I went to the Bonnie Doon stop to see the train (it's weird, the amount of video-stalking expeditions i've been to see these trains, I've never been on one before) and here's some pics and random facts.
I managed to sit in on a question-period between one of the engineers and a member of the public (who seemed very fixated on battery-powered trains, idk why, he was convinced there were batteries on the Flexities. there aren't) and the engineer mentioned that the trains have two powered bogies and the rest are un-powered. the testing has been done under various weight-loadings, including full passenger loads. he was saying that they've already completed that fully-loaded testing on Connor's Road (the steepest point on the line) and trains were able to climb it at full speed. the trains have no issues in fair weather, and for winter they have automatic sanders. the train senses wheelslip and applies sand, without driver intervention. the trains will apply sand whenever wheelslip occurs on the hill.
I also asked about power supply. the new line runs at 750V DC, instead of the 600V DC the existing lines (and ERRS fleet, and our former trolleybus system) uses. he was ab it confused as to why our current system ran at 600V DC. he was British, and it seemed like he found it odd. He said the 750V is an industry standard worldwide, so the Valley Line using it was simply to match that standard.
now for PHOTOS:
the trians fit so nice and cosy in the stations. they're open-air, but there's not a big gap in the roof. and speaking of gaps, the step-free setup is pretty good too.
the interiors are really nice, a bit narrow-feeling compared to the U2s, but bright and airy, like a bendy bus with better colour choices. they are very long. the first pic was taken from the middle of the train. I couldn't get full shots without getting a bunch of strangers in the shot lol. the There is a hump for the intermediate bogies, but it's low and gradual, again like in the newest bendy-buses.
They aren't joking about a view through the front. The entire front wall is glass from about 42", up to the roof. the views are as clear as can be.
views for passengers are spectacular too. the windows are huge, starting low in the wall and going all the way to the ceiling.
lastly, a closeup of the info screens, for anyone audio-visually inclined if you're curious about what these look like. they're probably 10" tall, i can't tell if it's one screen or two side-by-side. it was scrolling through station renderings today on one side, and telling everyone the train was a 'charter' on the other.
yeah, the new trains are nice! it's a bit of a shift from the existing, high-capacity high-floor line, namely how close everything feels on the platforms (compared to the swathes of quarry tile to spread out on in places like Churchill, the new platforms feel like they'll get squishy fast) and the friendlier, more bus-esque design of the train interiors. it will be interesting to see how this shakes out once it goes into service. I hope Hyundai-Rotem is taking notes.
