NEW A-car trains for commuter lines 10 and 12 in Ningbo have been unveiled at CRRC Zhuzhou’s plant in the city, located on China’s east coast. The 95.3m-long four-car trains have capacity for 1010 passengers, included 178 seated.
They feature improved noise control technology for quieter interiors, as well as artificial intelligence (AI)-driven sensors that monitor loading in real time, and control light and temperature automatically. As is now standard for trains on many commuter lines in China, the new Ningbo fleet features transverse seating, with tables provided in some bays.
Developed by Ningbo Rail Transit and CRRC, the 160km/h trains are designed to be lighter and faster, maximising energy efficiency, with permanent magnet synchronous traction motors reducing traction energy consumption by about 14% compared with traditional asynchronous traction systems.
"The weight of the vehicle has been reduced by about 4.28 tonnes through structural optimisation and material upgrades, which is 2.4% less than that of conventional urban trains,” says Cui Qingyi, chief designer at CRRC Zhuzhou. “A streamlined design is used to reduce aerodynamic drag by 5%."
Lines 10 and 12 are expected to open this year, taking the city’s metro and commuter network to over 400km across 10 lines. Tracklaying on the 61.4km Line 12/Xiangshan, which loops around the city centre from the north and then extends far to the southeast, was almost complete at the end of March, with the installation of railway systems and construction of 10 stations progressing.
Almost half the track has been laid on the broadly north-south Line 10/Cixi. Construction of all 13 stations is well underway on the new 63.6km line.
