Hitachi small-type monorail (Sentosa Express)

The Hitachi small-type monorail is a straddle-type monorail built by Hitachi Rail for the use on the Sentosa Express. These trains are part of Hitachi Monorail line of ALWEG-based monorail. The trains were part of a project to replace Sentosa's previous aging monorail system. The trains are fully air-conditioned.

Hitachi small-type monorail
Two SDC Hitachi monorails outside VivoCity
Interior of the Sentosa Express Hitachi monorail
Stock type	Straddle-beam guideway
In service	15 January 2007; 18 years ago (2007-01-15) – present
Manufacturer	Hitachi Rail
Built at	Kudamatsu, Japan
Family name	Hitachi Monorail
Replaced	Sentosa Monorail
Constructed	2005–2009, 2017
Entered service	15 January 2007
Number built	14 vehicles (7 train sets)
Number in service	14 vehicles (7 train sets)
Formation	2 cars per trainset Mc1–Tc2
Capacity	32 seated; 152 standing
Operators	SMRT Corporation Under their subsidiary Strides
Depots	Beach Station Depot
Lines served	Sentosa Express
Specifications
Car body construction	Welded aluminium
Train length	25 m (82 ft 1⁄4 in)
Car length	13 m (42 ft 7+13⁄16 in) (Mc1) 12 m (39 ft 4+7⁄16 in) (Tc2)
Width	2.7 m (8 ft 10+5⁄16 in)
Height	2 m (6 ft 6+3⁄4 in)
Doors	2 per car, sliding
Maximum speed	80 km/h (50 mph) (design) 50 km/h (31 mph) (service)
Traction system	Hitachi IGBT–VVVF
Electric system(s)	750 V DC third rail
Current collection	Collector shoe
UIC classification	Bo'Bo'+2'2'
Safety system(s)	Original: Fixed block Hitachi digital ATP/ATS for GoA 1 Current: Moving block Hitachi wireless CBTC ATC under ATO GoA 3 (DTO), with subsystems of ATP, ATS and CBI
Coupling system	Shibata rotary
Track gauge	Straddle-beam

Design

Each train set has its own exterior colour scheme – green, orange, blue, purple, pink, yellow and red. All trains are for passenger service, except for the maintenance train.

The interior of the trains consist of colours green and orange. These cars have foldable seats that can make room for more standing space during periods of high usage. Passenger Information Display Systems in the form of LED Displays are installed above each door in all passenger service trains to supply route information. Each car has two wheelchair bays.

Operations and safety systems

Trains and platform screen doors were previously manually operated by train attendants; the trains utilised digital automatic train protection (ATP) to ensure trains keep a safe distance between each other and automatic train supervision (ATS) to provide the route setting for the train to travel.

With the upgrading to the wireless communications-based train control (CBTC) system in 2017, trains and platform screen doors are now operated automatically.

Trains cruise at 15 to 50 km/h (9.3 to 31.1 mph) but is designed to speed up to 80 km/h (50 mph).

Refurbishment and upgrades

The Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) has been changed to a newer updated LED Displays with route information.

A signalling system upgrade was also upgraded to Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC). With the change in Signalling System, it allowed more trains to run on the network.^[1]

See also

• Hitachi Monorail
• Sentosa island
• Rail transport in Singapore
• Sentosa Monorail – a dismantled monorail system that used to ferry visitors around Sentosa from 1982 to 2005