History
These units were built for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) in 1967—1968. The ADK driving units were manufactured by Commonwealth Engineering, and the ADB trailer units were manufactured at the WAGR's Midland Railway Workshops.
They were purchased along with the newer ADL/ADC class units by New Zealand Rail Limited in 1993 to replace the 56-foot carriage suburban carriage trains then used in Auckland. Later that year, they were sold by New Zealand Rail to the Auckland Regional Council (ARC). The units were credited with an increase in patronage in the Auckland system, but have a number of reliability problems due to their age.
In 2004 the ARC funded the upgrade of the entire class, which included refurbishment of the interiors of the units and the painting of the exterior in the new MAXX colour scheme. The upgrade also include mechanical improvements which would extend the useful life of these units by 10 years. After the upgrades were completed, ADK/ADB trains ran as permanent 4-car sets rather than the 2-car sets they ran as previously. All ADKs are refurbished, except ADB 773 (in use at a paintball arena) and ADK 689 (which never came to New Zealand).
Read more about this topic: NZR ADK Class
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