The EMU500 series is a series of

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 number ...

passenger trains operated by

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...

(TRA). The trains are built as

local trains Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...

and are used throughout the country's rail network.

History

In the 1990s, the TRA was facing an aging fleet of local trains, all of which did not feature

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

. Therefore, in 1993, the company entered a contract with South Korean manufacturer

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...

to build 344 cars, which would be arranged into 86 trainsets. The first of these trains arrived in the summer of 1995, and the first passenger service began in 11 October of the same year.

Features

The train is built on a system developed by

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

, which features

three-phase Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3φ) is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires (or four including an optional neutral ...

induction motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction motor ...

s and a

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

control system. Trains are usually operated in four-car units in the following order: a motorized car with the cab (EMC), an unmotorized car with a

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 ...

(EP), an unmotorized car (ET), and a motorized car (EM). The

braking system A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...

is supplied by

Knorr-Bremse Knorr-Bremse AG is a German manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles that has operated in the field for over 110 years. Other products in Group's portfolio include intelligent door systems, control components, air c ...

. The exterior of the train is made of

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's r ...

, the first in Taiwan to use the material. Its appearance is based on the design of the DR3000 series. Each car features three doors on each side, an improvement from the EMU400 series' two doors. The

destination sign A destination sign (North American English) or destination indicator/destination blind (British English) is a sign mounted on the front, side or rear of a public transport vehicle, such as a bus, tram/streetcar or light rail vehicle, that di ...

s have black text over a white background, which is inverted from the EMU400 series; this was updated to an

LED display A LED display is a flat panel display that uses an array of light-emitting diodes as pixels for a video display. Their brightness allows them to be used outdoors where they are visible in the sun for store signs and billboards. In recent ...

in 2004–2005. Similar to other local trains, seats run parallel to the walls of the train. The cars were originally designed with one step at each door, but were converted into a

low floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

layout between 2016 and 2019 by raising station platforms and remodeling the interior. With this change, the doorframe was raised slightly, and an LED display was installed above the doors. As of August 2019, 246 out of 334 cars are low floor. As of 2020, the traction system is also being upgraded.

Incidents

On 15 June 2007, a southbound EMU500 series train number 2719 was changing tracks south of Dali station when it was hit by a northbound E400 series that was undergoing testing. The E400 hit the second car of the four-car unit, killing 5 and injuring 17. The TRA determined that the crash was caused by a faulty ATP system in the E400, as well as speeding by the train driver causing him to misread the signs. On 8 July 2016, a bomb was detonated within a northbound EMU550 train number 1258 near

Songshan station Songshan () is a railway and metro station in Taipei, Taiwan, served by Taiwan Railways and Taipei Metro. This station connects to the shopping centre at basement 1 and level 1. The station is a planned transfer for the Circular line, where, ...

, injuring 25 people. The perpetrator, who was also injured, was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison. On 27 April 2020, A EMU500 series train collided with another EMU500 series train near Hualien station, injuring 7 TRA employees.

References

{{Taiwanloco Electric multiple units of Taiwan Siemens multiple units 25 kV AC multiple units