An Alstom Movia R151 train rolled into Tuas Link station, and its operator sounded a horn, eliciting cheers from over a hundred spectators who were gathered to welcome it into service. As the first of 106 7th generation trains to be launched on the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL) slowed to a halt, they chanted ‘Open, open, open’ before its doors opened for commuters to board.
New MRT trains that are more spacious and with larger windows run on North-South, East-West lines from June 4
Passengers have been looking forward to riding new trains featuring more open spaces and large windows from Sunday, 4th June. The trains have wider single-frame windows that span a width of 2.4m, providing passengers with a better view of their surroundings when travelling above ground. The new trains have more informative LCD display systems above each door, providing detailed information on routes and stations, and are decked in green and red stripes. They have been designed in Germany, and manufactured as well as assembled in Changchun, China featuring a dynamic display system in the centre of train cars. The new trains have a self-test system, besides passenger-friendly features, that automatically checks if they are fit for operation.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Thursday that the first batch of 16 new 6-carriage trains from Alstom will be put into service from Sunday, at a rate of about 2 each month, replacing the first 3 generations of NSEWL trains. Minister of Transport, S. Iswaran said at a preview event at Tuas Depot that the new 106 trains in total will be progressively rolled out over the next 3 years until the end of 2026 and that the new NSEWL trains come with features that increase comfort and dependability for passengers. It was also announced by LTA on Thursday, that it had purchased 23 new trains for the Circle Line and 6 for the North East Line, from Alstom to add capacity when the North East Line extension opens in 2024 to Punggol Coast, and the 3-station Circle Line 6 commences operations in 2026. The open spaces in cabins have been designed to accommodate bicycles, strollers and wheelchairs as well as ergonomic perch seats, which do not take up a lot of space, hence allowing more passengers on the trains. The new North-South and East-West Line train include new enhanced features.
In 2018, the LTA purchased 66 out of the 106 new trains in a $1.2 bn deal to replace the first generation NSEWL Kawasaki trains that have been in operation since 1987 when the two MRT lines opened. Another 40 trains were purchased in 2020 for $337.8 mn to replace the 2nd generation Siemens and 3rd generation Kawasaki-Nippon Sharyo trains. The remaining 105 7th-generation trains will be put in service progressively
LTA announced that it worked with non-profit organisations and educational institutions to upcycle various train parts from older trains that were de-commissioned and added that it recently partnered with ITE College West to upcycle an entire train carriage for educational purposes.
Yusmar Yusof, SMRT’s Tuas West Depot fleet manager said that the self-test system which takes approximately 12 minutes to run every morning, has helped maintenance staff to optimize their efforts by identifying issues linked to the doors, propulsion, air-conditioning, auxiliary power systems, brakes etc. The system also saves time for staff, making checks more routine since some of these tests that have to be carried out at a minimum of once every 3 weeks would otherwise have to be manually conducted. He stated that since the trains were designed with the input of SMRT engineers, they were safer and easier to maintain. He said that for instance, air conditioning filters on previous models were replaced via the roof of the train, exposing workers to height risks, but that the job could now be carried out from within the cabin.
The 92 fourth to sixth-generation trains on the two lines which commenced operations in 2011 initially, were manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Qingdao Sifang.
