The trains are designed to be environmentally friendly and energy efficient. For example, they have LED lights instead of halogen bulbs, materials to ensure up to 97% recyclability, and lightweight aluminium alloy car bodies.
The trains will expand Munich's fleet and enable headways to be cut from 2min 30s to 2 minutes in the city centre. The C2 has a maximum speed of 90km/h compared with 80km/h for the previous design, and better acceleration. The C2 also has wider doors, a redesigned interior, and is effectively one long car. This will enable each train to carry 940 passengers.
Siemens has also won a Euros 42 million contract from Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTSC) for 35 trailer cars to lengthen Sukhumvit Line trains from three to four cars from the end of 2012. The cars are needed to increase capacity on the line which is currently carrying 460,000 passengers a day.
In addition, Siemens has been awarded a contract by Italian-Thai Development to electrify a 5.25km extension to the Sukhumvit Line. The project must be completed by August 12 2011, in time for the Queen of Thailand's birthday.munich_u-bahn_siemens.jpg