U4 railcar
| Frankfurt am Main subway, U4 series |
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|---|---|
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| Numbering: | 501-539 |
| Number: | 39 |
| Manufacturer: | DUEWAG , Siemens |
| Year of construction (s): | 1994-1998 |
| Axis formula : | Bo'2'Bo ' |
| Gauge : | 1,435 mm |
| Length over coupling: | 25,840 mm |
| Length: | 24,490 mm |
| Height: | 3,588 mm |
| Width: | 2,650 mm |
| Trunnion Distance: | 8,950 mm |
| Bogie axle base: | 1,900 mm |
| Empty mass: | 34,800 kg |
| Top speed: | 80 km / h |
| Installed capacity: | 4 × 130 kW = 520 kW |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 720 mm - 640 mm |
| Impeller diameter: | 720 mm - 640 mm |
| Power system : | 600 V DC |
| Number of traction motors: | 4th |
| Coupling type: | Scharfenberg |
| Seats / folding seats: | 59/4 |
| Standing room: | 111 |
| Floor height: | 870 mm |
| Number of doors per car: | 8th |
U4 railcar (or U4 series ) is the name given to the fourth generation of light rail vehicles in Frankfurt am Main . The railcars were developed for use on the Frankfurt U-Bahn and have been running on the A route there since 1994 .
General
The U4 car is a six-axle bi - directional articulated railcar in high-floor construction . It was developed by Duewag and Siemens in the early 1990s . In terms of its basic concept, it is very similar in many respects to its predecessor, the 15 years older U3 railcar . The interior layout as well as the door and window arrangement are identical, while the floor height is slightly lower at 87 cm, which is why the vehicles are used on separate routes. Technically and optically, the car is related to the R series tram, which was developed by Duewag and Siemens at the same time .
history
The original plan was to purchase the U3 car as a standard car in larger numbers for the entire subway network. For financial reasons, the C line , which was newly opened in 1986 and for which new U3 cars were planned, was temporarily operated with the existing Pt railcars . Numerous discussions about the future of the light rail system over many years finally delayed the purchase of further U3 cars for a long time. However, due to the expansion of the network and increasing passenger numbers in the early 1990s, it became clear that if the vehicle fleet was not expanded, there would soon be a shortage of vehicles. The city of Frankfurt decided to procure only 39 new railcars for the time being, with the basic concept of the U3 railcar being adopted. The new series was therefore initially carried under the working title "U3-2000" , but was later given its own series designation, because there are significant differences, especially from a technical point of view, due to the new design. In the meantime, the boom in information technology has had a major impact on traffic technology , so that, of course, most of the processes in the U4 car are controlled by microprocessors .
The U4 series was built in two delivery series. The first series comprises 18 vehicles with the numbers 501-518 and was delivered between 1994 and autumn 1995. There was a second delivery series comprising 21 vehicles. Outwardly, the new cars with the numbers 519-539 differ from the first series only in their silver-colored borders on the headlights. Technically, both series are fully compatible with each other. With the delivery of the last car on August 7, 1998, the U4 series was complete.
There is no other series of the U4 car. Instead, the U5 railcar was developed by Bombardier as the successor . After years of cooperation between Stadtwerke Frankfurt, Duewag and Siemens, the U4 series is the last vehicle on the Frankfurt U-Bahn to date to be commissioned there. The U5 car has been supplied in very large numbers since summer 2008 and is compatible with the U4 car, so that railcars of both series can run together in a train set. The approval for mixed train formations by the Technical Supervisory Authority (TAB) took place in June 2014.
Construction and technology
As a bidirectional vehicle, the U4 series has fully equipped driver's cabs on both sides. The vehicle consists of two car bodies , called the A-part and B-part , which are identical with a few exceptions. The two car bodies are supported on a total of three two-axle bogies . According to the Jakobs principle, both parts are stored together on the middle bogie and are connected to one another via a joint that enables the transition between them. Due to the completely ground-level high-floor construction, the outer bogies could be arranged as desired, as with the U3 car, because there are no steps on the doors. Due to the bogie arrangement, the driving characteristics are better than, for example, the U2 car. But the entrances could also be positioned independently of the substructure, so they are evenly distributed over the car. The car has a total of eight double-leaf pivoting sliding doors, four of which are in each part of the car and two on each side of the car. The entrances are arranged in such a way that there is exactly one seating group on each door wing, so that the flow of passengers is optimal.
