The C151A (Contract 151A) is a Singaporean rapid transit electric multiple unit operated by the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit since May 2011 on the North-South and East-West Lines and the Changi Airport Extension.
History[]
The C151As were constructed to supplement the existing fleet of trains to increase the capacity of the lines they serve. The sets entered service on 27 May 2011. These were the first trains on Singapore's rapid transit rail network to have been built in China. CSR Qingdao Sifang handled manufacturing while Kawasaki oversaw the project and design of these locomotives.
The procurement of the sets also resulted in some amount of furor, with a Hong Kong-based investigative news agency alleging that the C151As were being discreetly being shipped back to Qingdao for rectification works for multiple defects. The Singaporean government confirmed that trains were indeed being shipped back to Qingdao for rectification works and subsequently addressed and countered these allegations in official statements.
Design[]
The sets are made of a double-skinned aluminum alloy, similar to that of the Hitachi A-Train. The sets are equipped with SMRT's "Blackbird" livery, featuring a matte black body with a red side stripe and white cab ends. These were the third and last trains to feature this livery before SMRT moved to a new yellow, red and black corporate livery in 2014. The run numbers are displayed using a bright orange LED display on the top right of the cab front. Depending on the car, each car features seats colored in pink, blue or green, with reserved seats differentiated in a darker shade of the aforementioned colors.
The C151As were the first and only trains on the MRT network to be installed with the STARiS route map system from new, and the only ones to have the system sit flush with the interior bodywork (all other sets had the system retrofitted, with very obvious protrusions). With the opening of Canberra Station on the network, the STARiS map was updated to reflect this change. Additional LEDs are present for the upcoming Brickland and Sungei Kadut Stations, as well as an unnamed station set to open in the near future. A set of five red LED lights, positioned above each door, flash rapidly when the doors are about to close.
Specifications[]
Onboard recording
Essentially a derivative of the older C751B design, the C151A is equipped with the same Fuji Electric 2-level IGBT traction system; these provide a whining sound on acceleration.
Gallery[]
Incidents[]
A C151A set stationed at Bishan Depot was vandalized on 5 May 2014 following an apparent security breach. Police reports were made as the train was being dispatched.
Two C151A sets, 535/536 and 547/548, were involved in a major train collision at Joo Koon Station on 15 November 2017. While 535/536 was being taken out of service due to a signaling fault, 547/548 suddenly accelerated towards 535/536 when the latter's door closed, causing the collision. 38 people were injured, with both trains immediately taken out of service and towed to Tuas West Depot; it was later discovered that a safety protection measure on 547/548 was removed having gone over a faulty signaling circuit near the station.
This incident led to increased public scrutiny of SMRT, not helped by a major tunnel flooding incident weeks prior, with services on the Tuas West Extension suspended for checks on the signaling systems; the service would be resumed on 28 May 2018. Both sets involved in the incident re-entered service in June 2019.
| Mass Rapid Transit rolling stock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active | North South Line | C151 • C151A • C151B • C151C • R151 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| East West Line | C151 • C151A • C151B • C151C • R151 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| North East Line | C751A • C751C • C851E | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Circle Line | C830 • C830C | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Downtown Line | C951 • C951A | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomson-East Coast Line | T251 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light Rail | C801 • C801A • C801B • C810 • C810A | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Withdrawn | North South Line | C651 • C751B | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| East West Line | C651 • C751B | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Future | Circle Line | C851E | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jurong Region Line | J151 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cross Island Line | CR151 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light Rail | C810D | |||||||||||||||||||||||