U5 railcar

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Frankfurt am Main subway,
U5 series
U5 car 603
Variant: U5-25 U5-50 U5-KR
Numbering: 601-696 801-930
Number: 96 130 22nd
Manufacturer: Bombardier
Year of construction (s): 2008-2017 2018–
Axis formula : Bo'2'Bo '
Gauge : 1,435 mm
Length over coupling: 25,840 mm 25,170 mm
Length: 25,020 mm 24,764 mm
Height: 3,611 mm
Width: 2,650 mm
Trunnion Distance: 8,950 mm
Bogie axle base: 1,900 mm
Smallest drivable radius: 25 m
Empty mass: 37,200 kg 36,150 kg
Maximum speed: 80 km / h
Installed capacity: 4 × 130 kW = 520 kW
Acceleration: 1.3 m / s²
Delay (operation): 1.7 m / s²
Delay (maximum): 2.73 m / s²
Wheel diameter: 720 mm - 640 mm
Power system : 600 V DC
Number of traction motors: 4th
Coupling type: Scharfenberg
Seats / folding seats: 48/6 47/6
Standing room: 136 142
Floor height: 870 mm
Number of doors per car: 8th

U5 railcar (or U5 series ) is the name given to the fifth generation of light rail vehicles in Frankfurt am Main . The railcars were developed for use on the Frankfurt U-Bahn and have been running there since 2008 on the A route , since September 2012 on the C route , and since April 2015 also on the B route . The delivery of 224 vehicles comprehensive series was completed by June 2017th In mid-2018, 22 additional intermediate cars were ordered, which are to be delivered in 2020/21.

General

The U5 car is a six-axle high - floor articulated multiple unit produced by the Canadian wagon manufacturer Bombardier Transportation . The series belongs to the Flexity Swift vehicle family and is offered in three versions:

The designation results from the length of the units. All three vehicle variants are around 25 meters long. However, the one-and-a-half-directional vehicles always operate in double traction . Every two vehicles thus form double units about 50 meters long, which are connected in the middle by a close coupling and a pedestrian crossing. This concept corresponds to the TW 2000/2500 introduced in Hanover from 1998 . With the 22 intermediate cars commissioned, it will be possible in the future to expand a double unit from two U5-50s to a triple unit with a length of 75 meters or a quadruple unit with a length of 100 meters, all of which will be continuously accessible.

The U5 car differs significantly from its predecessor, the U4 railcar , both technically and visually. In order to achieve the highest level of operational flexibility, both series can be coupled together in a train. After the approval by the technical supervisory authority (TAB) for common train formations was granted on June 26th, 2014, the first association drove in passenger service on June 28th, 2014. The interior of the U5 car is based on the tram cars that have been in use since 2003 series S . These were also manufactured by Bombardier and belong to the Flexity Classic family.

The U5 car has significantly fewer seats than its predecessor because it was designed to be barrier-free so that people with reduced mobility can independently use local public transport .

history

prehistory

Unlike all previous series in the history of the Frankfurt subway, the U5 series is not being procured through network expansion due to the increasing demand for vehicles, but is for the first time used as a replacement for old vehicles. The subway fleet is up to 40 years old at the time of purchase. First, however, it was examined whether the purchase of new vehicles could be delayed by renovating the existing vehicle fleet. The investigation came to the conclusion that this alternative would not be economical in the long term because it entails higher costs and risks than buying a new one. The decision took into account that the previous series had no uniform entry heights, vehicle widths and lengths due to the different expansion standards of the three underground lines. The U5 series was a major step towards standardization in the Frankfurt underground network and was intended to replace the U2 railcars , Ptb railcars and U3 railcars .

Order

After a long dispute about unapproved funding from the Hessian state government and an international tender , it was finally announced on December 2, 2005 that Bombardier Transportation had won the tender and should receive the order. On March 15, 2006, the client, Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt (VGF), officially confirmed in a press release that it would order a total of 146 Flexity Swift vehicles with a total value of 300 million euros from Bombardier . There is an option for 24 more vehicles.

