MX3000
Encyclopedia
MX3000 is an electric train
used on Oslo Metro in Oslo
, Norway
. The multiple unit
s are produced by Siemens
, who started serial delivery in 2007. Seventy-eight three-car units have been ordered by Kollektivtransportproduksjon, and five by Akershus County Municipality
. They replaced the older T1000 and T1300 stock that was used on the Oslo Metro since 1966. By 2010, the last T1000 and T1300 trains have been retired and replaced by 83 three-car units. By 2012, the final delivery will increase the fleet to 115 units.
The trains are built as units of three cars, though they are often operated as double units. The units are 54.14 metres (177.6 ft) long, and weigh 98 tonne empty. They have a power output of 1680 kW, allowing speeds of 70 km/h (43.5 mph). Seated capacity is 138 seats, and total capacity is 493 riders. New features for the Oslo Metro introduced with the MX3000 include air suspension
, regenerative brake
s and batteries for operating at the depot. The first series of 33 units were ordered in 2003, followed by an additional order for 30 in 2005, 15 in 2008, and 32 in December 2010. The trains have been financed by Oslo Package 2
, and each unit costs about .
, with the Røa Line following two years later. When the order for the MX3000 trains was placed, the Kolsås- and Holmenkoll Lines still used overhead wires, and would not be able to use the new stock. Both systems were at the time being considered for conversion to light rail
systems, that would connect to the Lilleaker- and Ullevål Hageby Line
, respectively.
The old fleet of T1000 and T1300 consisted of 195 cars in eight series. The T1000 was the original series delivered between 1966 and 1978, while the T1300 was a later adoption built until 1987. The T1000 series has only a third rail shoe
, while the T1300 also has a pantograph
, and could be used on the Kolsås- and Holmenkoll Lines. In 1995, six two-car T2000 units were delivered for the Holmenkoll Line. They were, at the time, proposed as a possible replacement for all the T1000 and T1300 stock, but were prone to technical problems. They featured both third rail shoes and pantographs.
In 1996, the work to establish a financing package for new investments in public transport in Akershus
and Oslo started. It was passed, in 2001, by the city and county councils, as well as the Norwegian Parliament. Oslo Package 2 allowed municipal and state grants to be supplemented by increased fare and toll road
revenue to finance, among other things, new trains for the metro. The initial order by Oslo Sporveier
was for 33 units (or 99 cars), and was approved by the board on 28 June 2003. The initial order cost NOK 1.6 billion, and included options for further orders. Five other manufactures had been rejected during the procurement process. Combined with other investments in the network, the new trains will allow faster travel times on the metro.
In 2005, the city council voted to replace all existing T1000 and T1300 stock with the MX3000, increasing the quantity by another 30 units. With the second order, the price had increased to NOK 2.5 billion. Two test units were delivered in October 2005, and the serial production started in April 2006, with the first deliveries in April 2007. With the delivery of the new trains, Oslo Sporveier received criticism that they had been disloyal to the old red color of the metro, and that they did not follow up on their former design concept from the 1960s through the 80s. During the first 30 days, there occurred two errors: one in the closing mechanism of the doors, and one with a switch in the cab that was not water tight. However, it turned out that Oslo Sporveier had not been accurate enough in specifying the energy consumption of the trains, and the rectifier
s on parts of the line needed to be upgraded to supply sufficient power to the trains. During 2007, there were four incidents where the trains were not able to brake at stations. The worst incident occurred when a train slid the 1.3 kilometre (0.807784557644749 mi) from Blindern
to Majorstuen
.
Following the 2006 decision to convert the Kolsås Line to metro standard, Akershus County Council announced they would order five units. In November 2006, the city government proposed that the maintenance of the new trains be privatized. This resulted in protests from the employees, who campaigned by refusing to work overtime. As a result, after a few weeks, the company lacked 57 trains to provide adequate service. The issue was solved when the socialist opposition parties along with the Liberal Party agreed to postpone the matter until after all the new trains were delivered in 2009. As part of the agreement, a new limited company, Oslo Vognselskap, wholly owned by Kollektivtransportproduksjon, would take ownership of all metro trains and trams used by the operating companies Oslo T-banedrift and Oslo Sporvognsdrift
, the latter being the operator of the tramway. Responsibility for the debt accumulated for buying the trains is to be managed by Oslo Vognselskap, while operation and management of the maintenance contracts was transferred to Oslo T-banedrift.
