Siemens SD660

The Siemens SD660 is a double-articulated, 70%-low-floor light rail vehicle (LRV) manufactured by Siemens Transportation Systems, a division of Siemens AG. It was the first low-floor light rail vehicle to be used in the United States.[1][2] It first entered service in 1997 with its only operator, TriMet, on the MAX light rail system in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was originally known as the SD600.[3]

Siemens SD660 LRV
A train of SD660s on the Steel Bridge in Portland, Oregon
ManufacturerSiemens
Built atSacramento, California
Constructed1996–2005
Entered service1997
Number built79
Number in service79
SuccessorSiemens S700 and S70
Operator(s)TriMet
Specifications
Car length91.93 feet (28.02 m)
Width8.71 ft
Height13 feet (4.0 m)
Low-floor70 percent
EntryLevel
Doors8 per car (4 per side)
Articulated sections3
Maximum speed55 mph
Acceleration3 mph/second
Deceleration3 mph/second (standard);
5 mph/second (emergency)
Electric system(s)750 V DC
Current collection methodPantograph
Minimum turning radius82 feet (25 m)
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

History

The initial order placed by TriMet (known as Tri-Met at the time), in May 1993, was for 39 cars. It was the first order for low-floor light rail vehicles (LRVs) in North America.[1] The order was subsequently expanded to 46 cars and ultimately to 52.[4] TriMet received the first car, which it numbered 201, in July 1996,[5][6] and the first nine cars entered service on August 31, 1997.[7][8] Siemens retroactively changed the car's model designation from SD600 to SD660, a change relating to its use of AC motors running on 60 Hz instead of DC ones, in 1998.[3] The 52nd car was received by TriMet in April 2000.[9]

TriMet later purchased 27 more SD660s (initially 17 cars, with another 10 added to the order in 2002),[10] which were built between 2003 and 2005. TriMet designated these "Type 3" in its fleet and numbered them 301–327. The last car was delivered in March 2005.[11]

All 79 SD660 cars were originally equipped with rollsign-type destination signs. TriMet replaced the original signs with LED-type signs in a two-year conversion program that lasted from fall 2014[12] to August 2016.[13]

Features
  • 70% low-floor design – a first for light rail in North America
  • Bridgeplate wheelchair ramps. These are located at two of the four doorways on each side of an LRV, the two closest to the car's center.[1]
  • Bi-directional (or "double-ended"), with operating cabs at both ends[1]
  • Interoperability with TriMet's "Type 1" high-floor cars[7][8]
Bridgeplate on an SD660
Interior of an SD660

References
  • "SD660 Light Rail Vehicle Technical Information" (PDF). Siemens Transportation Systems. 2005-05-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-15.
  1. Vantuono, William C. (July 1993). "Tri-Met goes low-floor: Portland's Tri-Met has broken new ground with a procurement of low-floor light rail vehicles. The cars will be North America's first low-floor LRVs". Railway Age. pp. 49–51. ISSN 0033-8826.
  2. "LA And Portland Get New-Design LRVs". International Railway Journal. October 1993. pp. 26–27. ISSN 0744-5326.
  3. "Systems News". Tramways & Urban Transit. UK: Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association. October 1998. p. 397. ISSN 1460-8324.
  4. Oliver, Gordon (September 26, 1997). "Tri-Met expands light-rail car order". The Oregonian. p. B6.
  5. Oliver, Gordon (August 1, 1996). "MAX takes keys to cool new model". The Oregonian. p. D1.
  6. Wolinsky, Julian (Winter 1998). "Block Signals [regular news section]". The New Electric Railway Journal. No. 38. p. 11. ISSN 1048-3845.
  7. "World News Review". Light Rail & Modern Tramway. No. 718. UK: Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association. October 1997. p. 395. ISSN 0964-9255.
  8. O'Keefe, Mark (September 1, 1997). "New MAX cars smooth the way for wheelchairs". The Oregonian. p. B12.
  9. "Systems News". Tramways & Urban Transit. No. 750. UK: Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association. June 2000. p. 227. ISSN 1460-8324.
  10. "Systems News". Tramways & Urban Transit. No. 776. UK: Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association. August 2002. p. 308. ISSN 1460-8324.
  11. "Systems News". Tramways & Urban Transit. No. 809. UK: Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association. May 2005. p. 196. ISSN 1460-8324.
  12. "Worldwide Review" (regular news section). Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, March 2015, p. 121. UK: LRTA Publishing.
  13. "Worldwide Review" (regular news section). Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, November 2016, p. 440. UK: LRTA Publishing.
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