Siemens C651

Siemens C651
A C651 train approaching Jurong East MRT Station
Inside the centre motor car of a Siemens C651 train.
In service	2 May 1995–
Manufacturer	Siemens
Built at	Vienna, Austria
Constructed	1993–1994
Refurbishment	2016–2018
Number built	114
Formation	6 per trainset DT–M1–M2–M2–M1–DT
Capacity	1920 passengers 372/336 seats
Operator(s)	SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)
Depot(s)	Bishan, Changi, Tuas and Ulu Pandan
Line(s) served	North South Line and East West Line
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel construction
Car length	23 m
Width	3.2 m
Height	3.7 m
Doors	1450mm, 8 per car
Maximum speed	90 km/h (56 mph) (design) 78 km/h (48 mph) (service)
Weight	35 t (unladen) 53.8 t (laden)
Traction system	Current: GTO–VVVF PWM (Siemens) Replacement: IGBT–VVVF (Toshiba)
Traction motors	Current: 16 x 140kWdd enclosed-ventilated lateral drive (Siemens) Replacement: Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (Toshiba)
Power output	140 KW
Transmission	5.94 : 1 Gear Ratio
Acceleration	1.0 m/s2
Auxiliaries	110V DC
Electric system(s)	750 V DC
Current collection method	Third rail
UIC classification	2'2' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + Bo'Bo' + 2'2'
Braking system(s)	1st service brake: Self-excited, mixed service and resistor brake 2nd service brake: Pneumatic compressed air wheel tyre block brake Parking brake: Compressed air pressure spring-loaded brake
Safety system(s)	Current: Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company Ltd ATC with subsystems of ATO GOA 2 (STO), ATP and ATS Future: Thales SelTrac® CBTC ATC with subsystems of ATO GOA 2 (STO), ATP, NetTrac ATS, CBI
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

The Siemens C651 trains form a type of rolling stock that can be found on the North South Line and East West Line of the Mass Rapid Transit system in Singapore. A total of 114 cars consisting of 19 trainsets were purchased in 1993 and introduced from 1994 onwards. This is the only fleet retaining the white exterior bodies (just like the C151 trains before refurbishment) that are used on the North South Line and the East West Line.

Overview

The C651 trains are the second generation of the four types of train cars used on the SMRT network. They were bought mainly to complement the existing C151 trains due to the opening of the Woodlands extension. These trains began revenue service in 1995 as the first trains were rolled out of Singapore plant fitted with Glastroch (Germany) windows to increase capacity on 17 July 1994 and delivered to SMRT on 20 September 1994. Unlike its older counterparts, the C651s are painted with a scratch-resistant acrylic finish due to dirt trapping on the aluminum skin of the C151 trains that were difficult to remove.

These cars come with green-blue tinted glass windows. They look almost identical to the first generation train cars before its refurbishment, except that its traction produces a louder, lower-pitched noise when accelerating/braking. However, the C651s will have their traction systems changed to the one currently used on the Tokyo Metro 16000 series trains, and so the special motor sounds of the C651s may walk into history. 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 Heavy Industries C151 trains, while the rubber strips between the doors are thicker. The trains have a full white body and a thick red stripe in the middle. 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 until the STARIS was installed and activated around 2010. Currently, these are the only trains that have white exterior bodies.

Operational details

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

Many experimental programmes have been run on the C651 cars, including the past program.

For the past program, the third and fourth cars, coloured in green were even more radical in the reconfiguration, with all but eight parts of 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. 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 reverted to original seats in May 2006. 10 trains from refurbished C151 trains made this standard, and only 14 seats from each car were therefore removed.

For now, 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 on both sides, as 3 seats from some later cars.

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 first in 2007, followed by triplicated hand grips and grab poles in 2014. Special non slip floorings were also tested.

Refurbishment

Refurbishment for these trains are awarded by Singapore Rail Engineering (SRE). It is expected to be refurbished in 2016, after many delays. Trains will only be refurbished when the C151Bs begins revenue service in 2016. When completed in 2018, these upgrades will address train components such as doors and brakes that have been the primary cause of delays owing to train faults. The changes will include refurbishing the propulsion system, air-conditioning system, auxiliary power system, interior saloon and exterior of the trains.

Exterior view of the C651 cars at Tanah Merah before HHPSDs installations.

Train Formation

The configuration of a C651 in revenue service is DT-M1-M2-M2-M1-DT

Cars of C651
car type	Driver Cab	Motor	Collector Shoe	car length
				mm	ft in
DT	✓	✗	✓	23,650	77 ft 7.1 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 x201 to x238, where x depends on the carriage type. Individual cars are assigned a 4 digit serial number by the rail operator SMRT Trains. 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 221/222 consists of carriages 3221, 1222, 2221, 2222, 1222 and 3222.

• 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 2, 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, one for the first 3 cars, and the same number plus 1, for the other three.
  • Siemens built sets 201-238.

External links

• Manufacturer's Information for C651, Siemens AG