In January 2008, an addition 15 units were ordered by Oslo, with an option for further orders later. This will allow all the eastern lines to have a 7.5-minute headway
on their services into the city center, instead of the current 15-minute headway. Trains would start using the balloon loop
located at Stortinget
, and the western lines will continue to have a 15-minute headway. At the same time, the trains serving the Ring Line will be extended to six cars. The order cost NOK 675 million. In addition, Akershus finalized their order for five units, costing NOK 240 million. Unlike the Oslo-owned units, Akershus' five units will be owned by the transit authority Ruter
. The same year, the city council in Oslo decided to upgrade the Holmenkoll Line to metro standard, to allow six-car MX3000 trains to be the main mode of transport to Holmenkollen
during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011. This allowed 9,000 people per hour to be transported to the sports venue. In 2009, the T2000 units were taken out of service, and on 22 April 2010 the last T1300 was taken out of service, making the MX3000 the only units to be used on the Oslo Metro. The city council was considering ordering 15 additional MX3000 to replace the T2000, as an alternative for a NOK 50-million renovation.
In November 2010, the Accident Investigation Board Norway criticized the braking system of the trains. During 2009, there were 83 incidents where trains with locked wheels slid down steep sections of track. The Accident Investigation Board found that the metro had conducted insufficient testing of the braking system on steep slippery lines, had not adjusted the brakes satisfactorily, and had not maintained the trains and tracks sufficiently. In December 2010, Oslo Vognselskap ordered another 32 three-car units, bringing the total order up to 115 three-car units. The last trains will be delivered in 2012. There was political disagreement regarding the final purchase, with the Liberal Party and socialist opposition securing a majority for the purchase, while the right-winged parties voted to order 19 units. The extra trains will make it possible to run all lines except the Holmenkollen Line (Line 1) with six-car lines, compared to a situation with only three-car trains on the Lambertseter Line, the Ring Line and the Kolsås Line (lines 4 and 6) would only use three-car trains.
, Austria. It is a modification of trains used on the Vienna U-Bahn
. The units are designed by Porsche Design Studio
. Unlike the red predecessors, the trains are painted white with black and grey detailing. The chassis is in aluminum. A three-car train is 54.14 metres (177.6 ft) long; the end cars are 18.11 metres (59.4 ft) long each, while the center car is 17.92 metres (58.8 ft) long. The cars are 3.16 metres (10.4 ft) wide and 3.68 metres (12.1 ft) tall. An empty three-car unit weighs 98 tonne, while it with full payload weighs 147 tonne. This gives a maximum axle load of 12.5 tonne.
Each three-car unit has 138 seats, and a total capacity of 493 riders. The height of the floor is 1.12 metres (3.7 ft) above the track, allowing step-free
access to the platforms. There are three doors on each side of each car, measuring 1300 millimetres (51.2 in) wide and 1900 millimetres (74.8 in) high. Unlike the older T1000 trains, the triple-car configuration allows riders to walk between the cars. Combined with a better spacial design, it reduces the feeling of crowding. The MX3000 also introduced air conditioning
on the metro. In service, the units run either in single configuration (with three cars) or in in multiple
(with six cars).
Each car is equipped with four three-phase
asynchronous
140 kW motors
, giving each three-car unit a power output of 1680 kW. In each car, the four motors are fed by the car's own insulated-gate bipolar transistor. They transform the 750 volt
direct current
collected from the third rail shoe
to the three-phase alternating current
used in the motors. The frequency and amplitude of the current fed to the engines varies depending on the train's speed. The MX3000 introduced regenerative brake
s, that allow the electromagnetic brake
s to feed power back to the power supply when braking. In addition, there is a back-up disc brake
on each axle. Acceleration
in the range 0 kilometre per hour is limited to 1.3 meters per second squared (4.3 ft/s2). In this phase, the fully loaded train uses 5.0 kiloampere
. For use in areas without a third rail, such as at depot
s, the trains are equipped with a 110 V battery. This removes the need for shunting at the depots, and makes maintenance more cost efficient. Energy usage is reduced by 30%, estimated to save the operating company NOK 13 million per year, compared to using the old stocks.
