Sri Lanka Railways S11

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Sri Lanka Railways S11
Class s11.jpg
S11 DEMU No. 901
Class S11 Accomodation.jpg
Second Class Cabin
Stock type Diesel Multiple Unit
In serviceSince March 2011 [1]
Manufacturer Integral Coach Factory
Designer BHEL
Assembly Chennai, India
Constructed2011—2012 [1]
Number built20
FormationDPC + 3 TC + SC + DTC
Capacity429
Operators Sri Lanka Railways [1]
Specifications
Car body construction Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) & Stainless steel
Car lengthDPC & DTC -
21,462 mm (70 ft 5 in)
Doors2 pairs of Hinged Doors on both ends
1 pair 2-leaf manual sliding doors in the middle
Maximum speed100 km/h (62 mph) [2]
Weight100 t (98 long tons; 110 short tons)
(20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons) for DPC,
16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons) for TCs & DTC)
Prime mover(s) Cummins KTA 50L
Engine type V16 4 stroke diesel, turbocharged
Power output1,360 hp (1,010 kW)
Transmission Diesel-electric AC/DC
AAR wheel arrangement Bo-Bo
Bogies ICF Bogies
Braking system(s) Air
Coupling system Schaku Semi Permanent Couplers between wagons & Automatic couplers (dual) on both ends
Track gauge 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)

Sri Lanka Railways S11 is a class of Diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) train set built for Sri Lanka Railways by Integral Coach Factory, India [3] and imported through RITES Ltd, an Indian state infrastructure corporation on a line of credit extended by the Indian Government. [1] They were built to replace locomotive-hauled passenger trains. Twenty S11 DEMUs were ordered to strengthen long-distance travel on the Coastal Line from Colombo to Matara. [2]

Contents

History

Conception

The railway decided to add the DMUs to its service as part of its Coastal line's upgrade project, where track was upgraded to improve speed. [2] The DMUs were built by Integral Coach Factory, [3] to replace locomotive-hauled passenger trains. [4]

Inauguration into service

The trains were inaugurated into the railway service on 11 March 2011 with a ceremony at Matara Railway Station. [5] According to a press release from the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, twenty DEMUs would be supplied to Sri Lanka Railways in phases till March 2012. [1]

One of the DEMUs faced technical problems on the Galle–Matara section; during the journey, the train came to an abrupt halt due to an electrical short-circuit and resumed its journey after 20 minutes when the fault was set right. [3] Sri Lanka Railways suspended further importation of the DEMUs. [6] In April 2011, the suspension was revoked after a team from RITES inspected them and declared that the faults were due to an electrical failure caused by tinkering and the DEMU running with more coaches than it was designed for. [3] [7]

Operations

The S11 DMUs are primarily operated on the Coastal line, connecting Colombo, Galle, and Matara. [2] The sets are used on the Ruhunu Kumari, [8] Vavniya ICE and several other suburban trains. Apart from the single instance of a 20-minute failure on the Galle – Matara section, there has been no other failure of the DMUs. Other than on Coastal Line, one DMU is running express on Puttalam Line where it only stops at Negombo and seven other stations up to Chilaw after Dematagoda.

Current fleet specifications

ClassOperatorNo. in serviceYear BuiltCars per SetUnit numbers.
S11 Sri Lanka Railways 202011 - 20126 [2] 894-913
Formations [9]
FormationNumber of CarsPassenger capacityKey
DPC + 3 TC + SC + DTC6429

Crashes & incidents

Alawwa Crash

Alawwa Train Accident Train Collision Sri Lanka.jpg
Alawwa Train Accident

Pothuhera Crash

On 31 May 2014 a north bound Deyata Kirula intercity express train hauled by S11 No. 902 and the Colombo bound Rajarata Rejini train hauled by Class M2 - 570 collided together in the Pothuhera railway station near Kurunegala injuring 68 people and causing serious damages to the both trains and the track. [11] This has been considered as the most damage valued accident for Sri Lanka Railways.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "ColomboPage". India hands over new power sets for Sri Lanka's Southern Railway Line. 2011-03-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Daily News". Smooth ride from Colombo to Matara. 2011-03-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Radhakrishnan, R. K. (March 31, 2011). "Sri Lanka revokes suspension on Indian locomotives and rolling stock". The Hindu . Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Dailynews". Power sets to steam long distance travel. 2010-09-03. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08.
  5. ↑ "Maiden trip". Daily Mirror. March 11, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Daily Mirror". Indian power sets suspended. 2011-03-14.
  7. ↑ "ColomboPage". Sri Lanka revokes suspension of Indian power sets. 2011-04-01.
  8. ↑ "Daily Mirror". Ruhunu Kumari breaks down. 2011-03-12.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Daily Mirror". Power sets are of high quality: Railway Dept. 2011-09-28.
  11. ↑ "68 injured in train accident". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
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