BVG series A3
| U-Bahn Berlin small profile class A3 |
|
|---|---|
 A3E (originally A3 66) at the entrance to the Schlesisches Tor station
|
|
| Numbering: | 984 / 985–998 / 999 (A3 60) 934 / 935–982 / 983 (A3 64) 892 / 893–932 / 933 (A3 66) 884 / 885–890 / 891 (A3L 66) 794 / 795–882 / 883 (A3L 67) 656 / 657–792 / 793 (A3L 71) 640 / 641–654 / 655 (A3L 82) 538 / 539–638 / 639 (A3L 92) |
| Number: | 231 DT |
| Manufacturer: | ABB Henschel , AEG , O&K , Siemens , WU |
| Year of construction (s): | 1960-1994 |
| Axis formula : | B'B '+ B'B' Bo'Bo '+ Bo'Bo' (A3L 92) |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over coupling: | 25,660 mm |
| Length: | 12,530 mm (car body) |
| Height: | 3180 mm |
| Width: | 2300 mm |
| Trunnion Distance: | 7570 mm |
| Bogie axle base: | 1900 mm |
| Empty mass: | 32.0-41.1 t |
| Top speed: | 62 km / h |
| Hourly output : | 480 kW (A3), 400 kW (A3L, A3L 82), 712 kW (A3L 92) |
| Power system : | 750 V = |
| Power transmission: | lateral busbar coated from above |
| Number of traction motors: | 4, 8 (A3L 92) |
| Drive: | Switching mechanism , direct current (A3L 82), three-phase current (A3L 92) |
| Brake: | Electro-pneumatic brake |
| Train control : | Magnetic travel lock |
| Control: | Switching mechanism , direct current (A3L 82), three-phase current (A3L 92) |
| Coupling type: | Scharfenberg coupling |
| Seats: | 52 |
| Standing room: | 98-104 |
| Floor height: | 989-990 mm |
The series A3, A3L, A3L 82 and A3L 92 of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe are the first post-war series that were built for the small-profile network of the West Berlin subway . Both externally and technically, the four types are strongly based on the large-profile series D and DL as well as F84 to F92 . The smallest operationally mobile unit is the double railcar , which consists of a control car (S-car) with an even car number and a compressor car (K-car) with an odd car number. Both vehicles are motorized and each equipped with a driver's cab ; the designation “control car” refers to the electrical control equipment there. The K-carriage contains the compressed air system, the converter system and the equipment for the lighting. The numbering was done from car 999/998 backwards, making 999/998 the oldest A3 unit. Until the end of the 1970s, the K-Wagen was reserved for non-smokers, and it was allowed to smoke in the S-Wagen.
development
A3
As early as 1953, BVG-West was building a new large profile series, the later series D. After the first delivery in 1957, the transport companies worked together with DWM on the construction of a small profile series similar to the D type. The result was the A3 , which, apart from the adjustments for the different profile, largely corresponded to its model. The first vehicles were delivered as early as 1960, there were a total of eight double railcars of the substructure known as A3 60 . These cars were also among the few that drove to East Berlin before the Wall was built on August 13, 1961 .
The actual series delivery did not begin until 1964, after the first series had been thoroughly tested. Except for the fact that in the future Orenstein & Koppel will construct the car body instead of DWM and the 2.6 tonnes reduced net weight, these vehicles, known as A3 64 , were identical to their predecessors in every detail. In 1966, a further delivery of 21 double railcars (A3 66) followed , so that a total of 54 double railcars of the A3 series came together.
Originally, the vehicles of the A3 and A3L series had decorative moldings all around below the window edges. In the 1980s, they were all removed to reduce maintenance costs. The presence of the decorative strips was not a criterion for the composition of the train, in the transition period mixed trains occurred.
As the oldest wagons in the series, some vehicles from the A3 series were retired from 1998, but the majority of the wagons were upgraded and are still on the road today - some in new train formations - as A3E (see below).
A3L
However, this stock of vehicles was nowhere near enough to replace the pre-war AI and AII series . Since the development of rail vehicles in light metal construction has in the meantime progressed and the successor series DL was already delivered in the large profile , the BVG initiated the construction of a total of 118 double multiple units in the same year, which depending on the time of their delivery as A3L 66 , A3L 67 or A3L 71 were designated. The L stands for light metal construction as on the bodies instead of conventional steel now aluminum has been used. Due to this difference in mass, the engine power of the vehicles could be reduced.
Simultaneously with the delivery of the A3 and A3L, BVG-West decommissioned the last AI by 1968 and the last AII in 1973.
In 2007, the BVG decommissioned the oldest A3L from 1966 and 1967, as they became superfluous with the delivery of the HK series and their aluminum car bodies were now showing severe signs of wear, so that upgrading would no longer have been profitable.
In mid-2011, the BVG announced that from 2014 pre-series trains of a new series will be tested. These trains will then replace the A3 / A3L series. Although currently (as of February 2016) only two pre- series trains of this new IK series have been delivered, which will probably remain so until 2017, the first A3L 71 wagons had to be retired in 2010 and 2015, because - similar to the A3L a few years ago 67 - the aluminum car bodies are now in such a bad condition that they could only be renovated with great effort.
