European Railroad Discussion > Innotrans: Copenhagen Newest Metro Cars

Another vehicle besides the bright red Fressiarossa 1000 super high speed EMU for Trenitalia was the Copenhagen Metro Vehicle. These trains are coming into use in Denmark within the next three years. Quite opposite to Fressiarossa, design here is not striking. The coaches are pale and lack visible industrial design features. Despite being new they closely resemble the existing Copenhagen Metro cars from 1990s.

If one manufacturer with lots of misunderstandings between customer and manufacturer can be picked, it is just AnsaldoBreda. They are plagued by Netherlands/Belgian V250 high speed EMUs that were built nowhere near the specifications and were withdrawn the first winter. Danish DSB ordered 4 and 2 module DMUs, classes IC4 and IC2, but now, 10 years late, these are being rebuilt and there is another investigation starting if this makes any sense, the trains might be ready for scrappers torch. San Francisco has street cars from A-B, which are now to be replaced. Trenitalia once wished to compete on super high speed international traffic with mighty SNCF, but it was found out that every built coach is actually individual (=all are different) so class classification was not possible and competition aims ended there. Oslo, Norway has a fleet of A-B trams that the operator is seeking to replace now since their life cycle has been detected to be ending after just couple of decades. Also Gothenburg, Sweden has a fleet of failure riddled A-B trans, something they wish to get rid of.

All of this has not stopped AnsaldoBreda sales efforts and displaying two interesting vehicles at Innotrans. But who would dare to choose their train for the next vehicle to be used. Do they really have more successful vehicles besides the Copenhagen Metro train? Or is it just that we don't see their successes and media is concentrating on on failures rather than parading the successes? Now it seems like Bombardier might be swallowing AnsaldoBreda and its other branch AnsaldoSTS, so some successes might also be starting to show. Or is this just wishful thinking.

Below the AnsaldoBreda 3 car metro unit displayed at Innotrans 2014. The car has now been shipped to Copenhagen.

---

---

We might as well take a ride with Copenhagen automatic Metro too. Here we have just arrived to airport and are on our way to city center, this time with metro. This can be done via one of the "real trains" or bus too. However, the automated metro allows you to sit down at the front, watch and take pictures :)


Looks like the right lamp on all units is directed towards the front of the train running opposite direction, wonder why?

Unit 12 zooms by just after we have left the Copenhagen airport.

---

---

First station behind the switches is Kastrup, named somewhat confusingly after after the airport with same name. (Tourists beware!)

---

---

Stopping also leaves time to observe the train control devices at stations. Here are two sensors of some kind that are located at all stations. The purpose of the one between the tracks is obvious but what might the scanner at the trackside be?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/14 01:25 by McKey.

---

---

Again new stations and traffic to the opposite direction...

---

---

---

Since this is a Metro, after several stops we finally descend to face the tunnel portal and glide smoothly to the underground section of the system.

---

---

---

McKey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Stopping also leaves time to observe the train
> control devices at stations. Here are two sensors
> of some kind that are located at all stations. The
> purpose of the one between the tracks is obvious
> but what might the scanner at the trackside be?

Might it be a train docking sensor to enable door opening like the CSDE (Correct side door enable) on the Tube?

Basically a sensor to show the train is docked in the right place.

Sounds logical, another sensor that came into mind was reading some kind of barcode or number set on train when it passes.

helvknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Might it be a train docking sensor to enable door
> opening like the CSDE (Correct side door enable)
> on the Tube?
>
> Basically a sensor to show the train is docked in
> the right place.

After reading your good recap of AnsaldoBreda's long string of failures it's hard to imagine anyone taking a chance on them, unless the price was very, very good.

Great set of pictures and the descriptions are always helpful.

Thanks! I agree, the A-B price should be _very_very_good_ to be competitive.

Now it fortunately looks like Bombardier is going to swallow AnsaldoBreda. I have some fears the manufacturing culture might be very very hard to change. A-B has done some very very simple mistakes when building trains. So starting from that level might be tough rooting out the bad habits in process. Of course this was Bombardier's move to enter quite sizable Italian train and equipment markets too.


GettingShort Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> After reading your good recap of AnsaldoBreda's
> long string of failures it's hard to imagine
> anyone taking a chance on them, unless the price
> was very, very good.
>
> Great set of pictures and the descriptions are
> always helpful.