The U5-car is the first vehicle series of the Frankfurt subway that is not from the German manufacturer Duewag (now Siemens Mobility was built) after Duewag decades all series of metro and tram had provided since the postwar period.

development

Model of the U5 car

The manufacturer developed the U5 railcar in close cooperation with VGF, which in turn involved various interest groups in the design. For example, with the double units of the U5-50 variant, the wish of passenger associations was implemented to form longer vehicle units that can be walked on and viewed over their full length based on the model of the 423 S-Bahn series . This increases the passengers' subjective feeling of security and reduces the risk of vandalism, especially in the evening hours. The interior design concept was developed with associations for the disabled .

As part of the development, a 1: 1 model - a so-called mock-up - was built in the central tram workshop. This replica consists of a driver's cab, two seating areas and a door area. The mock-up was used, among other things, to develop the driver's desk and to develop and present the passenger compartment in coordination with the interest groups.

Another model shows a complete U5-25 car on a scale of 1: 22.5 and was presented to the public for the first time on September 21, 2007 at a VGF information stand in downtown Frankfurt. It is now in the exhibition of the Schwanheim Transport Museum .

production

All vehicles are manufactured in the Bombardier plant in Bautzen , East Saxony , the bogies are built at the Siegen site and the electrical equipment comes from the Mannheim plant. The production of the first vehicles started at the beginning of 2007. The car body is made of lightweight steel construction. The shell of the first car was completed in August 2007 and received approval from VGF. After the shell construction, the vehicles are painted and the inside removed. Due to the modular structure, the car bodies and vehicle heads are removed separately. For fire protection reasons, the inside of the cars is clad with thermoplastic materials. The front windows are made of laminated glass , the side windows of toughened safety glass . In December 2007 the first vehicle - a U5-25 car - was able to leave the assembly hall. The vehicles are then extensively tested on a ring-shaped test track on the factory premises. The test program includes a 5000-kilometer continuous operation test. The vehicles reach a top speed of 80 km / h, can cope with inclines of up to five percent and are equipped with modern three-phase AC technology .

presentation

The first U5 car reached Frankfurt in mid-May 2008. It was a bi-directional vehicle of the U5-25 variant. This vehicle was presented on May 29th as part of a big festival under the motto “We're unpacking! - Frankfurt's biggest secret is revealed ” officially revealed and presented to the public. The event took place on the north bank of the Main in front of the Saalhof at the level of the Eiserner Steg , was supported by the regional media and accompanied by an entertainment program.

Another vehicle, car 604, was exhibited in September 2008 at the traffic technology trade fair InnoTrans in Berlin . The vehicle was christened “Bautzen / Budyšin” (Upper Sorbian) in the context of the trade fair and then delivered to Frankfurt.

Commissioning and use

Since May 2008 around 20 U5-25 vehicles have been delivered per year, after the delivery of car 654 in autumn 2011, the U5-50 were initially delivered at roughly the same speed. The delivery should be completed by September 2017, in fact the delivery was already completed in June 2017 with car 696, the last U5-25.

The first three U5-25 wagons were delivered to the central tram workshop in May and June 2008 by low loader . First of all, numerous test drives were carried out on the workshop's test ring and occasionally on the route network. Since July 2008, the driver service personnel has been receiving practical training on the new vehicles. On September 12, 2008, cars 602 and 603 were used for the first time in passenger service on the U3 line to Oberursel . Since there were initially different platform heights in Frankfurt, the U5 cars with their entrance height of 87 cm could only be used on subway line A , so the first vehicles were located in the Heddernheim depot . They replaced the U2 railcars, which were up to 40 years old. After the A route had been completely converted to U4 and U5 cars, the following vehicles were located in the East Depot and used there first on the U7 and then on the U6. In spring 2015, the platforms of the U4 line were adapted to this vehicle type and then transferred from the U6 to the U4. In return, the U6 received the U3 series vehicles used on the U4. On October 9, 2016, the U5 line was switched from the Ptb car type to the U5 car. By spring 2017, the remaining old vehicles were also replaced, some of which have served as an iron reserve ever since.

