The Bombardier MOVIA C951 is the first generation electric multiple unit rolling stock in operation on the Downtown Line of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. The contract was won by Bombardier Transportation[6] (now Alstom) and the rolling stock was built by Changchun Bombardier Railway Vehicles (joint venture of Bombardier Transportation and CNR/CRRC Changchun).[1][7][8] Initially, the authorities had ordered 73 trains,[8] although LTA had ordered an additional 15 trains[8] and a final 4 more trains under C951A which makes a total of 92 trainsets were manufactured under C951.[2]

Bombardier MOVIA C951
Exterior mockup of the C951
Interior of a C951 train
In service22 December 2013; 10 years ago (2013-12-22) – Present
ManufacturerChangchun Bombardier Railway Vehicles (Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom) and CNR/CRRC Changchun)[1]
Built atChangchun, China
Family nameMovia
Constructed2012 – 2017
Entered service2013
Number built276 Vehicles (92 Sets)[2]
Number in service276 Vehicles (92 Sets), 79 sets upgraded with new LCD DRMD
Formation3 per trainset
DM1–T–DM2
Fleet numbers
  • 9001 – 9073 (C951)
  • 9074 – 9092 (C951A)
Capacity931 Passengers
OperatorsSBS Transit (ComfortDelGro Corporation)
Depots
Lines served DTL  Downtown line
Specifications
Car body constructionWelded aluminium
Train length70.1 m (229 ft 11+78 in)
Car length
  • 23.65 m (77 ft 7+18 in) (DM)
  • 22.8 m (74 ft 9+58 in) (T)
Width3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Height3.68 m (12 ft 78 in)
Doors1,450 mm (57+18 in), 8 per car, 4 per side
Wheel diameter840 mm (33 in) (new)[3]
Wheelbase2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)[3]
Maximum speed
  • 90 km/h (56 mph) (design)
  • 80 km/h (50 mph) (service)
Weight38.3 t (37.7 long tons; 42.2 short tons) per car
Traction systemBombardier MITRAC (1000 series) IGBTVVVF
Traction motorsTotally enclosed fan-cooled permanent-magnet synchronous motor (Bombardier DR1200)
Acceleration1.1 m/s2 (2.5 mph/s)
Deceleration
  • 1.1 m/s2 (2.5 mph/s) (service)
  • 1.4 m/s2 (3.1 mph/s) (emergency)
Electric system(s)750 V DC third rail
Current collector(s)Collector shoe
UIC classificationBo′Bo′+2′2′+Bo′Bo′
BogiesFLEXX Metro 3100[3]
Braking system(s)Regenerative, rheostatic and pneumatic (Knorr-Bremse)
Safety system(s)Siemens Trainguard Sirius moving block CBTC ATC under ATO GoA 4 (UTO), with subsystems of ATP, Controlguide Rail 9000 ATS and Trackguard Westrace MK2 CBI[4][5]
Coupling systemScharfenberg
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge

Tender

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The tender for trains under the contract turnkey 951 was closed in June 2008. The tender results was published on Nov 2008.

S/N Name of tenderer Amount ($S)
1 Alstom Transport S.A. / Alstom Transport (S) Pte Ltd Consortium 934,489,472.00
2 Bombardier (Singapore) Pte Ltd 547,308,888.00
3 Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. / Kawasaki Heavy Industries(Singapore) Pte Ltd & CRRC Qingdao Sifang Consortium / Singapore CRRC Sifang Railway Vehicles Service Pte. Ltd. Consortium 682,436,399.00
4 Hyundai Rotem Company 1,004,771,958.00
5 Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd Did Not Submit

Note: Awarded amount to Bombardier as announced by LTA is at S$570.7 million, due to exercise of an option for medium frequency auxiliary inverters

History

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73 trainsets consisting of three cars each were purchased at a cost of approximately S$570.7 million for passenger service.[9] Bombardier beat Alstom, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Hyundai Rotem in the tendering process as the lowest cost offered.[10][11] The tender for trains under the contract turnkey 951 was closed in June 2008, and awarded in November 2008.

Land Transport Authority later placed an additional order of 15 trainsets[12] in 2013 at an approximate value of $119.2 million.[13] LTA had increased the variation order from 15 to 19, therefore bringing the total trainsets to 92. A partial number of the total fleet operates on the Stage 1 of Downtown Line since 22 December 2013. All 92 trains had completed their manufacturing in Changchun Bombardier Railway Vehicles factory, with some of them awaiting for their delivery into Singapore by mid-2017.[2]

Delivery

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These trains were delivered until 2017. They are currently stabled at Gali Batu Depot, Kim Chuan Depot, Tai Seng Facility Building and the future East Coast Integrated Depot.

