Configuration
The single-deck Hitachi trains operate as "M-T-M-M-T-M" sets of six carriages (two coupled sets of three carriages arranged with two motorised carriages on either end of a motorless "trailer" carriage).
Based on a successful trial of longer Harris trailer cars built between 1967 and 1971, the Hitachi train used carriages 75 ft (23 m) long, up from the standard 59 ft (18 m) length of the earlier suburban cars. The revised carriage design enabled a six car Hitachi train to seat 560 passengers, up from 540 for a seven car Harris train. Maximum load for a Hitachi was 1500 passengers, 300 more than a Harris.
As delivered, Hitachi trains were composed of three types of carriage, M (motor carriages including a driver's cabin at one end), T (trailer carriages with no motors), and D (a trailer carriage with a small driver's cabin). These cars were arranged in sets of M-T-T-M and M-D, which could be arranged together to create a six car set. All but one of the #68 D carriages produced were later converted into T carriages. (The exception being D #353 was involved in a collision at Pakenham, that also resulted in the scrapping of Guard's Van Z 286) The first M and D carriages delivered were provided with nose doors at the front of the cab. These were later removed from the early carriages, and the feature was omitted from later sets.
The previous carriage configurations were replaced by the current symmetrical three- and six-carriage setup by the late 1970s for the opening of the City Loop. A total of 355 carriages were built, although one of these was to replace a carriage written off in an accident while the fleet was still being delivered.
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