SMRT Introduces New C151C Trains with Tip-up Seats

With the ongoing drive of the government to improve its public transportation services island-wide, the SMRT has introduced 12 new C151C trains with tip-up seat features – the first of which had been introduced last Sunday (Sept.30) morning from Ang Mo Kio station, as shared in a report by the Straits Times.

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As per the SMRT, the other trains will be progressively put into service by early next year. The new C151C trains are the first in the country with tip-up seats.

New C151C Trains with Tip-Up Seats Now in Service

Each car has 12 tip-up seats, which come in four sets of three seats. These seats can be folded, offering more standing space for passengers during train peak hours.

With these seats folded, each train can accommodate 100 more passengers to increase its capacity by about 6 percent to a total of 1,700 passengers.

SMRT Introduces New C151C Trains with Tip-up Seats
Image Credit: LTA.gov.sg

Other features that come with the new train cars include an improved current collector device (CCD), whose shoes come in contact with a third rail that provides electrical power to the train; a new train livery which features red and green stripes against white background, with red representing the North-South line, and green for the East-West line. The new C151C lines will service both lines, according to the SMRT.

Furthermore, the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) logo is featured on the body of the new trains. This is the first time the agency’s logo can be seen on the body of a North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) train.

However, on the first day of its service, one of the two new C151C trains experienced intermittent signalling faults, which had caused for authorities to end its services at Ang Mo Kio MRT station so that it can be assessed for safety and other technical functionalities.

According to Ms Margaret Teo, the SMRT’s vice-president of corporate communications, “Even as rigorous testing is conducted before trains commence passenger service, we seek commuters’ understanding that new trains may encounter occasional faults as they are run-in for passenger service.”

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