The first pair of wagons of the type U5-50 (wagons 801/802) were delivered to VGF in December 2011, and this series has also been in regular service since February 2012. For the maintenance of the U5-50 cars, the central tram workshop had to be expanded so that the extra-long pairs of cars didn't have to be separated for each maintenance.

During an overhaul at the Bombardier plant in Bautzen , the U5-25 cars 601 and 602 were damaged during the flood on the plant premises in 2010. Since they are unfit to drive, they have been available to the Frankfurt fire brigade as a training train in the fire brigade and rescue training center since the expansion of the still usable individual parts .

Braking problems

In August 2011, an error was found in the braking behavior of the U5-25 railcars in triple and quadruple traction . The error was noticed on a train entering the station from the turning facility at the south station. When the brake command was given via the setpoint generator , the Multifunction Vehicle Bus only switched on the engine brake with a long delay. In response, the train was withdrawn from service immediately. During the subsequent check, it was found that the problem can recur at any time with three or four traction units. The Frankfurter Verkehrsgesellschaft announced in a press release that this was a software error in the vehicle control system that extended the signal transit times. In cooperation with the manufacturer Bombardier , new software was installed and tested within about four weeks. In the meantime, since August 16, the U5-25 railcars have operated at most in double traction . In order to bridge the shortage of wagons, the Frankfurt Transport Company increasingly used older U2 railcars . Since the end of September, a few wagons with updated software have been running in triple traction until all wagons have been successively updated. This was the case during October 2011.

Construction and technology

Scharfenberg coupling

The U5 railcar consists of two car bodies, called the A-part and B-part , which are connected to one another with a joint. A bellows covers the transition between the two parts. The car bodies rest on three two-axle bogies, with the middle one, known as a Jakobs bogie, located under the joint and bearing the load of both parts. The technical dimensions such as the length over the coupling, the pivot spacing and the wheelbase have been taken over unchanged from the U4 railcar. The door arrangement, which has already proven itself very well in the U3 and U4 cars, is also identical in the U5 car. The vehicle has eight double-leaf pivoting sliding doors, which are evenly distributed over the car and thus enable an optimal flow of passengers. On both sides of the vehicle, the first and last door is provided as an emergency exit and equipped with an emergency release from the outside and steps as an entry aid. These doors also serve as entry for the driver.

The U5 car has a modular structure. The modules are structured in a strictly hierarchical manner into individual assemblies. The two car bodies, including the joint, form the basic module. The vehicle head or the transition of the equipment trolley are screwed onto the car body as separate modules. The interfaces between the modules are identical, so that transition modules and vehicle heads can optionally be exchanged.

Special features of the U5-50 equipment trolley

U5-50

The U5-50 device variant differs from the U5-25 bidirectional vehicle only in that the vehicle head module is missing on the B-part. Instead, there is a passenger transition in the transition module above the close coupling, which is why the B-part of the U5-50 car is around 67 cm shorter. Like the front coupling, the close coupling is fully automatic. However, it is only mechanically compatible with it, so that individual U5-50 cars can be maneuvered, but can only be used in a train set in double traction. So it is actually a bogus two-way car . The transitions at the end of the vehicle can be closed by sliding doors in order to park individual railcars.

Special features of the intermediate car U5-KR

Like the one-way cars, the intermediate cars are equipped with their own drive technology. The same restrictions apply to them as to the U5-50. The difference is that there is a transition module with an auxiliary driver's cab on both the A and B sections.

Electrical equipment

Motor bogie (B-part)
Running bogie (middle)

The U5 railcar is powered by four traction motors that are distributed between the two outer bogies. The two middle axles of the Jakobs bogie are not driven, this is a running bogie. The traction motors are 130 kW three-phase asynchronous machines and are self-ventilated.

