Alstom Metropolis C851E explained

Interiorcaption:The interior of the NEL C851E. Apart from a few cosmetic differences, it is virtually identical to the preceding C751C.
Service:
  • – Present (NEL)
  • 2026 (CCL)
Manufacturer:Alstom
Factory:Barcelona, Spain
Family:Metropolis
Yearservice:
  • (NEL)[1]
  • 2026 (CCL)
Numberconstruction:63 Vehicles (21 Trainsets) (CCL)
Numberbuilt:
  • 36 Vehicles (6 Sets) (NEL)
  • 6 Vehicles (2 Sets) (CCL)
Numberservice:
  • 36 Vehicles (6 Sets) (NEL)
  • 0 Vehicles (0 Sets) (CCL)
Formation:6 per NEL trainset, 3 per CCL trainset
  • DT–Mp–Mi+Mi–Mp–DT (NEL)
  • Mc1–T–Mc2 (CCL)
Fleetnumbers:
  • 7087/7088 – 7097/7098 (NEL)
  • 865 – 887 (CCL)
Operator:
Depots:
Lines:
Carbody:Welded aluminium
Trainlength:
  • 138.5frac=8NaNfrac=8 (NEL)
  • 70.1frac=8NaNfrac=8 (CCL)
Carlength:
  • 23.65frac=8NaNfrac=8 (DT/Mc)
  • 22.8frac=8NaNfrac=8 (Mp/Mi/T)
Width:3.2frac=8NaNfrac=8
Height:3.7frac=8NaNfrac=8
Doors:1450frac=8NaNfrac=8, 8 per car, 4 per side
Maxspeed:
  • 100km/h (NEL design)
  • 90km/h (NEL service, CCL design)
  • 78km/h (CCL service)
Acceleration:1.1m/s2
Deceleration:1.3m/s2 (Emergency)
Traction:Alstom OPTONIX IGBTVVVF[2]
Electricsystem:
Collectionmethod:
Brakes:Regenerative and pneumatic
Safety:Alstom URBALIS 300 moving block CBTC ATC under ATO GoA 4 (UTO), with subsystems of ATP, Iconis ATS and Smartlock CBI[3] [4]
Coupling:Scharfenberg
Uicclass:
  • 2′2′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+2′2′ (NEL)
  • Bo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′ (CCL)

The Alstom Metropolis C851E is the third generation electric multiple unit rolling stock introduced on the existing North East and Circle lines of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, manufactured by Alstom under Contract 851E. It consists of six North East line trains and 23 Circle line trains. The trains will be manufactured and assembled in Alstom's manufacturing facility in Barcelona, Spain and progressively shipped to Singapore from 2021 for the NEL and 2022 for the CCL.[5] The contract, valued at S$249,854,305.00,[6] was awarded by the Land Transport Authority during a ceremony held at Sengkang Depot.[7] Alstom is the sole bidder for this contract. An additional 12 3-car trains will be purchased for use on the Circle line, from 2024 onwards.[8]

Tender

The tender for trains under the contract C851E was closed on 2 October 2017 with Alstom being the sole bidder for this contract. The LTA has shortlisted and the tender results was published.

The contract 851E was awarded to the sole bidder Alstom at a cost of $250 million on 30 April 2018.

Overview

North East Line

The 6 trains supplements the existing C751A and C751C trains on the North East Line for the 1.7km (01.1miles) long extension from Punggol to Punggol Coast which will open in 2024. The first train set arrived in Singapore on 4 April 2021.[10] On 6 June 2023, a C851E (Set 7091/7092) was spotted testing at Potong Pasir MRT station for the first time.[11] The first of these trains entered passenger service on 28 July 2023 (set 7089/7090), and the last set (7095/7096) entered service on 28 August 2023, increasing the NEL fleet from 43 to 49 trains in a span of just one month.

The trains draw power from an overhead catenary. They are fully automated (ATO GoA 4) and do not require an attendant on board. Each 6-car train (Formation: DT–Mp–Mi–Mi–Mp–DT) comprises two Driving Trailer (DT) cars at each end, and four Motor Cars (Mp and Mi). The second and fifth cars of each train (Mp) are equipped with a pantograph.

Train formation

The coupling configuration of an SBS Transit C851E in revenue service is DT–Mp–Mi+Mi–Mp–DT.

Cars of SBS Transit C851E
Car TypeDriver CabMotorPantographCar LengthWheelchair Bay
mft in
style=text-align:leftDM23.651NaN1
style=text-align:leftMp22.81NaN1
style=text-align:leftMi22.81NaN1

The car numbers of the trains range from 7x087 to 7x098, where x depends on the carriage type. Individual cars are assigned a five-digit serial number by the rail operator SBS Transit. A complete six-car trainset consists of an identical twin set of one driving trailer (DT) and two motor cars (Mi & Mp) permanently coupled together, e.g. set 7087/7088 consists of carriages 71087, 72087, 73087, 73088, 72088 and 71088.

