Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR Qingdao Sifang C151B

The Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CRRC Qingdao Sifang C151B or the KSF/B is the fifth generation Electric multiple unit rolling stock in operation on the North South and East West lines of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. 45 trains were purchased and all of them have been delivered to Singapore as of 12 April 2017.[3] SMRT took delivery of the first 2 train cars on 21 May 2015. These trains increased frequency for the two MRT lines, North South line and East West line. Majority of the 45 of these trains are permanently operating on the North South line, with a minority on the East West line.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR-CRRC Qingdao Sifang C151B
A C151B train on the North South line
Interior of a C151B train
In service	16 April 2017– Present
Manufacturer	Kawasaki Heavy Industries CRRC Qingdao Sifang
Built at	Qingdao, Shandong, China
Constructed	2015 - 2017
Entered service	16 April 2017
Number built	270 vehicles (45 trainsets)
Number in service	270 vehicles (45 trainsets)
Formation	6 per trainset DT–M1–M2–M2–M1–DT
Fleet numbers	601/602–689/690
Capacity	1920 passengers
Operator(s)	SMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT Corporation)
Depot(s)	Bishan Tuas Ulu Pandan Changi East Coast (Future)
Line(s) served	NSL  North South line  EWL  East West line
Specifications
Car body construction	Aluminium-alloy construction
Car length	23.5 m (77 ft 1 ^1⁄4 in)
Width	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Height	3.7 m (12 ft 1 ^5⁄8 in)
Doors	1,450 mm (57 ^1⁄8 in), 8 per car, 4 per side
Maximum speed	90 km/h (56 mph) (design) 80 km/h (50 mph) (service)
Traction system	IGBT-VVVF (Fuji Electric) Output 415 kVA x2
Prime mover(s)	Fuji Electric MLR109 Self-Ventilated Three-Phase Induction Motor
Acceleration	1.0 m/s^2 (3.3 ft/s^2)
Deceleration	1.2 m/s^2 (3.9 ft/s^2) (service) 1.3 m/s^2 (4.3 ft/s^2) (emergency)
Auxiliaries	IGBT–VVVF Auxiliary Inverter with Battery Charger 80 kVA–16 kW
Electric system(s)	750 V DC third rail
Current collection method	Collector shoe
UIC classification	2'2' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + 2'2'
Safety system(s)	Current: Thales SelTrac® Moving Block CBTC ATC with subsystems of ATO GOA 3 (DTO), ATP, NetTrac ATS, CBI[1][2]
Coupling system	Scharfenberg
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge

These trains retain the same IGBT-VVVF traction equipment found on the earlier C751B and C151A sets, also featuring SMRT's "Pixels" Livery. These trains are the first to be fitted with STARiS 2.0,[4] which is embedded in the door's overhead panels, as factory stock and also the first amongst the rolling stock used on the North South line and East West line to have electric door actuators rather than the traditional pneumatic door actuators on previous generations of rolling stock, allowing smoother and more reliable door operations, reducing delays.[5] The first C151B train (Set 601/602) made its debut on the North South line on 16 April 2017.

Although there were some C151Bs housed in Tuas Depot since the inception of the Tuas West Extension, C151Bs did not begin revenue service on the full-stretch of the East West line only until on 27 May 2018, when the line switched to the new signalling system. C151Bs running on the EWL before that only ran on the Tuas West Extension, between Gul Circle and Tuas Link. Only that section had the new signalling system installed. On 27 May 2018, all 45 C151B trains have entered service on the North South line and East West line.

Tender

In the turnkey Contract C151B, 3 tenderers were shortlisted – Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd/Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Singapore) Pte Ltd Consortium, CRRC Zhuzhou/Siemens, and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.[6] On 23 August 2012, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded the tender to Kawasaki Heavy Industries at a price of S$281,508,884.00. Subsequently, the tender results were released to the public on 27 August 2012.[7]

S/N	Name of tenderer	Amount ($S)[8]
1	CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd. / Siemens Pte Ltd, Singapore Consortium	272,906.709.00
2	Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd/Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Singapore) Pte Ltd Consortium CRRC Qingdao Sifang	281,508,884.00
3	Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles	282,089,106.58