A3L 82
Experience from the large-profile series F, which was used from 1973, flowed into the newly developed A3L 82 series . The main difference was that these new vehicles were equipped with DC converters , which made it possible to start and brake smoothly. Outwardly, the A3L 82s were similar to the F76 to F79.3 trains, but the green signal light for operational trips above the destination display was omitted. Interior and doors were taken over from the A3.
During the planning phase, there were occasional considerations to install only six axles per double railcar instead of eight, with the middle bogie being designed as a Jakobs bogie . Since this appearance was very different from the previous ones, the designation A4 was intended in the meantime .
Of the A3L 82, only eight double multiple units, i.e. the equivalent of two eight-car trains, were delivered. At the time of delivery from September 1982 there was no urgent need for new vehicles, as the oldest vehicles were just over 20 years old and on the other hand there were no new lines in the small-profile network. They were built by Waggon Union (WU) in Berlin-Borsigwalde at a unit price of DM 2.12 million per double multiple unit. As was customary in the small profile at that time, they were given - counting backwards - the car numbers 655 to 640.
Siemens was responsible for the overall design of the technical equipment and the control current equipment. AEG supplied the high-voltage equipment and the converter system, Knorr the compressed air and braking equipment, Wabco the anti-skid system, Thyssen the two-axle longitudinal drive and Scharfenberg the coupling. The Scharfenberg coupling received an elastomer spring joint and a shock absorbing element, and the number of electrical coupling contacts was increased. The pantograph, which was attached to an insulated steel beam, was completely redesigned. The travel lock was only triggered magnetically, but the emergency brake was now triggered electronically.
The electrical control was carried out via two identical car control units, one of which was located in the S-car and one in the K-car. The thyristor control enabled the braking energy to be fed back into the conductor rail. The electronic components were placed in a container under the car. Quick switch box, static converter and batteries (each in the S-car) and compressor (in the K-car) were only available once per double railcar.
As with the previous A3L type, the car body was made of aluminum. For the first time, the chassis of the car was made in an integral construction from extruded aluminum profiles. The total curb weight of each double multiple unit was 35.3 t, making it 10.7% heavier than the previous series. The top speed could be limited to 52, 62 or 72 km / h. A separate microprocessor monitored the wheel slide protection system and thus controlled the wheel slide protection. It also secured the door release: the doors were locked in the small profile for the first time until they were released by the driver. Electronically controllable pallet displays were installed as destination displays , the background colors of which corresponded to the line colors. The wheels were provided with sound absorbers on both sides.
Nine fluorescent tubes of 40 W each were used to illuminate the passenger compartment, which is equipped with longitudinal bench seats. The seats were covered with red checked wool, they consisted of a spring core with a rubber pad and 10 mm neoprene foam. Window flaps were only installed on the conductor side (on the left in the direction of travel). The interior cladding consisted of a 2 mm thick Sinaplast foil coating in brown decor, the white coated ceiling cladding made of perforated aluminum. The passenger compartment and driver's cab could be heated independently of driving. The driver's cab only had an outside door (now in the form of a flap door) on the conductor's side. It had a usable area of approx. 3.5 m² and had front window ventilation.
The series was first used in passenger service on June 14, 1983. Unit 640/641 commuted on the short line 3 between the Wittenbergplatz and Uhlandstrasse underground stations . In mid-July, the new vehicles were then also used as four-car trains on Line 2 in the direction of Krumme Lanke . An eight-car train was first observed in September of that year, then on May 20, 1984 for the first time a mixed train set made up of carriages 654/655 (A3L 82) and 868/869 (A3L 67).
The railcars of this series could be mechanically and electrically coupled with the older A3 and A3L vehicles and used in combination from the start. Around 2003, however, the BVG began to try to make the coupling with the younger A3L92 possible by making changes to the technology. This did not succeed: Not only was the goal of the conversion missed, it also lost the ability to be coupled with the older A3 / A3L trains, so that the A3L 82 could only be electrically coupled with trains of the same series since then. For this reason, among other things, they were given larger driver's cab side windows around 2004 so that the staff can identify them more easily as A3L 82, especially since their fronts have been identical to those of the A3L 92 at the latest since the replacement of the originally installed drop-leaf displays with conventional roll-up displays.
In the summer of 2018, BVG began to retire the A3L 82, with two units (646/647 and 650/651) initially remaining in service. The rest were parked in the Grunewald and Friedrichsfelde depots. The last two units were also retired in September 2018. Except for unit 650/651, all vehicles serve as spare parts dispensers.
A3L 92
After reunification , the two sections of the U2 also had to be joined again. As a result, the need for newer vehicles arose again, and the BVG was already decommissioning the first trains of the GI / 1 series due to technical defects. The resulting shortage of vehicles could only be remedied by upgrading the G-wagons on the one hand or by procuring more new vehicles on the other. Since the BVG originally wanted to part with the GI / 1, it resorted to the latter measure.
