Siemens C651 Cars

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A C651 train approaching Jurong East MRT Station

Side view of the C651 cars from outside.

The interior of a Siemens C651 car. Modified grab poles, part of an experimental program, can be seen.

Upholstered cushions, part of an experimental program. They have since been removed.

The centre motor car of a Siemens C651 train.

Siemens C651 Cars form a type of rolling stock that can be found on the North South Line, East West Line of the Mass Rapid Transit system. The North South Line and the East West line are both run by the same operator, SMRT. Both lines utilise the same signalling and track system, and trains along these lines are interchangeable, whereas the North East Line is operated by SBS Transit and uses a completely different fully automated system. A total of 114 cars were purchased and introduced from 1994 onwards.

1 Overview
2 Experimental programmes
3 Refurbishment
4 Serial numbers
5 Technical specifications
6 External links

[edit] Overview

Operating on the North South Line and the East West Line since the mid 1990s, the Siemens C651 trains are the second generation of the three types of train cars used on the SMRT network. They were bought mainly to complement the existing Kawasaki C151 trains due to the opening of the Woodlands extension.

These cars come with green-blue tinted glass windows. They look almost identical to the first generation train cars except that its traction produces a louder, lower-pitched louder noise when accelerating/braking. The train doors also make a different sound when they open or close due to the different types of systems used. The run number display on the front of each train is made up of electronic green flip-dot display, as opposed to the manual plastic rollers of the Kawasaki C151 trains, while the rubber strips between the doors are thicker. The trains have similar colour layout as their C151 counterparts, though of a slightly different shade. Cool white lighting, as opposed to warm white, has been used in this model. 19 trainsets of 6 cars each were purchased. The car numbers of the trains range from x201 to x238, where x depends on the carriage type. Similar to the Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 trains, the Siemens C651 trains have no visual passenger information systems, but have a built-in audio announcement system.

[edit] Experimental programmes

Many experimental programmes have been run on the C651 cars.

Some trains of this type were reconfigured to have more standing space in the late 1990s as part of an experimental programme. In particular, the second and fifth cars (the blue cars) were reconfigured to have more standing room at the door sides, after it was found that standing passengers liked to stand at the sides of the doors. The reconfigured layout allowed two passengers to stand in the same space, although this space was "shrunk" to one passenger only in the layout of later trains.

The third and fourth cars, coloured in green were even more radical in the reconfiguration, with all but eight seats, four at each ends of the car removed completely. In its place was standing room with upholstered cushion, in an attempt to provide a degree of comfort to passengers standing in that space. This design proved to be unpopular with the commuters, and it was eventually dropped. Only carriages 2237 and 2238 are seen to feature these upholstered cushions at the centre of these two cars. The original seats between the 1st and 2nd door, and the 3rd and 4th door on these cars have been replaced. The remaining upholstered seats were replaced in May 2006.

More grabpoles were also added. Regular grabpoles in the centre of each car were replaced by grabpoles that branch out into three in the centre, similar in purpose to those on the C751B cars. This was partly to solve the problem of inconsiderate passengers leaning on the grabpoles. SMRT has also tested special non slip floorings by replacing the regular flooring in some of these cars.

In 2006, SMRT began installing CCTVs into some of the C651 cars, which would enable the Central Control Room to monitor activties in the train, when the need arises. These are part of measures to beef up security on Singapore's public transport network, and to deter vandalism and terrorism.

[edit] Refurbishment

After all of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 cars have been refurbished by 2008, SMRT has announced that the Siemens C651 cars will undergo refurbishment by 2010.

[edit] Serial numbers

Individual cars are given a 4 digit serial number by the rail operator SMRT.

The first digit depends upon whether the car is the first, second or third car from either end of the train, where the first car equals 3, the second equals 1 & the third equals 2.
The other 3 digits is the train identification number. A full length train of 6 cars have 2 different identification number, one for the first 3 cars, and the same number plus 1, for the other three. The smaller number is always an odd number. For example, a train would consist of 6 cars with serial number 3209, 1209, 2209, 2210, 1210, 3210 respectively.

[edit] Technical specifications

Length of train : 138 m (23 m per car)
Width of car : 3.2 m
Height of car : 3.7 m
Weight of car : 35,000 kg
Car body: Stainless steel construction
Number of passengers seated per train: 372 per train
Number of passengers standing : 1,428 per train
Maximum passenger load : 1,920 or 320 per car
Average speed : 45 km/h
Maximum speed : 90 km/h
Track gauge : 1435 mm
Track Voltage : 750 volts DC third rail
Train formation : Two sets of three-car Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) which are permanently coupled, providing for driving cabs at either end of trains and four motorised cars in the middle.
Type of vehicle: Bi-directional six-car train consisting of 4 motor cars and two non-powered trailer car
Maximum formation: 2 x 3-car units
Wheel arrangement: 2'2' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + 2'2'
Track gauge: 1,435 mm
Weight empty: 214 t
Weight loaded: 323 t