Taipei Metro C301
| Taipei Metro C301 | |
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A Taipei Metro C301 train on the Tamsui Line.
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Interior of the (unrefurbished) motor car of a C301 train
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| In service | March 28, 1997–present |
| Manufacturer | Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Union Rail Car Partnership |
| Built at | Yonkers, New York, USA |
| Constructed | 1992–1994 |
| Refurbishment | 2011–2013 |
| Number built | 132 vehicles (22 sets) |
| Formation | 3 x 2–cars per trainset |
| Fleet numbers | 001–044 |
| Capacity | 1914 passengers |
| Operator(s) | Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation |
| Depot(s) | Beitou |
| Line(s) served | Red Line/Line 2 |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 23.5 m (77 ft) |
| Width | 3.2 m (10 ft) |
| Height | 3.6 m (12 ft) |
| Maximum speed | Design: 90 km/h (56 mph) Service: 80 km/h (50 mph) |
| Weight | 39.5 t (DM1/M2) 34 t (T) |
| Traction system | Original: GTO-VVVF (Westinghouse Electric) Trainsets 023/024 to 043/044 Refurbished: IGBT-VVVF (Bombardier MITRAC) Trainsets 001/002 to 021/022 |
| Electric system(s) | 750 V DC Third rail |
| Safety system(s) | ATC (ATO), ATS |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Taipei Metro C301 cars are the first electric multiple units to operate on the heavy-capacity lines of the Taipei Rapid Transit System when the Tamsui Line began operations on March 28, 1997. A total of 22 trainsets were built from 1992 to 1994 by the Union Rail Car (URC) Partnership, a Japanese-backed consortium in America, at a cost of US$170 million.[1][2][3]
Production of the cars were done at the 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) Yonkers Plant,[4] which was well known as formerly owned by Otis Elevator Company where it first built elevators since the company's formation, and the first elevator factory in the world.[2][5] The factory is now under the Union Rail Car Partnership, consisting of Kawasaki Rail Car, Nissho Iwai American, and North American Transit.[4] They were the first cars in the Plant to be built for export, and the largest in the United States for over twenty years. Over half of the C301's components were made in America, as part of the Buy American Act requirements.[4] The original GTO-VVVF propulsion systems (the first 11 trains were since replaced by Bombardier MITRAC IGBT-VVVF propulsion systems) were supplied by Westinghouse and can supply up to 200 horsepower.
The interior of the C301 contains seats in both linear and latitudinal formation. A quarter of them are designated as priority seats. Fireproofing materials allow the train to withstand any fire for up to 45 minutes. Wheelchair spaces are provided for at the start and end of the cars. LED in-train information system is installed which displays the destination and line colour on the exterior, train announcements and next station information in the interior.
Trainset 013/014 was formerly split and modified to serve as 3-car formations to serve on the Xinbeitou Branch Line. When new C371 built in specialised 3-car formations were delivered to Taipei Metro, trainset 013/014 was subsequently rejoined and put back into normal service on Line 2. The sets that formerly served the Xinbeitou Branch Line are currently equipped with IGBT-VVVF inverters.
Serial Number
Each individual car is assigned a four-digit serial number, which range from x001 to x044, where x depends on the carriage type.
- The first digit depends on whether the car is the first, second, or third car from either end of the train, where the first car equals 1, the second car equals 2, and the third car equals 3.
- The other three digits form the train's identification number. A full-length train of six cars consists of two identification numbers, one for the first three cars, and the other the same number plus 1 for the other three, where the smaller number is always an odd number. For example, a train of six cars would have serial numbers 1001, 2001, 3001, 3002, 2002, 1002 respectively.
- TRTC names train set numbers as 01/02, 03/04 etc. instead of 001/002, 003/004 etc. (The number stickers near driver's doors are 2-digit only)
Refurbishment
From 2011–2012, the C301 trains underwent refurbishment and they were fitted with new air-conditioning units and surveillance and fire detection systems, and the original wood-style flooring was replaced with an almost all white flooring. In addition, new multi-color LED in-train information systems were installed above train doors which replaced the previous red colored LED in-train information systems. The first 11 C301 trains also received new IGBT-VVVF propulsion systems from Bombardier Transportation in 2013.
Gallery
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Taipei MRT Train C301 3CarSet No 3014.JPG
Front view of the 3rd (middle) car of a C301 train on the Xinbeitou Branch Line
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Kawasaki Heavy Industries plate in C301.jpg
Kawasaki HI manufacturer's plate
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Union Rail Car Partnership plate in C301.jpg
URC manufacturer's plate
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C301 1138 A4 priority seats.jpg
Priority seating (refurbished interior)
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2012 C301 SI in NTU Hospital Station.jpg
New multi-colour LED in-train information system installed in 2012
See also
References
- ↑ 川崎重工業時代1969年(昭和44年), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, retrieved 6 April 2008 (Japanese)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rail Car Plant In Yonkers Seeks $1 Billion Contract, The New York Times, James Feron, 17 January 1988
- ↑ Yonkers plant produces first Taipei cars - Union Rail Car Partnership gets $170 million contract - Brief Article, Railway Age, October 1992
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Made in the U.S. - and Japan - Japanese-owned Union Rail Corp. assembles rail cars in the US with Japanese shells, William C. Vantuono, Railway Age, July 1993
- ↑ THE REGION; Mayor of Yonkers Joins Otis Protest, Associated Press (The New York Times), 11 December 1982
