They’ve been a familiar sight across the Melbourne rail network for 40 years, but the fleet of Comeng trains are now reaching the end of the line – the first trains having been sent to the scrapyard.
The backstory
Comeng trains were introduced in 1981 by VicRail to replace the last of the 60-year-old timber bodied Tait trains. The order was then increased from 50 to 95 six-car sets, to allow the retirement of the 1950s-era Harris trains by 1988. In total 570 carriages – 380 motor cars and 190 trailer cars – were built.
Throughout the 1990s Comeng trains formed the core of the Melbourne train network, alongside the non-air conditioned Hitachi sets.
Following privatisation of the network in the 2000s the Hitachi trains were retired, replaced by Siemens and X’Trapolis trains, and the Comeng fleet were split between M>Train and Connex, and received mid-life refurbishments by EDI Rail and Alstom respectively.
And now today – the new High Capacity Metro Trains are entering service on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines, and on to Sunbury once the Metro Tunnel opens.
Which leaves the Comeng trains the oldest in the fleet – and next in line to be withdrawn.
Metro Trains Melbourne MR4 Franchise Agreement ‘Train Rolling Stock Module’
And it starts
On the evening of 18 August 2021 retired Comeng sets 320M-1107T-321M and 363M-1032T-364M were transferred behind a pair of diesel locomotives from Newport Workshops to Tottenham Yard, where they were parked up for the night.
Since it was the middle of yet another Melbourne lockdown, curfew got in the way of railfans seeing it happen, so I didn’t get to see it until the next morning.
But word travels fast, even with a lockdown – the unattended train was covered in graffiti within a few hours.
Until finally on Saturday 21 August the train was off again – headed to North Shore in Geelong for long term storage, travelling via Sunshine and Melbourne Yard.
The next week a second train followed – class leaders 301M-1001T-302M and 303M-1002T-304M heading to Geelong on 28 August 2021.
A third train followed on 4 September 2021 – 491M-1096T-492M and 339M-1020T-340M.
And finally a fourth – 325M-1013T-326M and 479M-1090T-480M on 11 September 2021.
The four sets were lined up in the sidings opposite North Shore station, and were soon completely covered in graffiti, and thoroughly trashed by vandals.
Doors and windows kicked in.
Including class leader Comeng 301M.
But carriage 492M came out worst – burnt out by fire on 19 October 2021.
So in a case of too little, too late – a security guard was hired to look over the trashed trains.
And the retirements ramp up
After a bit of a break, another Comeng train was transferred for storage – 408M-1054T-407M and 475M-1088T-476M being transferred on 25 September 2021 to Tottenham Yard.
The retired train being pushed into a siding specially prepared for long term storage, and the train crew headed off.
And in came the graffiti vandals – repainting the train within hours.
Two weeks later on 9 October 2021, another two sets arrived – 307M-1004T-308M and 309M-1005T-310M.
Fresh meat for the vandals.
Sets 311M-1006T-312M and 318M-1009T-317M arrived on 23 October 2021.
Starting to notice a pattern?
With the trains left unattended at night, the vandalism should be no surprise.
Gates surround the yard getting kicked in.
And holes cut in the fences.
Until a security guard was finally hired to stand guard over the stored trains – with the only vandalism since being a few quick tags scrawled on the side of the latest arrivals.
Now to mix things up
The initial Comeng transfers from Newport Workshops to Tottenham Yard took a convoluted route via North Melbourne, Sunshine and two changes of directions because ARTC – manager of the direct Newport-Sunshine railway – had never approved the operation of Comeng trains across their network.
Eventually the paperwork made the way through the bureaucracy, and they were approved – but subject to a 25 km/h speed restriction. The first movement via Brooklyn occurred on 6 November 2021 with sets 336M-1069T-437M and 414M-1057T-413M.
Metro has also made their own change – covering the ‘Metro’ logo on the side of each train with blue stickers. Because nobody will guess who they really belong to. 🙄
30 November 2021 saw another retired train transferred to Tottenham Yard, with three sidings now full of stored Comeng trains.
A mystery
At the end of November 2021 a different move happened – a single retired train was transferred to Tottenham Yard, then stabled for the night with locomotives still attached.
Then departed the next day for the Bendigo Rail Workshops.
It’s fate is unknown, but if the 2018 transfer of a Hitachi trains to Bendigo is anything to go but – it won’t be coming back.
And the end of the line
On January 14 stripped Comeng set 338M-1092T-484M was removed from the rails at Newport Workshops, and placed onto a hastily prepared gravel hard stand.
Excavator ready to rip into the remaining stainless steel body shell.
Each carriage was cut up into a number of chunks, then transported to road to a scrap yard at Dandenong South.
