Waratah (almost) faultless

After the initial teething problems with the Waratah there are now nine operational Waratah sets, with eight running daily and one on standby. Set number 23 is now in Australia and is currently at Cardiff being made ready for entry into service. The remaining sets 53 are due to be delivered by 2014.

Bob Newham, RTBU Passenger Organiser, said the consultation process for ironing out problems with the Waratahs has been one of the better negotiations they have been involved with. “It’s a $3.2 billion project, and the trains will be around for the next 35 years, so it needs to be right from the start. We’ve been pretty successful securing the best outcomes for the members.”

At this point most of the big issues have been resolved. The glare from the ETIS screen is still ongoing even after the application and of a cellophane-type covering succeeded in marginally reducing glare however, this caused the screen font to become diffused.

Bob says the union is pleased with the latest 14.2 version of the software which has made this system now 90 per cent functional. There will be another version developed but changes will be minor.

Another issue plaguing the project was the placement of the speedo into the ETIS screen. It was always supposed to be there but a technical glitch meant it couldn’t accurately determine the speed and an alternate speedo had to be used. This has now been sorted out and the resolution of the problem has been a major a win for the RTBU.