The Green Mover Max was the first 100% low-floor articulated Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) to be built entirely in Japan. It was developed jointly by Kinki Sharyo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Toyo Electric Co., [1] and introduced first in Hiroshima by the Hiroshima Electric Railway Company (Hiroden). It replaced Hiroden's ailing fleet of Siemens Combinos in 2005.
In 1998, Siemens won a contract from Hiroden for supplying what was at the time, its latest line of LF-LRT (low floor - light rail transit) streetcars called the Combinos. Hiroden was also the first operator outside Germany to purchase Combinos, starting with 12 units. [2]
According to Hattori, [3] the development of LF-LRVs in Japan was delayed by several factors: overseas manufacturers held patents on many of the basic technologies; low domestic demand increased development risks and established fare-collection protocols. This poor development environment changed in November 2000 when the Barrier-Free Transportation Law was passed. This law required that operators respect accessibility standards when introducing new rolling stock and provided subsidies as tax-relief and tax-exemptions to compensate for the price differences between conventional cars and the more expensive barrier-free designs.
A year later, in 2001, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan) brought together a group of eight manufacturers who worked on the latest LF-LRT designs to develop a fully Japanese product. [1] This product was to improve upon many Combino features such as low-floor (now down to 360 mm; 330 mm at doorways); VVVF (variable voltage variable frequency) motor capable of regenerative braking, maximum service speeds of 80km/h, and LRVs for both standard gauge (1,435 mm) and narrow gauge (1,067 mm). [1]
Soon, three Japanese companies formed a consortium for creating an improved LRT that was better adapted for local running conditions - Kinki Sharyo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), and Toyo Electric Co. Christened as the "U3 Project", the aim of this collaborative effort was to create a "100% ultra-low-floor articulated light rail vehicle (LRV)" that would be the "Ultimate", "Urban", "User-friendly" Light Rail Vehicle. [4]
Project U3 aimed to create a vehicle that was more spacious in terms of passenger capacity, more reliable, and, for which, most of the components could be manufacturer in Japan itself. Specific tasks were allotted to each of the four collaborators - MHI took over bogies, brakes, and inner/outer rigging; Kinki Sharyo focused on design, car body, articulations, and drivers cabin; while Toyo Denki Seizo took responsibility for electric parts and control and drive units.
Hiroden was closely involved in this project as its “operation-service” adviser. The result was the "Green Mover Max", a vehicle that had more passenger seats, wider aisles (830 mm – to enable movement of wheelchairs) and lower dependence on foreign patented technology & component makers.
Hattori [3] notes that the key to the development of an indigenous 100% LF-LRV was the bogie with an independent wheel system, similar to the shaft-less wheel connection to the Combinos. Also similar was the placement of motor and drive unit installed to the outer side of the wheel, which helped in achieving a low-floor vehicle.
Providentially for the Japanese manufacturers, the Combinos started giving problems within a couple of years. On Combino cars that had run more than 150,000 km, cracks were reported on the connections between the sidewalls and the roof girders such that the safety of passengers in the wheel-less modules could not be assured in the event of a severe collision. This was not a problem specific to Hiroshima - similar problems were reported in other cities that had adopted the Siemens-Combinos, such as Düsseldorf, Freiburg, Augsburg, Erfurt, Nordhausen, Basel, Potsdam, Bern, Amsterdam and Melbourne. In March 2004 Siemens Transport Systems confirmed that body-shell problems were emerging at high mileages and it advised all operators to take out about 400 Combinos that had run more than 120,000 km. [5]
This flaw in the Siemens Combino led to the speedy introduction of the GreenMover into the Japanese market, in 2005.
The Green Mover Max consisted of five articulated sections on three cars, two of which were powered. The motors and gears were mounted outside the wheels, allowing them to rotate independently [1] – as in the case of the Combinos.
The Green Mover T-5000 soon evolved into T5100 which had even better specifications – the seats were made more comfortable with spacious sofa seats being used in the front cars and the number of seats was increased from 52 to 62. The next version, Green Mover T5100, had wider aisles: 830mm in the 5000 series to 880mm in the front cars and 1120mm in Car E, the middle car, of the 5100 series, making for a smoother flow of passengers through the cars. It was more comfortable for both seated and standing passengers. Also most components are made locally, thereby providing reliability and enhanced maintenance. [4]
Light rail transit (LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit characterized by a combination of tram and rapid transit features. While its rolling stock is more similar to a traditional tram, it operates at a higher capacity and speed, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. In many cities, light rail transit systems more closely resemble, and are therefore indistinguishable from, traditional underground or at-grade subways and heavy-rail metros.
The Siemens–Duewag U2 is a type of light rail vehicle (LRV), built by consortium of Siemens, Duewag and Wegmann & Co built between 1968 and 1990.
