History
The trains were ordered during the electrification of the KCR British section, now known as MTR East Rail Line, in 1978. Sets E1-E45 and E46-E61 were delivered to KCRC in 2 batches in 1982-1983, when electrification was completed first between Hung Hom and Sha Tin, and from then to Lo Wu respectively. KCRC also reordered further train sets in 1986 (sets E62-E86) and 1990 (sets E87-E118). These train may suffer from temporary loss of electricity while passing the dead zone (also known as the neutral zone) due to the lack of internal batteries. The exteriors of the trains before refurbishment featured a red stripe running across the length of the trains, and the design of the front part of the first and last cars, which encapsulates the driver's cab, is commonly referred to as the "Yellow-cab" due to its aforementioned colour.
Prior to the rule proclaimed in 1994 which fixed the number of cars on each trainset to 12, trains were inconsistent in terms of length, ranging from six cars (two EMUs), nine cars (three EMUs) to 12 cars (four EMUs).
Like the MTR Metro Cammell EMUs (Modernization Train), KCR Metro Cammell EMUs have undergone major refurbishment from 1996 to 1999 to extend their lifespan, carried out by the successor of Metro Cammell, Alstom. Refurbishments included the replacement of transverse seating by longitudinal bench seats to create more space for standing passengers (although transverse seating was retained in First Class), removal of all toilets, increasing the number of doors from 3 per side of each car to 5, removal of the freight compartment between driving cab and First Class compartment along with its doors, removal of intermediate driving compartments and the removal of gangway doors excluding First Class. Also, the safety systems were changed to TBL (enhanced with ATP) from AWS in 1998 and ATC/ATO in 2002. The refurbishment reflected the significant change of role of KCR's British section, because of the development of New Territories new towns.
The refurbished trains are also known as Mid-Life Refurbishment Train (MLR Train).
Read more about this topic: East Rail Line Metro Cammell EMU
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