All bogies are equipped with electro-hydraulic brakes . In the traveling bogie the brake discs are on the running wheel axles - in the driving bogies on the hollow shaft of the gearbox. In addition, all bogies have two magnetic rail brakes each with an adhesive force of 66 kN in order to comply with the prescribed braking deceleration in the event of an emergency braking according to the guidelines of BOStrab .

The drive unit and braking equipment are completely built into the bogies. Each motor bogie is supplied with energy from a converter unit located on the vehicle floor. An inverter converts the on the catenary applied DC voltage into three-phase alternating current to (AC) and fed every two traction motors.

With regenerative braking , the motor is used as an electrical generator and feeds the energy gained during braking back into the network via the contact line. The inverter works as a rectifier in braking mode . If the energy cannot be fed back, it is converted into heat via braking resistors with airflow cooling on the vehicle roof.

A half-scissor pantograph for power supply is positioned on the vehicle roof of the A-part at the joint near the pivot point of the running bogie. The heating and air conditioning units are also located on the roof, each of which is provided once for each part of the car.

System technology

The U5 car, like the U4 car, is controlled with modern control technology based on a bus architecture . The vehicles are equipped with Mitrac - the microprocessor system for drive control of rail vehicles from the manufacturer Bombardier. This system is based on the international standard IEC 61375 for Train Communication Networks . An internal drive and vehicle bus ( multifunction vehicle bus ) forwards control commands to the drive and to decentralized components such as door control or air conditioning. Several vehicles in the train set are connected to one another via a wire train bus . The core of each vehicle is a central computer (Vehicle Train Control Unit) to which the two bus systems are connected. Operating and diagnostic data can be read out via a wireless network .

Like the U4 car, the U5 car also has an integrated on-board information system (IBIS) which, among other things, controls the passenger information system (PIS) . The IBIS systems of all vehicles in the train set can communicate with one another via an IBIS train bus. Compliance with VDV guideline 300 ensures compatibility with IBIS systems from other vehicle series.

Interior

Large multipurpose area at the hinge and color-coded door areas
Driver's area in the B-part (from left to right: control switch, control panel and IBISplus)
Passenger compartment
U5-50 interchange with passenger information

The visual design in the interior is based on the S series tram cars. The division of the compartments, each with four seating groups, partially corresponds to the U3 and U4 cars. In contrast to the previous model series, however, the passenger compartment only has 48 seats (around a quarter less), as four seating groups are omitted in favor of a large multi-purpose area. This area is located between the middle doors on both sides of the hinge and offers ample free space and holding options for wheelchair users as well as for people with prams, bicycles or bulky luggage. There are also six folding seats available in the multi-purpose compartment .

The seats are arranged in groups of four at each side window. As with the S-Wagen, the interior is designed with a special color concept for orientation for people with poor eyesight. Thanks to their yellow color, the handrails are rich in contrast and therefore easily recognizable. The door areas are clearly marked in color and marked with ribbed bars for tactile perception . Holding loops are attached to the cross bars under the ceiling.

The passenger information system informs the passengers acoustically and visually about the next station and transfer options. In contrast to the S-car, the matrix displays are only single-line, making the font larger and easier to read. Additional information, such as the next three following stations, is displayed as ticker . The exit side at the next station is indicated by a green illuminated arrow pointing left or right. At some of the terminal stops (e.g. Heerstraße and Ostbahnhof of the U6), however, both arrows light up, as the side of the line can be random. The U5 car has a total of four of these displays, which are evenly distributed at the end of a car section above the door to the driver's compartment or at the joint on the ceiling.

For the first time in the history of the Frankfurt subway, the vehicles are equipped with air conditioning and video surveillance, with video surveillance being installed in all U5 cars after various incidents, unlike initially planned. The conditioned air is led into the passenger compartment via ceiling ducts and the draft from the heater via side ducts above the floor.

