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Siemens (train)
Encyclopedia
The Siemens Nexas comprises 72 triple car electrical multiple unit
trains built by Siemens Mobility (Was Siemens Transportation Systems) for the suburban railway network
of Melbourne
, Australia
from 2002-2005. The design of the trains was based on the Siemens Modular Metro
(Mo.Mo) concept built in Austria. Introduced to service in 2003, the trains are some of the newest in the city's suburban fleet, however the Victorian State Government has recently ordered more of the previously delivered Alstom X'Trapolis 100
trains.
trains, were intended to replace the ageing Hitachi trains, of which only seven 6-carriage trains now remain.
Unlike the Connex Melbourne
/Hillside franchise and its X'Trapolis trains, the Siemens trains were not originally proposed by National Express in the privatization agreement. The original contract specified trains built by Clyde Engineering (now EDI Rail
) using Adtranz (now Bombardier Transportation
) traction equipment.
Melbourne's original order was for 62 3-car sets, with an option for an additional ten 3-car sets. The metropolitan network was then acquired and run wholly by Connex Melbourne
until late 2009, with ownership of the Siemens trains transferred in April 2004, but an additional ten trains were ordered by Connex Melbourne in August 2005, with the last of these trains delivered in February 2006.
Siemens Rail Services (a subsidiary of Siemens Ltd in Australia) was contracted to provide maintenance of the trains for a period of 15 years (subject to refranchising) at their Newport depot. With the refranchising of the network to Metro Trains Melbourne in 2009, this maintenance arrangement has been retained for an initial three year period.
service from Flinders Street Station
to Pakenham station, on April 3, 2003, 13 days after the official launch. The first set was delivered to the Newport Railway Workshops
on April 27, 2002.
The shuttle service between Williamstown
station and Newport
station was replaced with 3-carriage (M-T-M) Siemens trains on October 11, 2005. From around the same time, the Siemens trains could regularly be seen off peak and peak on the Caulfield Group (that is the Pakenham, Cranbourne, Frankston, and Sandringham lines), running as 3-car sets in off peak periods and 6-car sets in peak periods.
Like the Connex X'Trapolis trains running exclusively on lines owned by Connex prior to gaining ownership of M>Train's lines, the Siemens trains never run revenue services on lines owned by Connex prior to the merger, except for the Flemington Racecourse line which was cleared for Siemens trains to run passengers services on it while Regional Rail Link
works were carried out on the Sydenham line
.
newspaper reported that the incidents were being inspected by Victoria's independent transport safety auditor, and that the trains' braking system had been sent to Britain for tests. Connex had hired an independent consultant to oversee a review.
On the January 13, 2007, Connex stopped running the Siemens trains as 3-car sets until the braking issue was resolved, with the result that all services (including evenings and weekends) on the Caulfield Group were operated by 6-car trains. On January 29, 2007, Connex cancelled 37 peak-period services until further notice, due to the shortage of operational trains.
By February 1, 2007, 38 three-car sets were withdrawn due to continuing braking failures, meaning that almost half of the Siemens fleet (or around ten percent of the total fleet) was out of revenue service. Amidst the media reporting an escalating problem with the risk of the entire fleet potentially having to be suspended, Siemens issued a statement on January 31, 2008 saying that they believed there had been no evidence during investigations of the braking failures that would require the entire fleet of trains to be withdrawn from service. Testing of affected trains was carried out on the Werribee line between Newport and Laverton, with soapy water sprayed onto the rails to increase the amount of wheel slip experienced, in an effort to replicate the brake fault. The entire fleet has now re-entered service, although with a restriction not to run single unit (3 car) operations.
In December 2008 train operator Connex commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court to claim damages from Siemens. Connex claims Siemens provided trains with a braking system that was "defective, faulty and inadequate", the trains being "not fit for their purpose" and were not of "merchantable quality". Sources told the Herald Sun that Connex may also attempt to claim compensation for loss of commuter confidence.
In March 2009, it was reported that three Siemens trains had been impounded due to new braking incidents in the week prior.
By December 2010 sanding equipment was trialled on set 773M-T-M in order to improve braking performance of the trains, and by February 2011 a number of in-service trains had also been fitted with the equipment. The sand boxes are fitted to the middle four bogies of each 3-car set.
trains evolved from the 1993 DT2 Series used in the Nuremberg U-Bahn
whose design in turn came from production of the A Series built for the nearby Munich U-Bahn
, but now also used in Nuremberg.
