Siemens (train)

From Freepedia

Image:FlindersStreetTrainAtNewport.jpg

The Siemens MOMO Train (Modular Metro, originally NEXAS, but more generally Siemens train) is a type of electric train that operates on the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. Introduced to service in 2003 and built by Siemens AG, the electric multiple unit trains are the newest in the city's suburban fleet.

The single-deck Siemens trains operate as M-T-M sets of three carriages (two motor-driven carriages on either end of a motorless "trailer" carriage). Two of these sets are generally coupled together to form a six-carriage train when run in revenue service, though a single set may be run when demand does not merit a full train. Each three-carriage set can carry 544 people and is 71.9 m in length. They have a stainless steel body, and can be seen in a number of different liveries, owing to the change in ownership, and new trains continuing to enter service.

There are several notable differences between the Siemens trains and other trains which operate in Melbourne. These include:

• 2x2 [two by two] seating. All other trains had 2x3 [coach] seating.
• 2 doors per carriage per side. Significantly wider they prove to be slightly more efficient in loading and unloading passengers. All other Melbourne trains have three smaller doors.
• Open articulation. Passengers can freely move carriage to carriage without opening doors - one of a kind in Melbourne.

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 metropolitan network is now run wholly by the other operator, Connex Melbourne. Ownership of the Siemens trains was transferred in April 2004.) The Siemens trains, along with the Connex X'Trapolis trains, are intended to replace the ageing Hitachi trains, of which only six, six-carriage trains remain until early 2006.

The first service to operate with a Siemens train was the 8:43 AM 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 workshop on April 27 2002.

As of September 2005, there are 62 three-carriage sets in service in Melbourne, with an additional 10 trains ordered by Connex Melbourne in August 2005. (See Newsrail.) Of these 72 sets, comprising 36 standard six-carriage trains, the 144 motor carriages are numbered M701 through M844 and the 72 trailer carriages are numbered T2501 through T2572.

The two shuttle services from Williamstown station to Newport station were replaced with three-carriage (M-T-M) Siemens trains on October 11, 2005.

External links

• SIEMENS AG: Siemens Transportation Systems wins major contract in Australia
• Siemens trains at VICSIG