The passenger and driver areas are separated from each other by a door and partitions made of glass. This increases the subjective feeling of security, as it enables a view of other vehicles or of the drivers. The driver's area is also air-conditioned with its own air conditioning unit, which can also be used to defrost the windshield. The execution of the operating and control elements on the driver's desk was largely taken over from the S-car. The surveillance cameras can be switched on individually on a monitor.

Color scheme and design

Face
Cars 603 and 602 with all-drive-with stickers

The exterior design of the U5 series follows the current color concept of Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt. The vehicles are monochrome in the color subaru-vista-blue - a dark turquoise tone - painted. The Stuttgart industrial design office PanikRuhdorfer developed the vehicle design and received an award for it in March 2009. The design was created in compliance with the corporate design of VGF. According to the specifications, the new design should, on the one hand, be based on the U4 car, which was around 14 years older, and, on the other hand, make it clear that this was a new generation car. This was achieved, among other things, by a newly designed front face, which is characterized by more organic shapes. Large train destination indicators are located behind the windshield . In addition, there are two more, slightly smaller displays on each side of the vehicle, which show the line number and the destination. They are located in the upper area of ​​the windows adjacent to the first and last entry and are a new feature compared to the U4 series. All exterior displays were initially designed as LED-illuminated Flipdot matrix displays, car 666 was equipped with high-resolution white LED displays as a test. After this test was successful, every U5 car from units 669 or 881 was already equipped with it ex works. Otherwise, the side surfaces largely resemble the U4 car. The side windows are tinted dark and form a continuous, dark band of windows with black areas in between. Yellow stripes above the entrances at the joint indicate the multi-purpose area inside. All doors are also marked with yellow arrows to make it easier for people with poor eyesight to see them. The entrances are 130 cm wide and are barrier-free without center bars.

The 601, 602 and 603 cars were the first vehicles in the series - as has been common practice for some time in new vehicle series - with special stickers. As part of a current VGF image campaign, the side surfaces were covered with excerpts from a large-format photo showing employees of the transport company who, as groups in the form of letters, form the slogan “All drive with” . After the flood-related decommissioning of 601 and 602, last only 603 was on the road with this sticker, currently (March 2018) the train is free of advertising.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hermann Wygoda: Local transport: vehicle procurement for the Frankfurt subway network completed. In: fnp.de . June 21, 2017, accessed July 31, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c Günter Murr: New cars against bottlenecks in the subway . In: Frankfurter Neue Presse . Frankfurter Societät , Frankfurt am Main June 29, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c Announcement of the award of the contract by the VGF
  4. ^ Announcement from VGF on their Facebook page
  5. ↑ a b press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the VGF of March 15, 2006@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vgf-ffm.de  
  6. ↑ Press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the VGF of September 24, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vgf-ffm.de  
  7. ↑ Rüffer / Klinge / Kochte, p. 20.
  8. ↑ Press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the VGF of September 11, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vgf-ffm.de  
  9. ↑ a b Press release ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the VGF on February 10, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vgf-ffm.de
  10. ↑ Sightings in the Frankfurt local transport forums.
  11. ↑ Report on the flood on stern.de, accessed on April 17, 2012
  12. ↑ a b c press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the VGF of September 26, 2011, accessed on April 17, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vgf-ffm.de  
  13. ^ Post by VGF on Twitter , accessed on April 17, 2012
  14. ↑ a b c press release  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of the VGF of September 7, 2011, accessed on April 17, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vgf-ffm.de  
  15. ↑ www.ud-germany.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.ud-germany.de  

literature

  • Michael Rüffer, Ralf Reiner Klinge, Rainer Kochte: Flexity trains for Frankfurt - transport company orders new high-floor light rail vehicles . In: Local transport . Volume 26, No. 3/2008 . Alba Fachverlag, ISSN  0722-8287 , p. 14-20 .
  • Bombardier Transportation (Ed.): Flexity Swift Frankfurt / Main, Germany . Vienna 2008 (data sheet).

Web links

Commons : U5 railcar  - album with pictures, videos and audio files