New Red and Orange Line Cars

datadyne007 said:
Springfield facility construction!

https://twitter.com/MBTA/status/746421582009077762

ClvSXhdWQAE8SeO.jpg


ClvSYzmWMAAd6Vz.jpg
Click to expand...

Call me skeptical, but if they're just building the factory now, how are they going to have any trains finished by 2019?
 
bolehboleh said:
Call me skeptical, but if they're just building the factory now, how are they going to have any trains finished by 2019?
Click to expand...

Rather depends on how much actual work is involved in "final assembly". Remember large amounts of the manufacturing happens in China.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Rather depends on how much actual work is involved in "final assembly". Remember large amounts of the manufacturing happens in China.
Click to expand...

From what I read in CNR's proposal, the only component that's being manufactured in China is the car body shell. The trucks are to be supplied by Bradken, an Australian company; the propulsion system by Mitsubishi; couplers by Wabtec.; etc. Aside from the first 4 pilot vehicles and the car body shells, there actually isn't much manufacturing or assembly being done in China.
 
swtat said:
From what I read in CNR's proposal, the only component that's being manufactured in China is the car body shell. The trucks are to be supplied by Bradken, an Australian company; the propulsion system by Mitsubishi; couplers by Wabtec.; etc. Aside from the first 4 pilot vehicles and the car body shells, there actually isn't much manufacturing or assembly being done in China.
Click to expand...

I would point out that Bradken, Mitsubishi and Wabtec all manufacture these types of components in China. I cannot guarantee they are sourcing from those factories, but I bet CNR has relationships with the Chinese manufacturing subs.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Rather depends on how much actual work is involved in "final assembly". Remember large amounts of the manufacturing happens in China.
Click to expand...


Kawasaki pretty much did the same thing for the railcars that are in use & still being delivered for the WMATA.

The car bodies are made in Japan, but the final assembly takes place in THIS country.

And BTW, I thought that the building was going to be able to accommodate at least a dozen or more cars for assembly. :confused:
 
Jahvon09 said:
Kawasaki pretty much did the same thing for the railcars that are in use & still being delivered for the WMATA.

The car bodies are made in Japan, but the final assembly takes place in THIS country.

And BTW, I thought that the building was going to be able to accommodate at least a dozen or more cars for assembly. :confused:
Click to expand...

Hopefully its just the first building or something, so while they ramp it up, they can be building more buildings for extra capacity.
 
bolehboleh said:
Call me skeptical, but if they're just building the factory now, how are they going to have any trains finished by 2019?
Click to expand...


I think that there may be some delays in getting started with the railcars.

But CNR should start making the SS bodies for them soon. Once the building is completed & operational, the empty car bodies will start arriving.

Time will tell. :cool:
 
bakgwailo said:
Hopefully its just the first building or something, so while they ramp it up, they can be building more buildings for extra capacity.
Click to expand...

Click here for renderings. The building that's being built now is the main (only?) building. It is scheduled to be complete by April of next year and manufacturing equipment installation is scheduled to be complete by December of next year. Mainstream production of the Orange Line cars should begin immediately after CRRC signs off on the factory, which is scheduled for April of 2018.

In the site plan rendering, there is what looks to be an outline of a potential second building for additional production capacity.
 
swtat said:
Click here for renderings. The building that's being built now is the main (only?) building. It is scheduled to be complete by April of next year and manufacturing equipment installation is scheduled to be complete by December of next year. Mainstream production of the Orange Line cars should begin immediately after CRRC signs off on the factory, which is scheduled for April of 2018.

In the site plan rendering, there is what looks to be an outline of a potential second building for additional production capacity.
Click to expand...


My theory is that they may do it like Boeing has done with the 787-8 Dreamliner - now the world's most highly sought after high-tech fuel-efficient jetliner. Two assembly plants are being used to fulfill the monster orders.

CRRC will probably build a 2nd assembly plant to speed up production of the railcars. After all, the MBTA has about 124 new cars on order for the Orange Line and about 90 or so for the Red Line. And additional 55 or so are on option.

That is well over 200 new cars on order! I would tend to think that is quite a huge order. Plus, another building may be needed for storage of the car bodies, parts that come in, such as traction motors, electronics, etc.. in case they get overwhelmed with the deliveries of the empty shells, especially when the plant is filled to capacity with the units that are being assembled. :confused:
 
Last edited:
Also, I want to see what the mock-up will look like. :cool:
 
Last edited:
Oh boy...

