The EMU600 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 numbe ...

passenger trains operated by Taiwan Railways Administration (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 ser ...

and are used throughout the island’s rail network.

History

With the electrification of the Yilan line and the North-link line in the early 2000s, the TRA faced a shortage of electric passenger trains. Therefore, in 1999, the TRA contracted South Korean manufacturer KOROS to build 56 more cars divided into 14 trainsets. The first two trainsets were shipped to Taiwan on October 3, 2000. When KOROS merged with other companies in 2002 to form

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem (founded in 1977) is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to refl ...

, the new company continued to produce the trains. The last two trainsets (numbered 613 and 614) were produced in Taiwan by

Tang Eng Iron Works Tang Eng Iron Works () is a steelmaking company in Taiwan. Its headquarters is in Siaogang District of Kaohsiung. History The company was established by in May 1940. It was once the largest steel company in the Japanese-ruled Taiwan. It transfo ...

. The trains entered service on 11 October 2002.

Features

The EMU600 series runs in four-car units in the following order: a motorized car with the cab (EMC), an unmotorized car with a pantograph (EP), an unmotorized car (ET), and a motorized car (EM). On the outside, the EMU600 series shares many similarities with the EMU500 series, which was manufactured six years earlier. Both exteriors are 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 corros ...

and have very similar liveries. However, unlike its predecessor, the traction system on the EMU600 series uses a insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) made by Toshiba instead of a gate turn-off thyristor (GTO) on the EMU500 series. Similar to other local trains, the EMU600 series is fitted with cloth seats running parallel to the center aisle. In 2010, an LED display was installed above the doors. The cars originally had one step at each door; this was removed beginning in 2017 by raising platforms and remodeling the interior to turn the trains into a low floor layout for accessibility. As of November 2019, 70% of EMU600 trains have been reconfigured.

References

{{Taiwanloco Electric multiple units of Taiwan Hyundai Rotem multiple units 25 kV AC multiple units