The
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 ...
Sm1 is a class of commuter train equipment that was in active use by
VR from 1969–2016. Fifty Sm1 units were built between 1968 and 1973 at
Valmet airplane factory in
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
. They were put into use on the first electrified Finnish railway line between Helsinki and Kirkkonummi on January 26, 1969 with five units in operation. All Sm1s were thoroughly renovated between 1994 and 2000. Commercial service ended in April 2016.
Technical information
Each Sm1 unit consists of two cars: the Sm1 is the motored car of the multiple unit, while the other car, the driving trailer, is a part of the Eio class. There is a driver's cabin at either end of the unit, which enables the train to be driven in both directions without turning it around. This is a major advantage compared to locomotive-pulled trains in commuter traffic. The two-car unit has 191 seats combined, including fourteen foldable seats.
Six Sm1 units can be coupled together in total, but the length of the commuter train platforms limits the maximum length to five in commercial traffic. Six unit trains can be seen in depot traffic between
Helsinki Central Station
Helsinki Central Station ( fi, Helsingin päärautatieasema, sv, Helsingfors centralstation) ( HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 peo ...
and Ilmala depot. The units use
Scharfenberg coupler
The Scharfenberg coupler (german: Scharfenbergkupplung, abbreviated ''Schaku'') is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling.
Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Königsberg, Germany (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the coupler ...
s.
The maximum speed of the Sm1 is . The electric systems were developed and built by Strömberg at their plant in
Pitäjänmäki
Pitäjänmäki () is a district located on the westernmost district of Helsinki, Finland, near the border with Espoo. There are many IT and machine manufacturing companies in the area, especially around the Valimo railway station. Such compani ...
,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
.
The Sm1 is technically very similar to the newer
Sm2 EMU, although there are also some differences, such as the Sm1 having steel spring suspension and strengthening creases on the sides.
The units are numbered between 6001 and 6050 for the Sm1 car and 6201 and 6250 for the Eioc driving trailer.
See also
*
VR Class Sm2
The Sm2 is a class of Electric Multiple Unit, electric multiple units in use by VR Group, VR in Helsinki commuter rail, commuter traffic in the Helsinki area. Fifty Sm2 units were built between 1975 and 1981 by Valmet in Tampere.
All Sm2 units w ...
References
;Literature
*
External links
*
Pictures of the train at Vaunut.org
{{Finnish locomotives
Sm1
Sm1