C751A

Not to be confused with C751B or C751C.

The C751A is currently operating on the North East Line. It's the first underground automated train with steel wheels. It first operated in 2003. 25 trainlets were bought.

Overview

The six-car trains on the North East line are powered by overhead catenary, a first in Singapore's MRT history. Rolling stock on all the other operating lines are powered by a third rail because authorities considered overhead wires to be unsightly and did not allow for trains to be powered using this method on elevated lines. Since this line is the first to be fully underground in Singapore, the authorities had a choice between powering the trains on this line by overhead catenary or third rail. This rolling stock is the first to have seats of the same colour in every compartment of the train.

Alstom was contracted in 1997 and 1998 (as Contract C751A) by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore to supply for trains for the North East line.

Platform gap reducers have been added on all C751A trains and they are similar to those on the C830C and C751C.

Refurbishment

In December 2018, LTA announced that the C751A trains will undergo mid-life refurbishment works from 2019 onwards. A contract worth $116.7 million was awarded to CRRC Nanjing Puzhen for the refurbishment works. All 25 first-generation C751A trains will be upgraded. The trains' interior, such as seats, panels and flooring, will get a facelift, and the air-conditioning, ventilation and passenger information systems will be upgraded. Works are expected to be completed by 2026.

As of today, 4 trains have been refurbished and 2 trains are undergoing refurbishment. They are:

1. 7013/7014
2. 7009/7010
3. 7039/7040
4. 7045/7046
5. 7017/7018 (mainline testing)
6. 7049/7050 (refurbishing)

Exterior

Red and purple stripes run along the train livery for passengers to easily identify that the trains are operated by SBS Transit. The fleet numbers were placed on the roof above the 1st and 4th doors on each carriage and three SBS Transit logos are placed per side per carriage. C751A trains do not have a middle window cut out which can be used to see the tracks, unlike the newer driverless trains in the system. This is because it has to make way for the old detrainment ramp, which is not as compact as that of the C751C, C830 and C830C.

Interior

The interior colouring scheme of the trains is largely different from other trains in the system, with beige being used for the roof, the emergency communication button and the top ends of the seats, and lavender for the lower parts of the seats. Wheelchair spaces are located at the 9th and 16th doors of the trains. 36 LCD displays had been installed on the trains but they were deactivated. These trains had two side windows at each end for viewing the tracks, but there was no middle window cut into the emergency train exit, which was only introduced starting with the C830 trains. Moreover, manually driven trains may be deployed during peak hours. Passengers would thus have difficulty in viewing the tunnel from either the front or behind.

In addition, the C751A trains are also fitted with the following:

• 2 Visual Passenger Information System or VPIS installed in each train car. These displays show the name of the next station, current station, door closing messages and occasionally the date and time.
• 6 LCD are installed on the overhead panel in each train car. These screens formally showed rail travel information of the next station and terminating station, silent commercials and safety videos. The units have since been deactivated due to lack of demand.

Driverless

The C751A is the first fully driverless heavy metro rolling stock in Singapore. Nonetheless, SBS Transit hires employees trained to drive the trains manually if necessary.

The C751A uses the URBALIS 300 Moving-Block Automatic Train Control system (CBTC), which optimizes headway and enables extra trains to be injected automatically into the system at rush hour to increase passenger capacity and reduce congestion. In the depot, trains are also operated in full automatic mode. Communication between the train and the fixed signaling equipment is enabled by the IAGO two-way continuous transmission system. Station-based automatic train supervision ensures a greater degree of availability. Built-in test equipment has also been included, and Eurobalise standards have been adopted for spot transmission.