The Class 5M2 and Class 5M2A are

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

s that are used to provide

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

services by

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

in the major cities of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The original Class 5M2 trainsets were built for the

South African Railways Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

Metro-Cammell Metro-Cammell, formally the Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company (MCCW), was an English manufacturer of railway carriages, locomotives and railway wagons, based in Saltley, and subsequently Washwood Heath, in Birmingham. Purchased ...

between 1958 and 1960. Most of those in use today, however, are of Class 5M2A, built to the same design by

Union Carriage & Wagon Union Carriage & Wagon (UCW) is a rolling stock manufacturer in South Africa. History Union Carriage & Wagon was established in 1957. Initial shareholders were Commonwealth Engineering (51%), Budd Company (25%) and Leyland Motors (12%). By 1965, ...

(UCW) from 1962 to 1985; a total of 4,447 coaches were built by UCW. Although most of Metrorail's services are still operated by 5M2As, they are being progressively rebuilt into the new Class 10M3, 10M4 and 10M5. Class 5M2A coaches are stripped down to the

underframe An underframe is a framework of wood or metal carrying the main body structure of a railway vehicle, such as a locomotive, carriage or wagon. See also * Chassis * Headstock * Locomotive bed * Locomotive frame A locomotive frame is the struct ...

, which is then used as the base for the Class 10Ms.

Specifications

The Class 5M2s operate on the track that is standard throughout Southern Africa. The motor coaches draw 3,000 volt

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...

from an overhead

pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...

; they have a power output of and produce of

tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...

. The maximum speed of a 5M2 trainset is . A motor coach can carry 56 seated and 110

standing passenger In urban public transport, provision is made for standing passengers, often called straphangers or standees, to rationalize operation and to provide extra capacity during rush hour. Occurrence On crowded rapid transit urban lines, while most tr ...

s, and has a

tare weight Tare weight , sometimes called unladen weight, is the weight of an empty vehicle or container. By subtracting tare weight from gross weight (laden weight), one can determine the weight of the goods carried or contained (the net weight). Etymolo ...

of 60 tonnes. A trailer coach can carry 52 seated and 149 standing passengers, and has a tare weight of .

References

External links

{{Metrorail (South Africa) navbox Electric multiple units of South Africa Metropolitan Cammell multiple units Metrorail (South Africa) Union Carriage & Wagon locomotives 3000 V DC multiple units