In train operation, multiple units of up to four railcars can be formed, which then have a total length of up to just over 100 m.
Electrical equipment
The U4 series is driven by a total of four 130 kW drive motors . Only the axles of the two outer bogies are driven, the middle one is a trailer bogie. The outer motor bogies each have two motors, each of which drives its own axle. The motors are self-ventilated three-phase asynchronous machines of the type BASu 4858/6 from AEG .
The braking system consists of a combined regenerative brake and resistance brake , whereby the regenerative brake function is primarily used. It works as an electromotive brake , which feeds the energy gained during braking back into the contact line . To protect the motors, converters and motor bogies, the running bogie is also braked.
Both vehicle parts have their own converter unit that feeds the traction motors of the motor bogie. GTO - pulse-controlled inverter (PWR) convert the direct current of a contact network for the motors in three-phase order. In addition to the PWR, the converter unit also contains an intermediate circuit capacitor , a braking resistor and a line choke and is located in a tub attached to the floor of the car body (each under the two middle seating groups / windows).
When starting and braking, the converters generate the noise typical of the U4 car - a very noticeable hum . A similar, but less intense noise of the first series of the 423 series (newer series in use on the S-Bahn since 2003 ) is also caused by three-phase current technology or the GTO thyristors. The advantage of this type of drive is a stepless control compared to the classic speed step control . Newer vehicles work with IGBT transistors and higher frequencies, which reduces the subjective volume.
The U4 car draws its energy from a single-arm pantograph on the vehicle roof of the A section. The pantograph is positioned on the joint near the pivot point of the running bogie. The main switch of the railcar is in a box directly next to the pantograph (above the second door seen from driver's cab A). A heater is located directly next to the main switch box and in the same place on the roof of the B-part. The heating is clocked depending on the driving game and therefore has a low energy consumption.
System technology
The control electronics and control technology of the U4 series are based on SIBAS 16 , a microprocessor system for rail vehicles. The SIBAS system has a modular structure made up of various control units. These communicate with each other on the basis of a strict BUS architecture , which has significantly reduced the wiring effort compared to older series. The buses that connect the individual devices can be roughly divided into two groups:
- A vehicle bus (or vehicle bus ) takes on internal communication and control tasks of a railcar.
- A train bus establishes the connection of all coupled motor vehicles in the train set.
The heart of the control is the central control unit (ZSG), which is located in the driver's area of the A section. In addition to higher-level control functions, it also has other tasks, including bus management as well as diagnostic and monitoring functions. In train operation, communication with the ZSGs of other vehicles takes place via the train bus. These are subordinate to the ZSG of the leading car, which takes on the master function . In the driver's cabs there are displays to show the operating status and malfunction messages of the ZSG.
The vehicle bus establishes the internal vehicle connection from the ZSG to the two drive control units (ASG). There is an ASG per car part, which controls a converter unit, which in turn is assigned to two of the four traction motors. The ASG are installed under a bench directly above the power converters, which minimizes the cable route and susceptibility to electromagnetic interference.
There are also a number of so-called KLIP stations that offer decentralized interfaces for the input and output of digital and analog signals. They are connected to the ZSG via the control bus , an in-vehicle vehicle bus. Individual peripheral devices are connected to these KLIP stations, including the heating, ventilation, lighting and door control (output) as well as the operating elements in the driver's area (input). They also offer the option of connecting an air conditioning system, which in the U4 car is only installed in the driver's cab for static reasons.
Integrated on-board information system
The U4 series was first delivered with an integrated on-board information system (IBIS). This system was later retrofitted in some older vehicles. In addition to passenger intercoms for the driver and the radio device that establishes the connection to the operations control center , the IBIS also includes a passenger information system (PIS). The U4 car is the first light rail vehicle in Frankfurt to have a digital passenger information system, which consists of a train destination display on each of the car heads and a stop display and announcement system in the passenger compartment.
