Bombardier MOVIA: Contract R151 Trains

The Bombardier Movia CR151 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train procured by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) to serve on the North South Line and East West Line. A total of 106 trains were ordered under Contract R151.

As the seventh generation of rolling stock for the NSEWL, these CR151 trains are intended to replace the three earliest generations of rolling stock that served on Singapore’s oldest metro lines, namely the C151, C651 and C751B. Trains are manufactured in Changchun, China, and are expected to commence passenger service in 2022.

An initial tender for 66 trains were awarded to Bombardier (Singapore) for $827.1 million on 25 July 2018, as direct replacements for C151 trains. A further 40 additional trains were announced on 28 September 2020, at a cost of $337.8 million, as direct replacements for C651 and C751B trains.

In addition to these costs, Contract R151 includes an option to provide long-term service support to the Train Operator (SMRT Corporation) for the new train fleet, covering their design life of up to 30 years. For the initial 66 trains, this contract was valued at just under $400 million (in mixed currencies); a revised figure for all 106 trains has yet to be released.

Background

Main Article: Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151

As the first-generation C151 trains were approaching the end of their lifespan, SMRT was exploring ways to overhaul these trains for continued service. In 2014, SMRT inked a deal with Japan’s Toshiba to replace all 66 trains with Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM), reducing power consumption by 30%, noise levels by 12 dB and being easier to maintain. This was part of a major engineering component replacement on all C151 trains expected to be completed by 2019.

However, in August 2016, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT agreed to transition all existing rail lines to the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF), in which the Government assumes responsibility for the expansion, replacement and refurbishment of all operating assets, including trains. Refurbishment works were halted as LTA reviewed the best course of action, despite SMRT already being committed to the installation of the new PMSM propulsion system.

A month later, in September 2016, the LTA announced its intention to replace all 66 first-generation C151 trains with brand-new ones, favouring the procurement of new trains over continuing to refurbish old trains. Contract R151 for the replacement of these trains closed on 4 September 2017, and was subsequently awarded to Bombardier in July 2018, who would supply Bombardier MOVIA trainsets under this contract.

Participating companies were:

S/No	Tenderer	Tender Amount
		Base	Alternative
1.	Alstom Transport S.A. / Alstom Transport (S) Pte Ltd Consortium	SGD 682,696,431.00	—
2.	Bombardier (Singapore) Pte Ltd	SGD 827,075,921.00	—
3.	Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A.	SGD 867,275,662.00	—
4.	Hyundai Rotem Company	SGD 696,960,000.00	—
5.	Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Singapore CRRC Sifang Railway Vehicles Service Pte. Ltd. Consortium	SGD 999,900,000.00	SGD 884,188,800.00

Part of the tender involves an option for Long Term Service Support to the Train Operator (SMRT Corporation). The bids for this option (Option 9) are reflected below.

Long Term Service Support (Option 9) Bids

The long-term service support covers a period of 10 years, with an option to extend for a further 20 years.

The CR151 trains will be manufactured and assembled in Bombardier’s facility in Changchun, China before arriving in batches from 2021. The trains will then undergo a rigorous testing and commissioning process before they are put into passenger service from 2022.

Expanded order

In September 2020, a further 40 more CR151 trains was announced as part of a long-term fleet renewal programme. At a cost of $337.8 million, these new trains will replace all second-generation C651 trains (19 units) and all third-generation C751B trains (21 units). These new trains will arrive in batches starting from 2024.

Trains to be replaced by new CR151 trains from Bombardier:

Retiring	Incoming
Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 (66 units) Siemens C651 (19 units) Kawasaki-Nippon Sharyo C751B (21 units)	Bombardier MOVIA R151 (106 units)

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Features

The interior cabins of the train are designed to include more open spaces for parents with strollers, wheelchair users and commuters carrying their personal mobility devices (PMDs).

Initial concept drawings presented tip-up seats in the train, which can be folded up during peak hours to create more room for passengers without a reduction in the overall number of seats per train car. Similar seats were installed on C151C trains. However, these were replaced with fixed longitudinal seats and perch seats in later concept drawings.

The trains are designed to facilitate a more robust, efficient and effective predictive maintenance regime, with integrated condition-monitoring features and sensors that transmit data back to a server that can identify emerging faults for rectification before they occur. The trains are also equipped with a self-test system that automatically checks that the trains are fit for operation before daily service commences.

In addition, four CR151 trains will be fitted with an Automatic Track Inspection (ATI) System, which allows concurrent monitoring of the running rails, track equipment and sleepers during operations. The ATI System supplements existing track inspection activities to identify rail and trackside components that require maintenance in a more timely and efficient manner.

In the increased order of trains announced in September 2020, these new trains will also be equipped with an integrated suite of condition monitoring features that facilitate the timely detection of emerging faults. This will allow the rail operator to make more efficient use of maintenance resources to pre-emptively address potential faults before they affect commuter service. Initiatives such as these are central to efforts by LTA and the rail operators to continue delivering reliable train services, while managing costs.

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Train Formation

A six-car trainset is formed of two three-car sets permanently coupled together. Each set comprises one driving trailer (DT) and two motor cars (M1 and M2). As such, the running configuration of a CR151 trainset is DT–M1–M2–M2–M1–DT.

From exterior render drawings, every car is identified by a five-digit number ranging from 1x801 to 1x932 (for the first 66 trainsets), where the first digit x is carriage identifier. The driving cab is 3, followed by the second car using 1 and the third car using 2. The last three digits refer to the 3-car trainset of which the train is comprised of. The total of 106 trains ordered are actually 212 3-car trainsets coupled together in an even-odd arrangement, i.e. Set 801/802, Set 803/804 and so on.

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Gallery

 

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References

• Bombardier to Supply 66 New Trains for North-South and East-West Lines – LTA
• Bombardier Wins Contract to Provide 396 MOVIA Metro Cars for Singapore’s North-South and East-West Lines – Bombardier

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