Ready to be shredded up into scrap metal for recycling.
And on it goes
On 28 January 2022 a pair of diesel locomotives headed down to North Shore to pick up stored Comeng sets 325M-1013T-326M and 479M-1090T-480M.
Surprisingly the trashed carriages were still in a state to move by rail.
Being allowed to proceed at the usual line speed of 80 km/h en route to Newport Workshops.
Where it was pushed into the siding where the previous Comeng train had been scrapped.
So it won’t be long until this set is also cat food tins.
Further reading
- Comeng trains at Wikipedia and Vicsig.net
- Comeng… Retirement Plans by Max Thum
- Comeng trains starting to be scrapped by Daniel Bowen
- And more photos of retired Comeng trains – by me!
Ain’t that a happy post 🙁
I’ve covered plenty more railway vehicles getting scrapped here.
https://railgallery.wongm.com/page/search/tags/scrapping/
A sad end to these trains. What’s a three-car set worth in scrap metal?
Stainless steel is going for $1.26 per kilo here.
https://www.southerncrossmetalrecyclers.com.au/scrap-metal-prices/
Each carriage weighs between 31 and 50 tonnes, trailer cars with disc brakes being lighter due to a lack of traction equipment and lighter bogies – so maybe 20 tonnes in the body shell.
So my guess – $25,000 scrap value per carriage.
Marcus, I can’t help noticing that match wagons weren’t used in the transfers of the Comeng sets. Is there some kind of special coupling device?
They use a transition coupler to adapt the scharfenburg coupler on the Comeng train to the knuckle coupler on the diesel locomotive.
Moving one is a three person job.
Each Comeng M car also carries an emergency transition coupler, which is much lighter, but is only suitable for pushing a failed train out of the way.
For people my age who’ve travelled on Tait, Harris and Hitachi trains, our first air conditioned trains have a special place in my heart.
Supertrains indeed!
Surely they’ll preserve a set, but then we know common sense does not really apply in so many situations.
For those of you who are interested, there is a video on YouTube of when there was a Comeng train servicing parts of the Gippsland Line (when the electrified section went as far as Traralgon). It is sad to see a bit of history go, and I hope that some are retained for prosperity (unlike the infamous 4D trains)
They ran Comeng trains as far as Warragul – was this the video?
I am almost certain that this was the video.
Although Melbourne is bidding farewell to the Comeng trains, hence since being replaced with the newer HCMTs and X’trapolis 2.0 sets, they will still leave a legacy in the history of suburban rail travel. Once the Metro Tunnel opens in a few years time, these high-capacity sets will see these and possibly the Siemens Nexas disappear from the Sunbury line once the new tunnel connects to the Pakenham line.
It’ll be interesting to see what fleet shuffling is carried out when the HCMTs appear on the Sunbury line. The maintenance workshops at Westall are already being wound down, as they currently cater to Comeng sets, and the HCMT fleet is the responsibility of the new Downer facility at Pakenham East.
This is good news. The Comeng were horrible trains!
They were nice compared to the trains they replaced, but the air conditioning as originally installed couldn’t handle a 36+ degree day, the buzz from the motor-alternators beneath the disc braked sets would drive you batty, and the use of camshaft traction control was rather backwards given what was possible in the 1980s.
Unsure how long you’ve lived in Melbourne, but the Comeng trains are generally well regarded and comfortable. The newer trains are of less quality and the Chinese HCMT trains are definitely deserve the ‘horrible’ moniker.
GURVINDER SINGH GANDU is correct. The new X’Trapolis 100 and HCMT are the most comfortable trains
If you don’t mind on stiff spring suspension for the entire journey, sure!
Like so. 😛
This is the instance of the train tracks, not the issue with the trains
It’s poor quality track, but X’Trapolis trains handle track faults worse than any other Melbourne train due to their lack of airbags in their suspension system – just coil springs.
What was the high pitched whine on the comengs? It wasn’t on all of them, and only on the Motor cars. https://www.railpage.com.au/f-p366187.htm somewhat describes it, but will add that the sound was about 1.5kHz with overtones, and varies in pitch, lower when taking off and higher just after the power is cut (loud “pop”) and the train is coasting.
Now I find someone caught it on video, not a particularly offensive example as some cars have. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lZdZ0j0cagE It is a continuous tone.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYM3EiYBNE
The first 10 seconds of this clip has a loud example, with a clear pitch shift.
One particularity whining noise was the Mitsubishi motor-alternators beneath the later disc braked Comeng trains (only Alstom refurbished this type). The motor-alternators are used to convert 1500 V DC to 415 V AC for air conditioning and auxiliaries onboard the train. The earlier tread braked Comeng trains (both Alstom and EDI refurbished these sets) had different motor-alternators.
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