The Siemens Combino is a low-floor tram produced by Siemens Mobility. The first prototype was produced in 1996 at the Duewag works in Düsseldorf; the trams are now made in Krefeld-Uerdingen.
The Siemens Avenio is a low floor tram family produced by Siemens Mobility, a subsidiary of the German conglomerate Siemens. It is the successor to the Combino family. The first generation was sold as the Combino Supra, Combino MkII, or Combino Plus. With the introduction of the second generation in 2009 the Combino brand was dropped and Siemens have referred to Combino Plus trams in Almada (Portugal) and Budapest (Hungary) as part of the Avenio range.
A low-floor tram is a tram that has no stairsteps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. The low-floor design improves the accessibility of the tram for the public, and also may provide larger windows and more airspace.
The Bombardier Flexity Outlook is a series of low-floored, articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Bombardier Flexity product line, Flexity Outlook vehicles are modular in design and commonly used throughout Europe.
The Bombardier Flexity Classic is a model of light-rail tram manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Although it is marketed as the most traditionally designed member of the Flexity family, it is still a modern bi-directional articulated tram with a low-floor section allowing good accessibility, especially to passengers in wheelchairs. Flexity Classic trams run on 1,435 mmstandard gauge in Australia, 1,000 mmmetre gauge in Essen, 1,450 mm in Dresden, and 1,458 mm in Leipzig.
The Siemens S70, its successor the S700 and European variant, the Avanto, are a series of low-floor light-rail vehicles (LRV) and streetcars manufactured by Siemens Mobility, a division of German conglomerate Siemens AG.
The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of railroad vehicles based in Osaka. It is an affiliate company of Kintetsu Corporation. In business since 1920 and renamed The Kinki Sharyo Co., Ltd in 1945. They have produced light rail vehicles used by a number of transportation agencies, especially in the United States. Kinki Sharyo is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as TYO: 7122
The US Standard Light Rail Vehicle (SLRV) was a light rail vehicle (LRV) built by Boeing Vertol in the 1970s. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) of the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) promoted it as a standardized vehicle for U.S. cities. Part of a series of defense conversion projects in the waning days of the Vietnam War, the SLRV was seen as both a replacement for older PCC streetcars in many cities and as a catalyst for cities to construct new light rail systems. The US SLRV was marketed as and is popularly known as the Boeing LRV or SLRV, and should not be confused with their prior lunar roving vehicles for NASA.
The Little Dancer is a low-floor tram brand built by Alna Sharyo, a Japanese manufacturer of trams and light rail vehicles.
The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metrovalencia, with the delivery of 16 trams until 1999. This was a variant of a Siemens design and some components were delivered by Siemens, including bogies and traction motors. This design was also sold to Lisbon Trams in 1995; CAF then decided to design and build the Urbos in-house.
The Alstom Flexity Freedom is a low-floor, articulated light rail vehicle developed by Bombardier Transportation for the North American market. It is marketed as part of the Bombardier Flexity family which includes other models of trams (streetcars) and light metro vehicles. They are produced in facilities in Thunder Bay and Kingston, Ontario, which once produced rolling stock under the names of Canada Car and Foundry (CC&F) and Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC), respectively.
Alstom Flexity is a family of modern trams, streetcars and light rail vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, since 2021 a division of French company Alstom. As of 2015, more than 3,500 Flexity vehicles are in operation around the world in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America in 100 cities among 20 countries internationally. Production of the vehicles is done at Bombardier's global production plants and by local manufacturers worldwide through technology transfer agreements.
The SD-400 and SD-460 are light rail vehicles (LRV) that were manufactured by Siemens Mobility between 1985 and 2005 for the North and South American markets. The SD-400 was built under Siemens' joint venture with DÜWAG and assembled at both DÜWAG's factory in Düsseldorf, West Germany and the Siemens factory in Florin, California. Siemens purchased DÜWAG in 1999 and the SD-460 was assembled entirely at the Siemens factory in California.
The P865 and P2020 were articulated light rail vehicles used on the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. They were manufactured by Nippon Sharyo and used on Metro's A Line and E Line.
The Kinki Sharyo Super Light Rail Vehicle (SLRV) is a light rail vehicle manufactured by Kinki Sharyo, operated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), and modified jointly by the two companies.
The Kinki Sharyo P3010 is an articulated light rail car used on the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system manufactured by Kinki Sharyo, operated on all of the Metro Rail light rail lines.
The LRTA 1200 class is the third-generation class of high-floor light rail vehicles (LRV) of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) in Manila, Philippines, which began operation in December 2006.
The P2550 is an articulated high-floor electric light rail vehicle produced by AnsaldoBreda for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro Rail system.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)| Subsidiaries |  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint ventures |
| ||||||||||||||
| Products |
| ||||||||||||||
| People | |||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