There are two bogies per car, each with two axle
s. The wheel diameter is 850 millimetres (33.5 in) for new wheels, and 770 millimetres (30.3 in) when fully worn-down. The center distance between the bogies is 11 metres (36.1 ft). The primary suspension
is steel coil spring
between the axles and the bogies, with a secondary air suspension
between the frame and the bogies. The latter, which the MX3000 was the first to use on the metro, gives reduced noise, better comfort and makes it possible to adjust the height with changed passenger weight.
The units are controlled by a distributed system
connected by a double multifunction vehicle bus. It has two vehicle control units, that monitor and control all main functions of the train; in addition, there are systems for controlling the brakes, traction, doors, ventilation, passenger information system and compressor. Like the older stock, the train's speed is controlled by an automatic train protection
(ATP) system. The speed codes are transferred from the ATP points in the infrastructure, using 75 hertz
pulses in the tracks. The trains pick up the signals via antennas. The speed codes are 15 km/h (9.3 mph), 30 km/h (18.6 mph), 50 km/h (31.1 mph) and 70 km/h (43.5 mph). They are informed to the engineer via signals in the driver's cab; in addition, the system will automatically reduce the speed, should the limit be exceeded. The driver can put the trains in an automatic mode, where the train itself adjusts the trains speed to the speed limit. The driver is always responsible for starting and halting the train at stations. The driver's cabs are more ergonomic than in the T1000, and the mirrors to monitor the platforms have been replaced with cameras and screens.
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
used on Oslo Metro in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The multiple unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
s are produced by Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, who started serial delivery in 2007. Seventy-eight three-car units have been ordered by Kollektivtransportproduksjon, and five by Akershus County Municipality
Akershus county municipality
Akershus County Municipality is the regional governing administration of Akershus, Norway. The main responsibilities of the county municipality includes the running of 35 upper secondary schools...
. They replaced the older T1000 and T1300 stock that was used on the Oslo Metro since 1966. By 2010, the last T1000 and T1300 trains have been retired and replaced by 83 three-car units. By 2012, the final delivery will increase the fleet to 115 units.
The trains are built as units of three cars, though they are often operated as double units. The units are 54.14 metres (177.6 ft) long, and weigh 98 tonne empty. They have a power output of 1680 kW, allowing speeds of 70 km/h (43.5 mph). Seated capacity is 138 seats, and total capacity is 493 riders. New features for the Oslo Metro introduced with the MX3000 include air suspension
Air suspension
Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an engine driven or electric air pump or compressor. This pump pressurizes the air, using compressed air as a spring. Air suspension replaces conventional steel springs. If the engine is left off for an extended period, the car will settle...
, regenerative brake
Regenerative brake
A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object down by converting its kinetic energy into another form, which can be either used immediately or stored until needed...
s and batteries for operating at the depot. The first series of 33 units were ordered in 2003, followed by an additional order for 30 in 2005, 15 in 2008, and 32 in December 2010. The trains have been financed by Oslo Package 2
Oslo Package 2
The Oslo Package 2 or O2 is a political agreement for financing investments in public transport in Oslo and Akershus, Norway. The program runs from 2001 to 2011, and includes many large and small investments in railways, the Oslo Tramway, the Oslo Metro and infrastructure for buses. Total budget is...
, and each unit costs about .
History
In 1966, the Oslo Metro opened as an upgrade of two existing suburban tramways, the Østensjø- and Lambertseter Lines. By 1970, the system was supplemented by the Grorud- and Furuset Lines. They only operated to the eastern suburbs. In 1987, the system was expanded to connect to the western network, that remained a suburban tramway with overhead wires, two-car platforms and an inferior signaling system. In 1993, the Sognsvann Line was converted to metro standardRapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
, with the Røa Line following two years later. When the order for the MX3000 trains was placed, the Kolsås- and Holmenkoll Lines still used overhead wires, and would not be able to use the new stock. Both systems were at the time being considered for conversion to light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
systems, that would connect to the Lilleaker- and Ullevål Hageby Line
Ullevål Hageby Line
The Ullevål Hageby Line is a light rail section of the Oslo Tramway. It runs from Stortorvet in the city center of Oslo, Norway to Rikshospitalet. It passes through the areas of St. Hanshaugen, Ullevål Hageby and Blindern before reaching Gaustad...