Between 1993 and 1994 a total of 51 double multiple units were procured, which were largely similar to the A3L 82 - with the exception that these vehicles, now known as the A3L 92 , had a three-phase drive , which was still new for a small-profile series at the time. The A3L 92 also differed from its predecessors with regard to the doors: the last 16 cars built (A3L 92) are electrically powered.
The first unit to be retired was 566/567 due to cracks.
A3E
In the meantime, the vehicles of the first delivery series (A3 60) have been taken out of service, the other two delivery series were partly extensively modernized from 2003 to 2005 and the interior of the A3L 92 was adapted. Their service life has thus been increased by a further 16 to 20 years, with their designation now being A3E (where the E stands for Ertigungsigt ).
Due to the high purchase price of new vehicles, at the end of the 1990s the BVG announced the modernization of its A3 64/66 series, which were still intact in terms of vehicle construction. The modernizations were then carried out in cooperation with the MGB (Mittenwalder Gerätebau). The vehicles should be adapted to the A3L 92 series in terms of maintenance effort and interior equipment. The switchgear technology with many contactors to be serviced was replaced by DC power converter technology. The drive motors in the two-axis longitudinal drives (DUEWAG tandem drive ) were retained. The starting and braking behavior corresponds to that of the A3L 92 series. The A3E and A3L 92 series can thus be freely coupled with one another. Externally, the series differs visibly through a supply air box, which replaces the front right cuckoo fan, which is used to supply air for the driver's cab heating. The car bodies made of St-52 showed an excellent state of preservation. The examination of the solebar with an endoscope did not reveal any corrosion, except in the door areas that were susceptible to road salt. The rotating escape doors on the end walls of the double railcars (DTW) were replaced by sliding sliding doors guided by a link in order to minimize the draft in the driver's cab. The first double multiple unit (prototype) was followed by the series, in which design changes to simplify production in the underframe and in the interior were implemented as experience from the original vehicle. The vehicles were converted in the former workshop for company vehicles in the Bw / Hw Gru.
By March 2019, all 28 of the A3 64E and A3 66E series double multiple units that were upgraded from 2003 to 2005 had been repaired and put back into operation. With their 53 to 55 years of age, the vehicles are the longest-serving underground cars in Germany that are used daily in passenger service. Meanwhile, their respective average mileage is over 3.7 million kilometers.
Wagon construction
The car body of the original A3 wagons is made of steel, and the successors are made of lightweight aluminum. The dimensions of the cars are largely the same and are based on those of the D and F series, with the exception of the profile and the maximum train length.
There are three double-leaf, compressed-air- operated pocket sliding doors on each side of each car; the cars also have two single-leaf sliding doors to the driver's area. From the A3L 82 series onwards, the right door was dispensed with, the left is now a swing door. The right driver's compartment door has now been removed from some of the A3L 71 series cars.
The interior is equipped with longitudinal seats, which were initially covered with dark green and later with patterned synthetic leather. As an experiment, there was also upholstery with plush .
All axles of the A3 type railcars are driven. The drive consists of a longitudinal motor per bogie, which drives both axles in tandem via a hollow shaft gear . The engine output of the A3 is still 120 kW, but the A3L has been able to be reduced to 100 kW due to the lighter construction. In the A3L 92, the power of one drive motor is only 89 kW, but the drives are single-axis drives .
An externally controlled resistance brake is used as service brakes on the A3 and A3L, and compressed air disc brakes are used as stopping and emergency brakes . In addition, the wagons of all series are equipped with a spring-loaded brake that prevents the parked train from rolling.
Today's use
The A3 series trains are used on all small-profile lines. There are six-car trains on the U1 and U2, six-car trains on the U3 and two-car trains on the U4. Four-car trains are sometimes used on the U3 line for weekend services. In night traffic, with the exception of line U1 and the then non-operating U4, all lines are only served by four-car trains. The U1 line operates at night with six-car trains.
Web links
- Description of the A3, A3E, A3L, A3L82 and A3L92 series ( Memento from June 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian Hardy: The Berlin U-Bahn . Capital Transport, Harrow Weald 1996, ISBN 1-85414-184-8 , pp. 103 f .
- ^ Ulrich Lemke, Uwe Poppel: Berlin U-Bahn . 3. Edition. Alba, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-87094-346-7 , pp. 110 f .
- ^ Hans D Reichardt: Berlin subway . 6th edition. Alba, Düsseldorf 1979, ISBN 3-87094-319-X , p. 105 .
- ^ Brian Hardy: The Berlin U-Bahn . Capital Transport, Harrow Weald 1996, ISBN 1-85414-184-8 , pp. 56 u. 95 .
- ↑ New trains for small profiles in: BVG customer booklet BVG Plus July / August 2011
- ↑ a b c d e f g Review of the A3L 82 subway series in: Berliner Verkehrsblätter 11/2019, p. 218 ff.
- ↑ News in brief - U-Bahn . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . No. 2 , 2019, p. 34 .
- ↑ News in brief - U-Bahn . In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter . No. 7 , 2019, pp. 141 .