Progress in Malaysian order of trains with graphene-enhanced supercapacitors

In April 2017, The Ministry of Transport, national operator KTMB in Malaysia and China's CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive signed a €180 million contract for the supply of electric trains with graphene-based supercapacitors. Now, reports indicate that the first of 13 Class 61 inter-regional diesel multiple-units for services along Malaysia’s east coast corridor have been largely completed at CRRC Zhuzhou’s plant in China.

The first trainset is expected to be handed over to national operator KTMB by early July. After a period of testing, it is due to enter commercial service in October. The four-car, 1 000 mm gauge DMUs have a design speed of 140 km/h and are expected to operate at up to 120 km/h. They are reportedly being equipped with CRRC’s own design of graphene-based supercapacitor for storing braking energy and two MAN powerpacks.

Depending on the interior layout, the trains will have seating for 200 to 220 passengers; they have single leaf doors and retractable steps which can be deployed automatically at stations without platforms. The bodyshells have been designed to comply with the European EN15227 crashworthiness standard.