like the Southern Highlands Line.