New South Wales Endeavour railcar. The Endeavour Railcars are a class of diesel multiple units (DMU) operated by NSW Trainlink on its intercity passenger rail services in New South Wales, Australia on the Hunter, Blue Mountains (to Bathurst), Southern Highlands and South Coast lines (between Kiama and Bomaderry). They are mechanically identical to the Xplorers, but are fitted out for shorter travel distances. All 30 carriages were built by ABB's Dandenong rolling stock factory.

Fourteen two-carriage sets were ordered in April 1992 to replace Class 620/720 railcars, DEB set railcars and locomotive hauled stock, with the first entering service in March 1994. In November 1994, one further two-carriage set was ordered. Some Endevours are scheduled to be replaced in 2026-2027 by the R sets.

The trains have multiple-unit capability with the Hunter J Set but only in the event of failure or for empty coaching stock movements. These cars normally operate as two-car sets, however during peak periods they can operate as four-car sets.

Features 
Each set consists of two carriages, one having a wheelchair-accessible toilet (TE), and the other having luggage space and bicycles racks (LE). All cars are air-conditioned. They operate as four carriage sets on a few peak hour services.

Each car is powered by a Cummins KTA-19R diesel engine rated at  at 1800rpm coupled to a Voith T311r hydraulic transmission driving both axles on one bogie via Voith Turbo V15/19 final drives. The transmission incorporates a Voith KB260/r hydrodynamic brake. An auxiliary  Cummins LT10R(G) diesel engine drives a Newage Stamford UCI274F alternator to supply power for the air conditioning and lighting.

The maximum speed of Endeavour railcars is  but in service this is limited to .

In service 
Endeavours operate on four lines:
 Hunter: between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland or Telarah, with some services extending to Dungog and Scone
 Main Western: the Bathurst Bullet service, an express between Sydney Central and Bathurst
 Southern Highlands: between Campbelltown and Moss Vale, with some services extending to Goulburn and Sydney Central
 Illawarra: between Bomaderry and Kiama

Endeavours previously operated weekend only Wollongong to Moss Vale services.

Refurbishment 

In 2009–2010, the Endeavours, along with the Xplorers, were refurbished by Bombardier Transportation's Dandenong rolling stock factory. The refurbishment included:

 New reversible 3x2 seats, as found on the Hunter railcars and H sets, the seat covers are made of woollen moquette fabric which is more durable and vandal proof
 Vinyl flooring, replacing the original carpet flooring
 Voiceovers to closing the doors
 Improved air-conditioning system
 Improved crew facilities
 A new livery (blue and yellow front, black window band and underskirts, and yellow doors)

Second Refurbishment 

In 2017, the Endeavours were refurbished by Downer in Cardiff. The refurbishment includes:
 New lighting
 New flooring, similar to the Waratahs
 New livery to two cars, 2851 & 2801 (orange and yellow front, no window band and paint layout similar to the Xplorers.
 Refurbished seating
 New drivers window wipers
 Refurbished Couplers (Auto and Intermediate)

Conversions to Xplorers 
The similarities of the Endeavours and Xplorers have allowed easy conversions. Endeavour carriages LE 2865 and TE 2815 were converted to Xplorer carriages EA 2508 and EC 2528. Endeavour carriage TE 2805 was temporarily converted to an Xplorer carriage between September and November 2007. The CityRail logos were removed and its skirts painted black, but it otherwise retained its livery. It also retained its carriage number.

See also 
The VLocity DMU built for V/Line is an evolution of the Endeavour/Xplorer design, due to it being based on it.

References

External links 
 
 Technical drawings and specifications

 

ABB multiple units
Diesel multiple units of New South Wales
NSW TrainLink
Train-related introductions in 1994
Railcars of New South Wales