TAIWAN: Kaohsiung City Mass Rapid Transit Bureau has awarded a turnkey contract to provide rolling stock and railway systems for the MRT Yellow Line to a consortium of ST Engineering, Stadler and Siemens Mobility.
The 22·91 km, Y-shaped Yellow Line will have one elevated and 22 underground stations in six districts, serving 1·16 million people or 42% of the city’s population. There will be links to existing main line railways, the Red and Orange metro lines and light rail services.
Systems integration
Singapore Technologies Engineering’s Urban Solutions division has a S$1·4bn share of the contract. This includes overall project management and leading systems integration, as well as the provision of communication, traction electrification and automatic fare collection systems, platform screen doors, depot design and construction, and depot maintenance equipment. Work is to start by late 2022 and run for 10 years.
‘Winning this landmark project demonstrates the industry’s confidence in our unique strengths and attests to our capability in moving up the value chain to deliver full turnkey rail services, systems integration and project management’, said President of Urban Solutions Chew Men Leong on September 1. ‘This significant win following our Kaohsiung MRT Red Line North Extension contract reinforces our position as a global smart city participant.’
Signalling and rolling stock
Siemens Mobility will supply the CBTC signalling, while Stadler’s St Margrethen plant in Switzerland is to supply 25 three-car medium capacity metro trains equipped for GoA4 unattended automatic operation.
It is Stadler’s first metro car contract in Asia, and its second major vehicle order from Taiwan where it is to supply Taiwan Railways Administration with main line diesel-electric locomotives from 2023.
The metro trains will have a lightweight aluminium construction and will be designed for the local climate with humidity of up to 100% and temperatures of up to 45°C.
‘We are proud that our high quality standards and reliability as well as our expertise in tailoring vehicles specifically to customer requirements have been decisive criteria for the selection of Stadler’, said Deputy Group CEO Dr Ansgar Brockmeyer.
