Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 - Refurbishment

Refurbishment

All C151 trains had completed their refurbishment. On 3 September 2004, Mitsui & Co (Hyundai Rotem Agent), RM Transit Technology (Sub-Contractor), Lexbuild (Sub-Contractor) and Hyundai Rotem Company (Main Contractor) received an order to refurbish all 396 carriages costing S$142.7 million. The renewal works include the refurbishment of seats and other interior fixtures, allocation of space for wheelchair personnel, the upgrading of onboard telecommunications equipment, public announcement system, and the improvement of the internal appearance of the cars. This project was headed by a Singaporean Dr. P. Sarathy with representatives from Hyundai Rotem Company, Mr. Lee Dong Hoon and Mr. Kim In Taek.

The exterior of refurbished trains resemble that of C751B trains very closely. The interior fittings were ripped out totally, replaced with white walls and new seats (the seat colours for the driving trailer were changed from orange to red) that were pushed back to allow more standing space. The end of each row of seats has two darker colored seats, which are the priority seats. Seats of the new cars were increased in length from 43 cm to 48 cm, having four seats from each seven seats to have a dark version of the corresponding colour of each car and the rest of the seats in every seven seats with a lighter one. The number of seats per row now 7 down from previously 9, was a decision which found unpopularity among commuters due to less seating capacity. Extra standing area has also been provided to increase the capacity of the refurbished cars. 20 trainsets also have the center portion of the seats in each car removed and were replaced with metal bars to serve as extra standing space. Such trains are known as bar trains.

The engine components have been retained, having performed better than expected. The wheelchair space is available only on the end of two middle cars nearest to the lifts in above ground stations. LED displays that blink when doors are closing were introduced except that it is positioned in the upper middle section of the door. More speakers and advertisement panels were also introduced. Hand grips were moved to the support bars of the seats on the ceiling and grabpoles are now located near the doors and at both ends of each carriage. The air-conditioning system has been changed to match the system used similarly by the C751B cars, with air-conditioning vents and 'in-flow' fans installed. The run number displays of refurbished trains remain unchanged. These MRT trains used to have a white background colour (just like Siemens C651 trains) in the past. Currently, the Siemens C651 trains are the only MRT trains with the white background body.

SMRT Trains has also cited reasons of wear and tear of important components over the past two decades of service and water leaks from the air-conditioning system of some trains. The company chose this option in favour over new rolling stock, which would have cost S$792 million. On 5 November 2006, the first refurbished train, set 005/006, was put back on service. The last trainset to be refurbished, set 075/076, had done its refurbishment and put back on service on 2 January 2009, and it was 22 years for these oldest MRT trains along the oldest MRT lines that opened in 1987.