Like the SIBAS control technology, the on-board information system is also strictly BUS-oriented and also has its own train bus and vehicle bus. The core here is the IBIS headquarters , which is located in the B-part of the vehicle and is connected to both buses. The train bus only ensures communication with the IBIS centers of other cars in train operation, while the vehicle bus connects the individual IBIS components and operating devices in the driver's cabs with the center. There is also a connection between the IBIS control center and the central SIBAS control unit (ZSG) via the IBIS vehicle bus.
Since 2016, the flip-dot train destination displays have been replaced by Super Whiteliner LEDs. Car 533 was the first vehicle to be equipped with this LED; all U4 cars that were modernized after it also received this display. It is planned to convert all vehicles with these LEDs.
Interior
The division of the interior has been taken over from the U3 car, as it has proven itself very well there. The seats are arranged in groups of four - two seats per bench and two opposite benches per group. To prevent vandalism , hard-shell seats are used instead of upholstered seats, which are covered with a blue-green patterned fabric. A seating area is hidden behind each side window. This results in a total of 16 four-seat groups with theoretically 64 seats. However, the car only has 59 ordinary seats, as there is a small multi-purpose area between the hinge and the adjacent door in the B-part , in which the seats in a seating group are designed as folding seats . In addition, there is no seat in the seating group opposite. This free space is intended as space for wheelchairs or prams. As part of the redesign, the handrails will be painted yellow and the door areas orange, as in the U5 railcar.
The passenger compartment is evenly illuminated by two parallel, external rows of lights on the ceiling. Like all other older series, the U4 car does not have an air conditioning system , which leads to very high temperatures in the interior in summer due to the large glass surfaces and the limited number of hinged windows. Contrary to earlier information, according to the VGF, the series cannot be equipped with air conditioning for the passenger compartment, as the roof load would be too high. As part of a redesign, only air conditioning systems for the driver's cab have been retrofitted since the end of 2010. For this purpose, the ventilation was revised and additional hinged windows and ventilation grilles were installed in the doors.
The driver's compartment is separated from the passenger compartment by a glass door and large panes of glass. The windows are heavily tinted to filter the light from the passenger compartment, as reflections in the windscreen would otherwise obstruct the driver's view. Above the door are located at both ends of the coach-line LCD - segment displays the passenger information system, which indicate the line number and the name of the next stop. This means that the passengers are informed visually as well as the acoustic announcement. As part of the redesign, the displays will be exchanged for those of the follow-up U5 series - the common traction of both series is planned. These can also show the following stops and the exit page.
The modernization of all vehicles (with the exception of the damaged vehicles 517, 532) was completed with the last vehicle 536 in August 2017.
Color scheme and design
After the previous red / white and orange / ivory colors, a third color concept was introduced into the Frankfurt U-Bahn with the U4 car. The cars are monochrome in the color subaru-vista-blue - a dark turquoise shade - painted. The new color was also adopted for many older vehicles and is now used in all of Frankfurt's local transport . The design of the U4 car was developed by Herbert Lindinger and used in a similar form on the R series low-floor cars .
The side windows of the U4 car are tinted dark, have no rounded corners and a comparatively large area compared to previous series. An almost continuous, dark band of windows is formed by black surfaces in the spaces in between, which contrasts with the colored car body . Only the four entrances on each side interrupt this bond. The panes of the sliding and sliding doors almost reach the floor and therefore appear very narrow. The door opening buttons are not, as before, arranged on the outside at the side of the entry or on the inside on a rod, but rather attached to the glass pane of a door leaf on both sides.
The otherwise very rectangular car body is loosened up by a vehicle front that is slightly curved upwards and round elements on the headlights and windshield. The disc has a very large area and takes up about two thirds in height and the entire front side in width. Train destination indicators are installed above the driver's cabs behind the windshield , which consist of a dot matrix of bistable display elements and show the line number and the destination in yellow on a black background.
Vehicles 501 to 524 were delivered with so-called contrast stripes . These are foils with different motifs of colored, often very colorful and abstract shapes, which are glued on both sides below the ribbon of windows. Some vehicles still operate with this decoration today.
Since 2007, all doors have been gradually stuck with yellow arrows in order to be seen better by people with poor eyesight. The entrance, where the three-seater group is located, is also marked on both sides with a yellow stripe above the door.
business
commitment
The U4 cars could run anywhere on the route network because of the targeted, uniform platform height of 80 cm. Due to their stationing in the Heddernheim depot, however, the U4 cars currently only run on the A route and the D IV route or the local lines U1, U2 and U9. Since August 2017, some vehicles have been used again on the U3 and U8 lines.