The Chinese company making Boston and Chicago’s new subway cars has big problems in Singapore

WRITTEN BY Heather Timmons | Echo Huang Yinyin
July 06, 2016

Chinese train manufacturer CSR Sifang has run into serious quality problems in a major project in Singapore. The city-state’s transportation authority said cracks have appeared in dozens of train cars made by CSR Sifang, where the cars attach to the “bogie” or undercarriage.
Twenty six out of 35 railcars made by a joint venture between CSR Sifang and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have defects, Singapore’s SMRT Trains said Tuesday (July 5).
The Singapore government’s announcement comes after Hong Kong news agency FactWire reported that trains were being sent back from Singapore to CSR Sifang’s factory in Qingdao, China, for replacement. The crowd-funded news organization tracked cars, shrouded in green wrapping, from Singapore’s Bishan Depot to a Singapore port to Qingdao.

CSR-made trains have experienced a series of problems in Singapore, from exploding batteries to cracked passenger windows, FactWire reported, citing sources in Singapore and mainland China. Kawasaki was responsible for overseeing and designing the trains, and making the train bogies, while CSR Sifang, part of China’s state-owned train giant CRRC, was responsible for the cars.

FactWire reports:
The mainland railway industry source stated that quality issues with the Chinese-made C151A trains began to worsen in 2013. They said cracks were found in structural components, including the sub-floor – a compartment under the passenger floor holding the equipment box and electrical wires – and bolster function parts connecting the car body to the bogie, the latter having the most serious problems. “It’s a structural problem,” said the source. “The bolster function balances the train’s weight and swing range, [therefore] cracks are dynamic, [they] can spread to the train car body with the bolster function, so the entire train car must be replaced.”
Click to expand...

Full article: http://qz.com/724156/the-chinese-co...ew-subway-cars-has-big-problems-in-singapore/
Click to expand...
 
datadyne007 said:
Oh boy...
Click to expand...

Gee... almost makes you wonder if going for the bid that was $300M below all the others wasn't smart.

As far as I can tell, though, the siloed nature of railcar procurement means that Singapore's and Boston's vehicles may as well have been developed by different companies. The question is whether SMRT, the CTA, and the MBTA share the components that have failed...

Also, this could turn out like Hyundai Rotem - once they get rolling, they work out the flaws, and some other agency had to suffer the headaches.

EDIT: Reading between the lines in the Quartz piece, it sounds like the structural problems may be tied to the relationship between Kawasaki and CSR. CSR is doing everything for the MBTA order.
 
Eh, throw a little epoxy in there, it'll be fine.
 
Equilibria said:
Gee... almost makes you wonder if going for the bid that was $300M below all the others wasn't smart.

As far as I can tell, though, the siloed nature of railcar procurement means that Singapore's and Boston's vehicles may as well have been developed by different companies. The question is whether SMRT, the CTA, and the MBTA share the components that have failed...

Also, this could turn out like Hyundai Rotem - once they get rolling, they work out the flaws, and some other agency had to suffer the headaches.

EDIT: Reading between the lines in the Quartz piece, it sounds like the structural problems may be tied to the relationship between Kawasaki and CSR. CSR is doing everything for the MBTA order.
Click to expand...


The Singapore cars were built by CSR. CNR and CSR both bid on the MBTA order. CNR won the order, CSR was disqualified for not meeting the specification. CNR and CSR have since been merged to form CRRC. It remains the CNR plant in China that will be building the shells for the MBTA order.
 
winstonoboogie said:
The Singapore cars were built by CSR. CNR and CSR both bid on the MBTA order. CNR won the order, CSR was disqualified for not meeting the specification. CNR and CSR have since been merged to form CRRC. It remains the CNR plant in China that will be building the shells for the MBTA order.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I knew the abbreviations weren't quite matching up. I couldn't understand the relationship between CNR, CSR & CRRC.
 
It almost never fails. Democracy in action. There is almost always a monkey wrench thrown into projects like this!

Don't they have quality control there? Aren't people supposed to be there to inspect the parts to make sure that nothing with manufacturing defects snakes its way through the system & onto the production line?

It could help in avoiding disasters, especially when the trains are in revenue service, I would think!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top