Circle Line

The 23 new trains will supplement the existing C830 and C830C trains on the Circle Line when the 4.3km long extension from HarbourFront to Marina Bay opens in 2026. The first train set arrived in Singapore on 11 March 2022.[12]

The trains draw 750 V DC power from a bottom-contact third rail. They are fully automated (ATO GoA 4 and do not require an attendant on board. Each 3-car train (Formation: Mc1–Tc–Mc2) comprises two Motor Cars (Mc1 and Mc2) at each end, and an unpowered Trailer Car (Tc) in the middle.

Train formation

The coupling configuration of an SMRT C851E in revenue service is Mc1–T–Mc2.

Cars of SMRT C851E
Car TypeQuantityDriver CabMotorCollector ShoeCar LengthWheelchair Bay
mft in
style=text-align:leftMc2 23.651NaN1
style=text-align:leftT1 22.81NaN1

The car numbers of the trains range from 865x to 887x, where x depends on the carriage type. Individual cars are assigned a 4 digit serial number by the rail operator SMRT Trains. A complete three-car trainset consists of one trailer (T) and two driving motor (Mc) cars permanently coupled together, e.g. set 865 consists of carriages 8651, 8652, 8653.

Features

To enable a more robust maintenance regime, all the new trains are equipped with condition monitoring systems to gather data from equipment on the trains. This enables continuous monitoring of the health of the equipment and allows the operator to carry out predictive maintenance for the trains. Contact shoe sensors on the new Circle Line trains enables the operator to react promptly and take necessary measures if any dislodgement is detected.

In addition, two of the new Circle Line three-car trains are each fitted with an Automatic Track Inspection (ATI) System, which enables monitoring of the running rails, track equipment and sleepers while the trains are in operation. The ATI System supplements existing track inspection activities for timely and more effective identification of rail and trackside components which require maintenance.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Trains for North East Line to be Rolled Out for Passenger Service from 28 July 2023 . LTA . 27 June 2023 . 27 June 2023 . 27 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230727034326/https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/newsroom/2023/7/news-releases/new-trains-for-north-east-line-to-be-rolled-out-for-passenger-se.html . live .
  2. Web site: Alstom to supply 34 Metropolis trains and signalling upgrade to Singapore metro . French Chamber Singapore . 9 August 2015 . 24 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924011038/http://www.fccsingapore.com/fr/node/354 . dead.
  3. Web site: Singapore Northeast Line: will soon be the largest, fully automatic metro system in the world . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200615162321/http://tsdtemp.turnlav.net/cbtc/projects/SIG_Singapore_AutomaticMetro_en.pdf . 15 June 2020 . 16 June 2020 . 4 to 8.
  4. Web site: URBALIS Evolution: Controlling the Performance. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200615162738/http://www.sanprotechwriting.com/translation/URBALIS_May14_rev.pdf . 15 June 2020 . 16 June 2020 . 4.
  5. Web site: Alstom to Supply 17 New Trains for North East Line Extension and Circle Line 6. Land Transport Authority. 23 November 2019. 30 April 2018. 10 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210710080151/https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/newsroom/2018/4/2/alstom-to-supply-17-new-trains-for-north-east-line-extension-and-circle-line-6.html. live.
  6. Web site: Tender information Land Transport Authority. www.lta.gov.sg. en. 2018-05-02. 26 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180726072028/https://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/tender/default.aspx?scr=yes&Ref=851E. live.
  7. News: Alstom to supply 17 new MRT trains for North East Line and Circle Line. hermesauto. 2018-04-30. The Straits Times. 2018-04-30. en. 16 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116060126/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/alstom-to-supply-17-new-mrt-trains-for-north-east-line-and-circle-line. live.
  8. Web site: Joint News Release by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) & SMRT - Upgrading the Circle Line in Preparation for Circle Line 6. Land Transport Authority. 23 November 2019. 25 July 2019. 31 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201031035510/https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/newsroom/2019/7/2/joint-news-release-by-the-land-transport-authority-lta-smrt---upgrading-the-circle-line-in-preparation-for-circle-line-.html. live.
  9. Web site: 851E Schedule. www.lta.gov.sg. en. 2018-09-15. 15 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180915143942/https://www.lta.gov.sg/data/apps/tender/doc/13026/851E_Schedule.pdf. live.
  10. News: First of six new trains for North-East Line arrived in Singapore . Unscrambled.sg . 2021-04-12 . 2022-03-16 . 5 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705073650/https://unscrambled.sg/2021/04/12/first-of-six-new-trains-for-north-east-line-arrived-in-singapore/ . live .
  11. Web site: [Exclusive: Main Line Testing]SBS Transit C851E Set 7091/7092 at Potong Pasir]. 9 June 2023. 9 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230609130312/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z10UP2GksoY&feature=youtu.be.
  12. News: New train for Circle Line MRT arrives in Singapore; first of 23 to be shipped here . The Straits Times . 11 March 2022 . 2022-03-16 . 14 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220314125340/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/new-train-for-circle-line-mrt-arrives-in-singapore-first-of-23-to-be-shipped-here . live .