The U4 series offers barrier-free, almost level entry at most of the A-route stations, which have recently been converted to a uniform platform height of 80 cm. Only two stations ( Römerstadt and Niddapark ) have not yet been rebuilt, which means that the U4 car has a maximum height of 31 cm that has to be overcome when boarding. Another type of vehicle used on the A route is the new U5 series, which is also largely barrier-free , partly mixed with the U4 cars in tractions.
Depending on the time of day, trains with one to four U4 railcars are used. Due to the longer vehicle length compared to the U2 carriages and the short design of the platform at the Miquel- / Adickesallee underground station , there is a special feature there, mainly in the morning rush hour. If a train consisting of four U4 series cars travels there, the rear end of the train, including the last door, is still in the tunnel when it stops at the station. The last door is not opened automatically, which is what the passengers are informed about beforehand by a special announcement and by signs on the tunnel wall.
Depot
All vehicles of the U4 series have been based in the Heddernheim depot and some of the Bommersheim depot since they were delivered . Since the depot is located directly on the A route, the vehicles can be pushed in and out from there without any problems, and trains can be extended or shortened at short notice as required by attaching and detaching additional wagons within a few seconds.
BOStrab
Although the U4 railcar is a high-floor vehicle for pure light rail operation, it is equipped with rear-view mirrors as well as a direction and warning flashing signaling device (coll. "Blinker") and thus approved for tram operation in road traffic according to the BOStrab . This property is necessary in order to transfer the vehicles for repair and maintenance work from the A-route via the tram network through Ginnheim and Bockenheim as well as the C-route to the central Stadtbahn workshop .
Accidents
On the morning of February 20, 2007, the U4 series' most serious accident to date occurred. For an unexplained cause, a four-car train hit the buffer stop at the end of the line in the Südbahnhof underground station at around 7:50 a.m. and then rammed the wall closing the tunnel, causing the driver to be slightly injured. Since the accident occurred in the turning system , there were no passengers on the train. The effects on the further operation of the A route were limited because the route was not interrupted by the accident. The vehicles were initially taken out of the tunnel one by one during the nightly breaks in order to be brought to the central light rail workshop, which the last car on the train could leave a few days later. The first three railcars (532, 517 and 522) were badly damaged by the impact. The two parts of the leading vehicle even had to be salvaged separately from the tunnel. 517 and 532 were decommissioned, 522 repaired and put back into service
On the evening of April 5, 2014 at 7:56 p.m., the U4 car 511 hit the buffer stop at the end of the track in Ginnheim, knocking over not only the buffer stop but also a catenary mast placed behind it after the buffer stop was under the first car turned and lifted him up. Nine passengers and the driver were slightly injured. The following night the fire brigade lifted the train back onto the track and transferred it to the central Stadtbahn workshop, which it was able to leave again. The accident caused considerable damage to the route (damage to the track and the overhead line, a catenary mast destroyed and a buffer stop badly damaged), so that the U1 and U9 between the Ginnheim and Römerstadt stops did not resume until April 13, 2014 could be.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Verkehrsclub Deutschland [VCD], Kreisverband Frankfurt eV (Hrsg.): Tram on new ways . 1st edition. Frankfurt am Main 1995, p. 21 .
- ↑ Tram Page Frankfurt: Archive 1998 (as at 19 February 2008)
- ^ Announcement from VGF on their Facebook page
- ↑ SIBAS: SI EMENS B ahn A utomatisierungs S ystem
- ↑ KLIP: Kl emme for i ntelligent P eripherieanbindung
- ↑ AK: U-Bahn rams a wall when turning . In: Frankfurter Rundschau . Volume 63, No. 44 , February 21, 2007, p. 23 (S edition).
- ↑ feuerwehr-frankfurt.de
literature
- Siemens Verkehrstechnik (Hrsg.): Stadtbahnwagen U4 of the Stadtwerke Frankfurt am Main . (Data sheet / technical information).
Web links
- ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: U4 tram ) at Siemens Transportation Systems
- Profile and pictures of the U4 car:
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