The version of Siemens metro train designed for Melbourne included several attributes similar to existing Melbourne suburban electric trains such as being single-deck and operating in M-T-M (motor-trailer-motor) sets of three carriages, where the motor cars each have an overhead pantograph, and two of these 3-car sets are generally coupled together to form a 6-carriage train when run in revenue service, though a single set may be run when demand does not merit a full train. Each 3-carriage set can carry 522 people and is 71.9 m in length.
There are several notable differences between the Siemens trains and other trains which operate in Melbourne. These include:
The Siemens train are fitted with a Passenger Information Display system (PIDS) produced by the German firm Annax
. The system is unique to the Melbourne rail network, as it uses the original M>train voice of English dialect, and does not announce express running or the end of services. The external destination indicators are large in size compared to other Melbourne trains. New announcements that are said by the Alstom voice are slowly beginning to be installed to Siemens trains for North Melbourne, Craigieburn and Roxburgh Park stations since the Craigieburn Electrification Project was completed in mid-2007.
In June 2008 Connex started a program to replace the seat coverings in a number of Siemens trains, using the same type of fabric as used in the X'Trapolis
trains, so far fifteen carriages have been done - 711M, 712M, 715M, 716M, 759M, 760M, 821M, 822M, 841M, 842M, 2506T, 2508T, 2530T, 2561T and 2571T
body, and were seen in a number of different liveries
in previous years, owing to the changes in ownership that have occurred while the trains were entering service.
The trains were originally delivered with M>Train blue and green stripes on the side, and the M>Train 'swirl' on the front fairing. Later deliveries entering service in bare metal on the sides, and white front fairings with a green and yellow striped bar. On entering Connex ownership blue and yellow stripes were progressively added to the side of all trains, and front fairings were repainted yellow with the blue Connex logo.
After Metro Trains Melbourne
took over the operation of the suburban network on 30 November 2009, the Connex logo on all trains was covered over as a temporary measure, with all sets progressively being decorated in the Metro livery, a process completed in March 2010.
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
trains built by Siemens Mobility (Was Siemens Transportation Systems) for the suburban railway network
Railways in Melbourne
The Melbourne rail network is operated by Metro Trains Melbourne under franchise from the Government of Victoria. The network is based on a commuter rail model centred on the Melbourne Central Business District and Flinders Street Station, rather than a rapid transit model, with a focus on...
of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from 2002-2005. The design of the trains was based on the Siemens Modular Metro
Siemens Modular Metro
The Siemens Modular Metro is a family of electric multiple unit trains for rapid transit systems produced by Siemens Transportation Systems and used by rail operators around the world. The vehicle concept was launched in Vienna in 2000 and is a modular concept allowing many variants of metro vehicles...
(Mo.Mo) concept built in Austria. Introduced to service in 2003, the trains are some of the newest in the city's suburban fleet, however the Victorian State Government has recently ordered more of the previously delivered Alstom X'Trapolis 100
X'Trapolis 100
The X'Trapolis 100 is a single deck electric passenger train, one of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains, used in Melbourne, Australia and Valparaiso, Chile.-First order:...
trains.
History
The Siemens trains were first ordered by the now defunct M>Train, one of two private operators which ran the network at that time. The Siemens trains, along with the Connex-ordered X'TrapolisX'Trapolis 100
The X'Trapolis 100 is a single deck electric passenger train, one of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains, used in Melbourne, Australia and Valparaiso, Chile.-First order:...
trains, were intended to replace the ageing Hitachi trains, of which only seven 6-carriage trains now remain.
Unlike the Connex Melbourne
Connex Melbourne
Connex Melbourne was a wholly owned subsidiary of French company Veolia Environnement, which had a franchise from the State Government of Victoria to operate all suburban passenger rail services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In August 2007, Connex's contract was extended to 30 November 2009....
/Hillside franchise and its X'Trapolis trains, the Siemens trains were not originally proposed by National Express in the privatization agreement. The original contract specified trains built by Clyde Engineering (now EDI Rail
EDi Rail
Downer Rail is a rail company based in Australia. Formed by a merger of Walkers and Clyde Engineering, it is currently a division of Downer EDi...
) using Adtranz (now Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
) traction equipment.
Melbourne's original order was for 62 3-car sets, with an option for an additional ten 3-car sets. The metropolitan network was then acquired and run wholly by Connex Melbourne
Connex Melbourne
Connex Melbourne was a wholly owned subsidiary of French company Veolia Environnement, which had a franchise from the State Government of Victoria to operate all suburban passenger rail services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In August 2007, Connex's contract was extended to 30 November 2009....
until late 2009, with ownership of the Siemens trains transferred in April 2004, but an additional ten trains were ordered by Connex Melbourne in August 2005, with the last of these trains delivered in February 2006.