Manufacturing process

Kawasaki will be responsible for the overall project management, design, manufacturing of bogies and procurement of major components. CRRC Sifang will be in charge of manufacturing, final fitting and assembly of complete MRT trains and factory testing. Kawasaki (Singapore) will be responsible for the delivery of complete MRT trains to the depot, on-site testing and commissioning. The new MRT trains are scheduled to be delivered to Singapore from 2015 onwards.[9]

Equipment

Main propulsion controller

The C151B trains is the third commuter type Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) after the C751B and C151A trains which features electric systems fully manufactured by Fuji Electric. These electric systems are made in Japan. Propulsion is controlled by VVVF Inverter with 2-level IGBT semiconductor controller, rated at 415 kVA. Each inverter unit controls two motors on one bogie (1C2M), and one motor car features two of such units. Motors are three-phase AC induction type, model MLR109, with a maximum output of 140 kW.

STARIS 2.0

STARIS 2.0 showing Newton station

Instead of other trains which use the older STARIS system, the C151B is the first train type equipped with STARIS 2.0 which consists of 2 LCD screens displaying the travel information, such as the upcoming stations the train will arrive at, door closing warnings and attractions nearby the station.

Train Formation

The configuration of a C151B in revenue service is DT-M1-M2-M2-M1-DT

Cars of C151B
Car Type	Driver Cab	Motor	Collector Shoe	Car Length		Wheelchair Space
				mm	ft in
DT	✓	✗	✓	23,830	78 ft 2.2 in	✗
M1	✗	✓	✓	22,800	74 ft 9.6 in	✗
M2	✗	✓	✓	22,800	74 ft 9.6 in	✓

The car numbers of the trains range from x601 to x690, where x depends on the carriage type. Individual cars are assigned a 4 digit serial number. A complete six-car trainset consists of an identical twin set of one driving trailer (DT) and two motor cars (M1 & M2) permanently coupled together. For example, set 601/602 consists of carriages 3601, 1601, 2601, 2602, 1602 and 3602.

• The first digit identifies the car number, where the first car has a 3, the second has a 1 & the third has a 2.
• The second digit is always a 6, part of the identification numbers
• The third digit and fourth digit are the train identification numbers. A full-length train of 6 cars have 2 different identification numbers. For example, 629/630 (normal coupling) or 629/640 (cross coupling).
  • Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR Qingdao Sifang built sets 601–690

Livery

Currently, it is the second train with SMRT's new white pixelated livery with red, yellow and black colour scheme, which is similar to Bukit Panjang LRT's C801A, as compared to the older SMRT trains. The C151B trains are the first trains to have a full white front unlike the older batch of trains with a black front. The first eight trains manufactured from 2015 received the new livery with the older SMRT logos, while subsequent trains manufactured from 2016 were painted with new SMRT logos.

References

1. "THALES Urban Rail Signalling Singapore – North-South / East-West Lines" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
2. Fang, Joy (2 February 2012). "Coming: $600m upgrade for MRT system/New train measures a 'catch-up'". My Paper. pp. A2, A6. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
3. "New signalling system trials extended to full day every Sunday: SMRT, LTA". Channel NewsAsia. 12 April 2017.
4. "SMRT Boosts Service Excellence Efforts with first Customer Experience Innovation Conference". SMRT Corporation. 21 January 2016.
5. "FUJI Electric Powered Passenger Door System installed in C151B train". SMT Rolling Stock Ltd.
6. "Singapore LTA orders metro rolling stock". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
7. "Trains for North-South/East-West Lines and Tuas West Extension". Land Transport Authority. 28 August 2012.
8. LTA. "Schedule of tenders received" (PDF).
9. "LTA Singapore Orders 132 MRT Cars". Kawasaki.

External links

• Media related to Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR Qingdao Sifang C151B at Wikimedia Commons
• Both orders for Singapore Subway Train 132 LTA
• Kawasaki-CSR Qingdao Sifang C151B - SGTrains
• Kawasaki-CSR Qingdao Sifang C151B - sgWiki
• Kawasaki-CSR Qingdao Sifang C151B - Land Transport Guru
• Kawasaki-CSR Qingdao Sifang C151B - SGBuses.com