, respectively.
The old fleet of T1000 and T1300 consisted of 195 cars in eight series. The T1000 was the original series delivered between 1966 and 1978, while the T1300 was a later adoption built until 1987. The T1000 series has only a third rail shoe
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
, while the T1300 also has a pantograph
Pantograph (rail)
A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...
, and could be used on the Kolsås- and Holmenkoll Lines. In 1995, six two-car T2000 units were delivered for the Holmenkoll Line. They were, at the time, proposed as a possible replacement for all the T1000 and T1300 stock, but were prone to technical problems. They featured both third rail shoes and pantographs.
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
and Oslo started. It was passed, in 2001, by the city and county councils, as well as the Norwegian Parliament. Oslo Package 2 allowed municipal and state grants to be supplemented by increased fare and toll road
Fjellinjen
Fjellinjen AS is a municipal company owned by the City of Oslo and Akershus County Municipality . It is responsible for the collection from the toll ring around Oslo, with a total of nineteen toll plazas.-History:...
revenue to finance, among other things, new trains for the metro. The initial order by Oslo Sporveier
Oslo Sporveier
Kollektivtransportproduksjon AS is a municipal owned public transport operator of Oslo, Norway, the name meaning simply "public transportation producer". It operates the trackage and maintains the stock of the Oslo Metro and Oslo Tramway, as well as owning eight operating subsidiaries...
was for 33 units (or 99 cars), and was approved by the board on 28 June 2003. The initial order cost NOK 1.6 billion, and included options for further orders. Five other manufactures had been rejected during the procurement process. Combined with other investments in the network, the new trains will allow faster travel times on the metro.
In 2005, the city council voted to replace all existing T1000 and T1300 stock with the MX3000, increasing the quantity by another 30 units. With the second order, the price had increased to NOK 2.5 billion. Two test units were delivered in October 2005, and the serial production started in April 2006, with the first deliveries in April 2007. With the delivery of the new trains, Oslo Sporveier received criticism that they had been disloyal to the old red color of the metro, and that they did not follow up on their former design concept from the 1960s through the 80s. During the first 30 days, there occurred two errors: one in the closing mechanism of the doors, and one with a switch in the cab that was not water tight. However, it turned out that Oslo Sporveier had not been accurate enough in specifying the energy consumption of the trains, and the rectifier
Rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current , which periodically reverses direction, to direct current , which flows in only one direction. The process is known as rectification...
s on parts of the line needed to be upgraded to supply sufficient power to the trains. During 2007, there were four incidents where the trains were not able to brake at stations. The worst incident occurred when a train slid the 1.3 kilometre (0.807784557644749 mi) from Blindern
Blindern (station)
Blindern is a rapid transit station on the Sognsvann Line of the Oslo Metro. It is located in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. Served by lines 3, 4 and 5, the station is located adjacent to the main campus of the University of Oslo, Blindern. Until 1999, the station served as terminus of...
to Majorstuen
Majorstuen (station)
Majorstuen is a subway station on the Oslo Metro and a light rail station on the Briskeby Line of the Oslo Tramway. It is located in the Majorstuen neighborhood in the Frogner borough....
.
Oslo Sporvognsdrift
Oslotrikken AS, formerly Oslo Sporvognsdrift AS, is the company that operates the Oslo Tramway in Oslo, Norway. Oslotrikken is owned by Kollektivtransportproduksjon, which is again owned by the city council and has an operating contract with Ruter. The company operates 72 trams , has 374 employees...
, the latter being the operator of the tramway. Responsibility for the debt accumulated for buying the trains is to be managed by Oslo Vognselskap, while operation and management of the maintenance contracts was transferred to Oslo T-banedrift.
