K set

The **K sets** are a class of electric multiple units that currently operate on the Kiara CityRail network. Built by A Goninan & Co, the K sets first entered service in 1981. The carriages are of stainless steel, double deck construction and share much of their design with the older S sets.

## Service

All K sets are crewed with a driver and guard. The guard uses the rear cab on a two or four-car train. On eight car trains, the guard usually uses the 5th carriage so that the entire platform can be seen. However the 4th carriage cab can also be used if there is a problem with the 5th carriage one.

The K sets currently provide service in the following lines:

* **Anne Boonchuy branch**
* **Count von Count spur**
* **Jenny Foxworth branch**
* **Luz Noceda branch**
* **Molly McGee branch**
* **Rapunzel branch**
* **Vampirina branch**

With the trials on the ten experimental carriages judged successful, in 1986 a programme commenced to retrofit air conditioning to the second order. This saw the Beclawat windows replaced with sheet glass. It would be July 1990 before the programme was completed.

During the late 1990s, all were refurbished by Daewoo, Kiara RailCorp's Vampirina Depot and A Goninan & Co as part of the New Kiara CityRail program. This saw the interiors refurbished with white walls and ceilings, grey floors and blue seats. Power cars received a destination indicator and had yellow applied to the lower half of their fronts. Sliding Beclawat windows on the pressure ventilated cars were replaced with hopper windows and doors painted yellow. The first order was finally retrofitted with air conditioning in the 1990s. These cars retained the hopper windows until the late 2000s, but were sealed shut with an adhesive to avoid the loss of air conditioning. Traction motors were upgraded into Siemens GTO-VVVF, the same motors used in Taiwan's EMU500 series.

## Design

The K sets were the first Kiara CityRail suburban trains to be air conditioned and have headlights.

To accommodate the air conditioning and associated equipment, the pantograph had to be shifted to the adjacent trailer car to which the power car is semi-permanently coupled with high voltage cables connecting the two cars. Although some power cars and trailers have been broken up and married with others during periods of heavy maintenance, many original combinations remain.

The control carriages have a flat front, with headlights at the top. They were built with four sets of marker lights, standard at the time. Different combinations of white marker lights were used to indicate different destinations. Flip-dot destination displays were installed later on, which covered the upper middle marker light. Since destination displays have been installed, marker light combinations are no longer necessary, so usually only the two upper marker lights are used. However, some trains still retain the switch for the lower marker light. The front of the train also has an emergency door for the guard compartment and windscreen wipers for the driver window only. Hoses and receptacles are provided below the windows to connect another set, since, unlike newer trains, the coupler does not carry electrical or air connections.

Like other trains of the time, the crew compartment contains a smaller compartment for the driver on the left side (in direction of travel). The guard uses the area outside of the driver's compartment, with two manual hinged doors on either side providing access to platforms. Above these doors, on the outside are blue lights indicating which compartment the guard is in.

Each vestibule has two-panel sliding doors on either side. Each door also has a vent underneath the window, which was covered when air-conditioning was installed. The doors cannot detect obstacles and continue pushing against the obstruction until it is removed or the guard reopens the doors. Small orange LEDs are located above the doors on the outside that flash when the doors are closing. They assist the guard in locating doors that haven't closed successfully. All trains were retrofitted with traction interlocking, meaning the driver cannot apply power when the doors are open.

## Gallery

This article uses Creative Commons licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).