On 12 October 2012, the first of 11 trains for the Downtown Line Stage 1 arrived at Jurong Port and transported to Kim Chuan Depot to undergo testing by LTA before it is handed over to SBS Transit.[14]

By 28 February 2013, Bombardier had delivered nine of the 11 trains for Downtown Line Stage 1.[13] LTA together with the operator, SBS Transit conducted the necessary tests to ensure safety standards, functional performance and systems compatibility requirements are met before revenue service of the DTL1 which began on 22 December 2013.[15]

Features

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Design

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The C951 trains include several features that were not seen in previous existing trains.[16]

New features include:

  • an ergonomic seat profile;
  • red reserved seats, which allows for clearer separation between normal and reserved seats;
  • perch seats, replacing the two-seaters at the ends of the car

The train will also retain existing features like having three rows of poles and hand grips, and vertical poles which split into three at the center.

Dynamic Route Map Display

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The Dynamic Route Map Display (DRMD) is a rail travel information system, newly introduced and developed for the C951 trains. The dynamic route map display panels provide commuters with their journey status updates and route information. It also indicates which side the doors will open on. The C830C and the C751C feature the same DRMD.[17][unreliable source?]

Bombardier has announced their intention to upgrade the DRMD from the current LED system to an LCD system, to accommodate future extensions to the Downtown line.[18] These retrofitted LCD Dynamic Route Map Display (DRMD) is similar to that on newer MRT trains such as the T251 and R151 and also the refurbished C751A trains. The first retrofitted train with the LCD system entered passenger service on 2 July 2023.

Platform Gap Width Reduction

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The train doors have a frangible gap made of rubber that protrudes out. The platform-train gap will then be reduced from 75 to 40 mm (3.0 to 1.6 in), preventing passenger accidents due to the platform gap.[17][unreliable source?]

LCD Displays

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C951 trains are also equipped with LCD Displays at each carriage, with a total of 18 LCD Displays on each train. They show advertisements, movie trailers and informercials related to the Downtown Line.

Automatic Track Inspection (ATI)

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Four of the C951 trains also have their bogies installed with the ATI, which is a system of cameras, lasers, and sensors installed on trains that help to detect defects like rail cracks or missing fasteners.[19]

Train formation

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The coupling configuration of a C951(A) trainset in revenue service is DM1–T–DM2, permanently coupled. D stands for "driver's desk", M for "motor" and T for "trailer".

Cars of C951(A)
Car Type Quantity Driver Cab Motor Collector Shoe Car Length Wheelchair Bay
m ft in
DM 2 23.65 77 ft 7.1 in
T 1 22.8 74 ft 9.6 in

The car numbers of the trains range from 9001x to 9092x where x depends on the carriage type. For example, set 9003 consists of cars 90031 (DM1), 90032 (T), and 90033 (DM2).

References

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  1. ^ a b Sim, Royston (18 November 2013). "Building a Downtown Line Train" (PDF). The Straits Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Final Downtown Line train completed". Railway Gazette. 5 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Business Unit Bogies - Product Portfolio Presentation" (PDF). Bombardier Transportation. January 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Press Releases > Siemens-equipped driverless underground metro line in Singapore starts operations for Downtown Line 1 > Siemens-equipped driverless underground metro line in Singapore starts operations for Downtown Line 1". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  5. ^ "como special issue" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Tender Information". 28 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ Barrow, Keith (28 March 2013). "More trains ordered for Singapore Downtown Line". International Railway Journal. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Chow, Jeremy (28 March 2013). "LTA orders 15 more trains for Downtown Line to reduce peak hour waiting time". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Bombardier Receives Contract from Land Transport Authority of Singapore for 219 Driverless Metro Cars Valued at Approximately 298 Million Euros". Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  10. ^ Downtown train deal goes to Bombardier, Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 8 November 2008
  11. ^ "Downtown train deal goes to Bombardier". AsiaOne. 8 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  12. ^ Bombardier to Deliver Additional Trains for Singapore Downtown Line Archived 20 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine - Bombardier, 28 March 2013
  13. ^ a b "Shorter Waiting Time With 15 More Trains For Downtown Line". Land Transport Authority. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  14. ^ "First Downtown Line train lands in Singapore". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Land Transport Masterplan: Downtown Line Stage 1 to open on 22 Dec". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  16. ^ Arrival Of Downtown Line Train Mock-Up Archived 3 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ a b "Bombardier MOVIA C951/C951A". SGTrains. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  18. ^ "Bombardier to enhance communication systems on the MOVIA metro fleet for Singapore's Downtown Mass Rapid Transit line". Bombardier Transportation. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Factsheet: Technology for Depots and Trains to Improve Rail Reliability". Land Transport Authority. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
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