In January 2008, an addition 15 units were ordered by Oslo, with an option for further orders later. This will allow all the eastern lines to have a 7.5-minute headway
Headway
Headway is a measurement of the distance/time between vehicles in a transit system. The precise definition varies depending on the application, but it is most commonly measured as the distance from the tip of one vehicle to the tip of the next one behind it, expressed as the time it will take for...
on their services into the city center, instead of the current 15-minute headway. Trains would start using the balloon loop
Balloon loop
A balloon loop or turning loop allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or even stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains, such as coal trains....
located at Stortinget
Stortinget (station)
Stortinget is an underground rapid transit station on the Common Line of the Oslo Metro, Norway. It is located in the heart of the city center, next to Stortinget, the Parliament of Norway. The station is served by all six lines of the metro. At the street level, the station serves tram routes 17,...
, and the western lines will continue to have a 15-minute headway. At the same time, the trains serving the Ring Line will be extended to six cars. The order cost NOK 675 million. In addition, Akershus finalized their order for five units, costing NOK 240 million. Unlike the Oslo-owned units, Akershus' five units will be owned by the transit authority Ruter
Ruter
Ruter As is the public transport authority for Oslo and Akershus, Norway. The company, organized as a limited company is responsible for managing, but not operating, public transport in the two counties, including bus, the Oslo Metro, the Oslo Tramway and ferries...
. The same year, the city council in Oslo decided to upgrade the Holmenkoll Line to metro standard, to allow six-car MX3000 trains to be the main mode of transport to Holmenkollen
Holmenkollen ski jump
Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 30,000 spectators. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival since 1892, which since 1980 have been part of the FIS Ski...
during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011. This allowed 9,000 people per hour to be transported to the sports venue. In 2009, the T2000 units were taken out of service, and on 22 April 2010 the last T1300 was taken out of service, making the MX3000 the only units to be used on the Oslo Metro. The city council was considering ordering 15 additional MX3000 to replace the T2000, as an alternative for a NOK 50-million renovation.
In November 2010, the Accident Investigation Board Norway criticized the braking system of the trains. During 2009, there were 83 incidents where trains with locked wheels slid down steep sections of track. The Accident Investigation Board found that the metro had conducted insufficient testing of the braking system on steep slippery lines, had not adjusted the brakes satisfactorily, and had not maintained the trains and tracks sufficiently. In December 2010, Oslo Vognselskap ordered another 32 three-car units, bringing the total order up to 115 three-car units. The last trains will be delivered in 2012. There was political disagreement regarding the final purchase, with the Liberal Party and socialist opposition securing a majority for the purchase, while the right-winged parties voted to order 19 units. The extra trains will make it possible to run all lines except the Holmenkollen Line (Line 1) with six-car lines, compared to a situation with only three-car trains on the Lambertseter Line, the Ring Line and the Kolsås Line (lines 4 and 6) would only use three-car trains.
Specifications
The MX3000 is a three-car electric multiple unit built exclusively for the Oslo Metro by Siemens in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria. It is a modification of trains used on the Vienna U-Bahn
Vienna U-Bahn
The Vienna U-Bahn is a rapid transit system consisting of five lines. It is the backbone of one of the best performing public transport systems worldwide according to UITP in June 2009. More than 1.3 million passengers use the Vienna U-Bahn every day...
. The units are designed by Porsche Design Studio
Porsche Design Group
Porsche Design Group , based in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, was founded in November 2003 by as a majority-owned subsidiary of Porsche AG to combine Porsche AG's and Porsche Design Group’s accessories and licensing business into one single company.Originally, there were five independently...
. Unlike the red predecessors, the trains are painted white with black and grey detailing. The chassis is in aluminum. A three-car train is 54.14 metres (177.6 ft) long; the end cars are 18.11 metres (59.4 ft) long each, while the center car is 17.92 metres (58.8 ft) long. The cars are 3.16 metres (10.4 ft) wide and 3.68 metres (12.1 ft) tall. An empty three-car unit weighs 98 tonne, while it with full payload weighs 147 tonne. This gives a maximum axle load of 12.5 tonne.
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
access to the platforms. There are three doors on each side of each car, measuring 1300 millimetres (51.2 in) wide and 1900 millimetres (74.8 in) high. Unlike the older T1000 trains, the triple-car configuration allows riders to walk between the cars. Combined with a better spacial design, it reduces the feeling of crowding. The MX3000 also introduced air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
on the metro. In service, the units run either in single configuration (with three cars) or in in multiple
Multiple-unit train control
Multiple-unit train control, sometimes abbreviated to multiple-unit or MU, is a method of simultaneously controlling all the traction equipment in a train from a single location, whether it is a Multiple unit comprising a number of self-powered passenger cars or a set of locomotives.A set of...
