Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover C810

Summary

The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover C810 is an automated people mover train that serves the Sengkang LRT line and Punggol LRT line in Singapore. The trains have been operating since 18 January 2003, with its first service on the Sengkang East Loop.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover C810
A C810 train with the original coupler design
A C810 train with a modified coupler for multiple working. C810A trains have an identical exterior.
Interior of C810 train
In service18 January 2003; 21 years ago (2003-01-18) – Present
ManufacturerMitsubishi Heavy Industries
DesignerGK Industrial Design[1]
Built atMihara, Hiroshima, Japan
Family nameCrystal Mover
Constructed2000 – 2003
Entered service18 January 2003; 21 years ago (2003-01-18)
Number built41 vehicles
Number in service41 vehicles
SuccessorMitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover C810D
FormationSingle vehicles (M) that can be coupled to form 2-car trains
Fleet numbers01 – 41
Capacity
  • 18/87 (seated/standing; unmodified sets)
  • 14/91 (seated/standing; modified sets)[a]
OperatorsSBS Transit Ltd (ComfortDelGro Corporation)
DepotsSengkang
Lines served
Specifications
Car body constructionAluminum-alloy weighed
Car length11.84 m (38 ft 10+18 in)[2]
Width2.69 m (8 ft 9+78 in)
Height3,615 mm (11 ft 10+38 in)
Doors2 × 2 per car
Maximum speed
  • 80 km/h (50 mph) (design)
  • 70 km/h (43 mph) (service)
Weight14.9 t (14.7 long tons; 16.4 short tons) per car
Traction systemMitsubishi IGBTVVVF inverter vector control
Traction motors2 × 80 kW (110 hp) 3-phase AC induction motor
Power output160 kW (210 hp)
Acceleration1 m/s2 (2.2 mph/s)
Deceleration
  • 1 m/s2 (2.2 mph/s) (service)
  • 1.3 m/s2 (2.9 mph/s) (emergency)
Electric system(s)750 V DC third rail
Current collector(s)Collector shoe
AAR wheel arrangementA-A
Braking system(s)Electric command pneumatic brake with regenerative brake with stand-by brake, parking brake (with variable load control and wheel slide prevention control)
Safety system(s)Kyosan APM fixed block ATC under ATO GoA 4 (UTO), with subsystems of ATP, ATS and CBI[3]
Coupling system
Multiple working
Track gauge1,850 mm (6 ft 2732 in)
Guideway span: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)

The C810 was developed and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in cooperation with Crystal Mover Bodywork, the same company that developed the newer Changi Airport Skytrain. The trains were developed for airport and light rail applications. They are fully automated and driverless, relying on Automatic Train Control (ATC) technology.

Singapore's Light Rail Transit purchased 41 C810s to be used on the Sengkang LRT line and Punggol LRT line. From 2013 to 2015, 16 of the 41 existing trains were modified to enable two-car formations to cope with higher demand for the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines.

Train design edit

The exterior of the train has a dual-colour colour scheme of dark blue and white. They feature the SBS Transit logo in white. The serial numbers of the trains are marked on the right side of the train at the front and rear. Both the windshield wipers and emergency doors were specially designed for the LRT.

The interior of the Sengkang and Punggol LRT trains feature a red and blue colour scheme. 16 trains that underwent modification have two seats in the front and back converted into perch seats, thus reducing the number of seats to 14 from the usual 18 seats.

As the carriages are closed-end, the train must be stationary and the doors must be open for passengers to move between carriages during 2-car operations.

Train formation edit

The configuration of a C810 in revenue service is just the one car. With both the motors and the third rail current collectors, the train cars can be coupled up to 2 cars during service.

The car numbers of the trains range from 01 to 41. Individual cars are assigned a two-digit serial number by the rail operator SBS Transit. A trainset consists of one motor car, e.g. set 01 is car 01. Both digits identify the car number.

Operational Issues edit

On 9 September 2016, SBS Transit as the operator of Sengkang LRT line and Punggol LRT line has announced that 11 of the 41 C810 trains had hairline cracks.[4]

This is barely 2 months after the announcements that the cracks were found in C151A trains which run on both East West MRT line as well as North South MRT line and subsequently C801 trains which run on Bukit Panjang LRT line.

Similar to previous incidents, the joint statement by the SBS Transit and Land Transport Authority said that the cracks were found on the undercarriage of the trains and assure that this does not compromise their ability to bear passenger weight.[4]

SBS Transit has withdrawn affected trains while waiting for the bogie frames found in the undercarriage to be replaced as a precautionary measure. In the report, SBS Transit has said that six of the 11 trains have the issue rectified and resumed their operational duties since while the remaining 5 would be rectified by the middle of next month.[4]

At the same time, the affected bogie frame was sent to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan for detailed analysis in order to establish the root cause.[4]

The joint statement also said that both LTA and SBS Transit, as well as the manufacturer, will redesign and strengthen the bogie frame structures, which will be applied to all 57 trains including the newer C810A trains.[4] The manufacturer is expected to bear the full cost as well.[4]

Replacement edit

On 5 February 2021, the Land Transport Authority announced that it has purchased 17 two-car C810D trains for the Sengkang and Punggol LRT systems, which will replace the 25 existing one-car trains.[5] In May 2023, the LTA ordered an additional 8 C810D trains, bringing the total number of C810D trains ordered to 25. These 8 two-car trains will replace half of the existing fleet of 16 two-car trains, bringing the total fleet to 33 two-car trains.[6]

Notes edit

  1. ^ V04, V05, V07, V09, V10, V12, V15, V18, V22, V25, V27, V28, V30, V33, V35, and V36 only.

References edit

  1. ^ "The Works of GK Design Group". GK Design Group Inc. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Automated People Mover System "Crystal Mover" for Singapore's LTA" (PDF). Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Kyosan Corporate Report 2018". p. 19 to 20. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Hairline cracks found on 11 Sengkang-Punggol LRT trains Archived 2016-09-10 at the Wayback Machine - Straits Times, 3:41pm
  5. ^ "Sengkang-Punggol LRT to get 17 new two-car trains to boost capacity". CNA. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  6. ^ "8 new two-carriage trains to be added to Sengkang-Punggol LRT line". The Straits Times. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.