Siemens Rail Services (a subsidiary of Siemens Ltd in Australia) was contracted to provide maintenance of the trains for a period of 15 years (subject to refranchising) at their Newport depot. With the refranchising of the network to Metro Trains Melbourne in 2009, this maintenance arrangement has been retained for an initial three year period.
In Service
The first service to operate with a Siemens train was the 8:43 AM12-hour clock
The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem and post meridiem...
service from Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...
to Pakenham station, on April 3, 2003, 13 days after the official launch. The first set was delivered to the Newport Railway Workshops
Newport Railway Workshops
The Newport Railway Workshops is a facility in the Melbourne suburb of Newport, Victoria, Australia, that builds, maintains and refurbishes railway rollingstock. It is located between the Williamstown and Werribee railway lines.-History:...
on April 27, 2002.
The shuttle service between Williamstown
Williamstown railway station, Melbourne
Williamstown is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located in the suburb of Williamstown, and is the terminus of the Williamstown railway line...
station and Newport
Newport railway station, Melbourne
Newport is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Newport, at the junction of the Werribee and Williamstown railway lines...
station was replaced with 3-carriage (M-T-M) Siemens trains on October 11, 2005. From around the same time, the Siemens trains could regularly be seen off peak and peak on the Caulfield Group (that is the Pakenham, Cranbourne, Frankston, and Sandringham lines), running as 3-car sets in off peak periods and 6-car sets in peak periods.
Like the Connex X'Trapolis trains running exclusively on lines owned by Connex prior to gaining ownership of M>Train's lines, the Siemens trains never run revenue services on lines owned by Connex prior to the merger, except for the Flemington Racecourse line which was cleared for Siemens trains to run passengers services on it while Regional Rail Link
Regional Rail Link
The Regional Rail Link is a 47.5 km railway track currently under construction through the western suburbs of Melbourne from Southern Cross Station, running through Sunshine, Tarneit and meeting the Geelong Line at West Werribee...
works were carried out on the Sydenham line
Sydenham railway line, Melbourne
The Sydenham railway line is a suburban electric railway in Melbourne, Australia. It has 13 stations, in Metcard ticketing Zones 1 and 2. It is the electrified section of the Bendigo railway within metropolitan Melbourne.- Description :...
.
Braking issues
In late 2006 the trains suffered a number of braking discrepancies while in service; 14 trains overshot platforms in the space of three days. The 15 units involved in these overshoots were withdrawn from service for checks, and instructions were issued to the drivers to minimise further occurrences. By mid-January 2007, a total of 24 three-carriage trains had been impounded for testing after 20 further incidents of over-running stations since December 22, 2006. The AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper reported that the incidents were being inspected by Victoria's independent transport safety auditor, and that the trains' braking system had been sent to Britain for tests. Connex had hired an independent consultant to oversee a review.
On the January 13, 2007, Connex stopped running the Siemens trains as 3-car sets until the braking issue was resolved, with the result that all services (including evenings and weekends) on the Caulfield Group were operated by 6-car trains. On January 29, 2007, Connex cancelled 37 peak-period services until further notice, due to the shortage of operational trains.
By February 1, 2007, 38 three-car sets were withdrawn due to continuing braking failures, meaning that almost half of the Siemens fleet (or around ten percent of the total fleet) was out of revenue service. Amidst the media reporting an escalating problem with the risk of the entire fleet potentially having to be suspended, Siemens issued a statement on January 31, 2008 saying that they believed there had been no evidence during investigations of the braking failures that would require the entire fleet of trains to be withdrawn from service. Testing of affected trains was carried out on the Werribee line between Newport and Laverton, with soapy water sprayed onto the rails to increase the amount of wheel slip experienced, in an effort to replicate the brake fault. The entire fleet has now re-entered service, although with a restriction not to run single unit (3 car) operations.
In December 2008 train operator Connex commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court to claim damages from Siemens. Connex claims Siemens provided trains with a braking system that was "defective, faulty and inadequate", the trains being "not fit for their purpose" and were not of "merchantable quality". Sources told the Herald Sun that Connex may also attempt to claim compensation for loss of commuter confidence.
In March 2009, it was reported that three Siemens trains had been impounded due to new braking incidents in the week prior.
By December 2010 sanding equipment was trialled on set 773M-T-M in order to improve braking performance of the trains, and by February 2011 a number of in-service trains had also been fitted with the equipment. The sand boxes are fitted to the middle four bogies of each 3-car set.