(with six cars).
Each car is equipped with four three-phase
Three-phase
In electrical engineering, three-phase electric power systems have at least three conductors carrying voltage waveforms that are radians offset in time...
asynchronous
Induction motor
An induction or asynchronous motor is a type of AC motor where power is supplied to the rotor by means of electromagnetic induction. These motors are widely used in industrial drives, particularly polyphase induction motors, because they are robust and have no brushes...
140 kW motors
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
, giving each three-car unit a power output of 1680 kW. In each car, the four motors are fed by the car's own insulated-gate bipolar transistor. They transform the 750 volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
collected from the third rail shoe
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
to the three-phase alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
used in the motors. The frequency and amplitude of the current fed to the engines varies depending on the train's speed. The MX3000 introduced regenerative brake
Regenerative brake
A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object down by converting its kinetic energy into another form, which can be either used immediately or stored until needed...
s, that allow the electromagnetic brake
Electromagnetic brake
An eddy current brake, like a conventional friction brake, is responsible for slowing an object, such as a train or a roller coaster. However, unlike electro-mechanical brakes, which apply mechanical pressure on two separate objects, eddy current brakes slow an object by creating eddy currents...
s to feed power back to the power supply when braking. In addition, there is a back-up disc brake
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
on each axle. Acceleration
Acceleration
In physics, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity with time. In one dimension, acceleration is the rate at which something speeds up or slows down. However, since velocity is a vector, acceleration describes the rate of change of both the magnitude and the direction of velocity. ...
in the range 0 kilometre per hour is limited to 1.3 meters per second squared (4.3 ft/s2). In this phase, the fully loaded train uses 5.0 kiloampere
Ampere
The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...
. For use in areas without a third rail, such as at depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
s, the trains are equipped with a 110 V battery. This removes the need for shunting at the depots, and makes maintenance more cost efficient. Energy usage is reduced by 30%, estimated to save the operating company NOK 13 million per year, compared to using the old stocks.
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
s. The wheel diameter is 850 millimetres (33.5 in) for new wheels, and 770 millimetres (30.3 in) when fully worn-down. The center distance between the bogies is 11 metres (36.1 ft). The primary suspension
Suspension (vehicle)
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose — contributing to the car's roadholding/handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants...
is steel coil spring
Coil spring
A Coil spring, also known as a helical spring, is a mechanical device, which is typically used to store energy and subsequently release it, to absorb shock, or to maintain a force between contacting surfaces...
between the axles and the bogies, with a secondary air suspension
Air suspension
Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an engine driven or electric air pump or compressor. This pump pressurizes the air, using compressed air as a spring. Air suspension replaces conventional steel springs. If the engine is left off for an extended period, the car will settle...
between the frame and the bogies. The latter, which the MX3000 was the first to use on the metro, gives reduced noise, better comfort and makes it possible to adjust the height with changed passenger weight.
The units are controlled by a distributed system
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
connected by a double multifunction vehicle bus. It has two vehicle control units, that monitor and control all main functions of the train; in addition, there are systems for controlling the brakes, traction, doors, ventilation, passenger information system and compressor. Like the older stock, the train's speed is controlled by an automatic train protection
Automatic Train Protection
Automatic Train Protection in Great Britain refers to either of two implementations of a train protection system installed in some trains in order to help prevent collisions through a driver's failure to observe a signal or speed restriction...
(ATP) system. The speed codes are transferred from the ATP points in the infrastructure, using 75 hertz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
pulses in the tracks. The trains pick up the signals via antennas. The speed codes are 15 km/h (9.3 mph), 30 km/h (18.6 mph), 50 km/h (31.1 mph) and 70 km/h (43.5 mph). They are informed to the engineer via signals in the driver's cab; in addition, the system will automatically reduce the speed, should the limit be exceeded. The driver can put the trains in an automatic mode, where the train itself adjusts the trains speed to the speed limit. The driver is always responsible for starting and halting the train at stations. The driver's cabs are more ergonomic than in the T1000, and the mirrors to monitor the platforms have been replaced with cameras and screens.