Design
The bodies of the Siemens Modular MetroSiemens Modular Metro
The Siemens Modular Metro is a family of electric multiple unit trains for rapid transit systems produced by Siemens Transportation Systems and used by rail operators around the world. The vehicle concept was launched in Vienna in 2000 and is a modular concept allowing many variants of metro vehicles...
trains evolved from the 1993 DT2 Series used in the Nuremberg U-Bahn
Nuremberg U-Bahn
The Nuremberg U-Bahn is a metro run by VAG Nürnberg , which itself is a member of the VGN . The Nuremberg U-Bahn is Germany's newest metro...
whose design in turn came from production of the A Series built for the nearby Munich U-Bahn
Munich U-Bahn
The Munich U-Bahn system is an electric rail rapid transit network in Munich, Germany. "U-Bahn" is the German contraction for Untergrundbahn or "subway." It is operated by the municipally owned Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft...
, but now also used in Nuremberg.
The version of Siemens metro train designed for Melbourne included several attributes similar to existing Melbourne suburban electric trains such as being single-deck and operating in M-T-M (motor-trailer-motor) sets of three carriages, where the motor cars each have an overhead pantograph, and two of these 3-car sets are generally coupled together to form a 6-carriage train when run in revenue service, though a single set may be run when demand does not merit a full train. Each 3-carriage set can carry 522 people and is 71.9 m in length.
There are several notable differences between the Siemens trains and other trains which operate in Melbourne. These include:
- 2+2 (two and two) seating. All other trains had 2+3 seating, however new X'TrapolisX'Trapolis 100The X'Trapolis 100 is a single deck electric passenger train, one of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains, used in Melbourne, Australia and Valparaiso, Chile.-First order:...
trains ordered as part of the 2008 Victorian Government Transport Plans will have the same 2+2 seating configuration, and existing X'Trapolis and Comeng trains will have their seats modified to a 2+2 configuration as part of the franchise agreement. - Two doors per carriage per side. Being significantly wider they were theorised to be slightly more efficient in loading and unloading passengers, although this is disputed by some sources, who believe the fewer doors lead to longer platform dwell times compared to the three smaller doors in other Melbourne trains.
- Plug-type doors - hinged outward and slide along the outside of the vehicle when opening.
- Extreme smooth, vertical walls.
- Open articulation. Passengers can freely move from carriage to carriage, within a 3-carriage set, without opening doors—the first such train with this configuration in Melbourne.
The Siemens train are fitted with a Passenger Information Display system (PIDS) produced by the German firm Annax
Annax
Annax is a German manufacturer of radio and TV broadcasting and communications equipment. It was founded on 1 January 1996 as a divestment by Robert Bosch GmbH.In 2007, Annax took over the traffic business unit of Ascom in Switzerland....
. The system is unique to the Melbourne rail network, as it uses the original M>train voice of English dialect, and does not announce express running or the end of services. The external destination indicators are large in size compared to other Melbourne trains. New announcements that are said by the Alstom voice are slowly beginning to be installed to Siemens trains for North Melbourne, Craigieburn and Roxburgh Park stations since the Craigieburn Electrification Project was completed in mid-2007.
In June 2008 Connex started a program to replace the seat coverings in a number of Siemens trains, using the same type of fabric as used in the X'Trapolis
X'Trapolis 100
The X'Trapolis 100 is a single deck electric passenger train, one of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains, used in Melbourne, Australia and Valparaiso, Chile.-First order:...
trains, so far fifteen carriages have been done - 711M, 712M, 715M, 716M, 759M, 760M, 821M, 822M, 841M, 842M, 2506T, 2508T, 2530T, 2561T and 2571T
Liveries
The Siemens trains have a stainless steelStainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
body, and were seen in a number of different liveries
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
in previous years, owing to the changes in ownership that have occurred while the trains were entering service.
The trains were originally delivered with M>Train blue and green stripes on the side, and the M>Train 'swirl' on the front fairing. Later deliveries entering service in bare metal on the sides, and white front fairings with a green and yellow striped bar. On entering Connex ownership blue and yellow stripes were progressively added to the side of all trains, and front fairings were repainted yellow with the blue Connex logo.
After Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains Melbourne
Metro Trains Melbourne is the current franchise operator of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture led by Hong Kong based MTR Corporation together with John Holland Group and United Group Rail .Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 381...
took over the operation of the suburban network on 30 November 2009, the Connex logo on all trains was covered over as a temporary measure, with all sets progressively being decorated in the Metro livery, a process completed in March 2010.