中國鑄造火車輪。（Public Domain）

在此前宣布禁止從中國進口火車用整對車輪后，俄羅斯政府又下令禁止進口中國鑄造單個車輪，理由是安全方面檢測不合格。

就在中美貿易戰吸引了全球目光，北京方面指責華盛頓利用關稅阻止商品對美進口的時候，莫斯科連續針對中國製造商品作出禁止進口的決定卻顯得靜悄悄，而且俄羅斯的做法是直接封殺。

據俄羅斯《生意人報》在3月7日報道透露，俄羅斯鐵輪運輸生產聯合體在3月5日對中國的合資公司河南信陽阿姆斯特德公司的鑄造車輪輪轂質量檢驗報告進行了審查，並作出決定，該報告不足以證明中國製造的單個車輪的質量符合俄羅斯的安全標準，禁止進口，在無限期的未來再重新審議新的質檢報告。

這是在此前俄羅斯政府已經做出禁止進口整對兒車輪組之後，針對單個鑄造車輪做出的新的禁令。

據俄媒體透露，由於俄羅斯的火車車廂產量增加以及烏克蘭火車車輪製造商被莫斯科列入製裁名單，俄境內出現了火車車輪的大量短缺，缺口可能高達數十萬對兒。車輪短缺不僅妨礙了車廂生產進度，還導致了其價格急劇上漲。

於是，位於河南信陽的中美合資火車車輪廠便開始積極運作，希望利用這個機會，向俄羅斯出口車輪產品。併為此提供了一系列的質量檢測報告。但最終仍未逃過被封殺的結果。

這已經不是第一次中國製造的火車產品被俄羅斯禁止進口。俄羅斯聯邦交通運輸監督局在2017年5月份曾下令，由於進口的中國「南方匯通股份有限公司」生產的用來固定兩對兒火車車輪的側框架質量低劣，已經造成了很多次火車出軌、翻車事故，在俄全境內停止運營所有使用了進口中國製造零件的火車車廂。

2018年1月10日，俄羅斯總統普京也曾在參觀特維里火車車廂製造廠時透露說，他已經向俄羅斯交通部下了指示，禁止從中國進口火車車廂，政府將撥款30億盧布，用於俄交通部購買特維里火車車廂廠的產品。

之後，俄羅斯工業和貿易部副部長葉甫圖霍夫在2019年2月對外表示，俄羅斯不會從中國進口火車車輪輪對兒。而在3月4日，俄方監管部門又再次以質量問題禁止進口中國製造的單個鑄造車輪。

但據俄「紅色春天」新聞社透露，在封殺了火車車廂、車輪組組件、成對兒車輪和單個鑄造車輪輪轂之後，莫斯科可能仍然不得不從中國進口扎制實心輪轂，以解緊缺的燃眉之急。

不過，該決定遭到了來自俄羅斯專家和鋼鐵企業的反對。俄羅斯評論人士斯捷潘?蘇拉克申對此批評說：「進口中國的火車車輪顯示出，中俄之間的貿易十分的不平等，我們對華出口自然資源換取外匯，然後再從中國進口高附加值的產品，這不符合俄羅斯的利益，整個調過來了。」

有俄羅斯鐵輪運輸生產聯合體的官員透露稱，車輪短缺只是短期現象，俄羅斯可能會考慮在加強本土生產企業產量的同時，從哈薩克進口相同產品的方法來解決短缺問題。

Cracks in 26 defective SMRT trains due to 'localised impurity': LTA

An illustration from the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) statement explaining where bolsters are found on a train carriage. The hairline cracks were found on the bolsters. Source: LTA

Published06 JULY, 2016UPDATED 06 JULY, 2016

SINGAPORE - The hairline cracks found in 26 defective China-made SMRT trains "were due to localised impurity in the aluminium car-body material that occurred during the manufacturing process", the Land Transport Authority (LTA) disclosed on Wednesday night.

In a statement, the LTA provided a timeline of events leading up to the recent return of the defective trains to its Chinese manufacturer CSR Sifang, an illustration showing where the cracks occurred, and a sample photo of the hairline cracks first discovered in July 2013.

LTA also confirmed that 22 of the 26 defective trains were in service then. But no further cracks were found on other components of the trains after inspections, beyond those discovered on the surface of the car-body bolster, which is on the undercarriage of the trains. The LTA reiterated its earlier assurance that its own tests, as well as that by a third-party assessor, found the trains to be safe to operate despite the discovery of the cracks.

Defects were also found in the trains before they were progressively put into service from February 2011. According to the LTA, the train's manufacturer had to replace a supplier and "improve the design of the battery housing for all affected trains" after an incident where the cover of a train's battery housing flew open after a build-up of gases. Another defect involved cracks on the draughtscreen of five trains. These cracks were caused by errors during the installation process, and were unrelated to the hairline cracks subsequently found on the 26 defective trains, LTA said.

It added: "It is not unusual to detect some defects on new trains. We then take appropriate action to have them rectified by the manufacturer."

In a separate statement on Wednesday night, SMRT spokesman Patrick Nathan said "passenger safety is paramount to SMRT, and under no circumstance will this be compromised". But the train operator shed no new light on the issue, and did not address allegations by a Hong Kong investigative report that the trains were being "secretly" shipped back to China.

News of the defective trains first broke on Tuesday when FactWire, a crowd-funded investigative journalism site, released an extensive report with photos and video footage of several trains being shipped out of SMRT's Bishan depot for Jurong Port, before being transported to China.

The trains in the spotlight are the C151A-model trains supplied by Japanese train-maker Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the China-based CSR Sifang. The two firms, together with Kawasaki’s Singapore subsidiary, had bagged a S$368 million contract in 2009 to supply 22 six-car C151A trains meant for the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL). SMRT subsequently ordered another 13 trains of the same model.

In 2014, the same consortium was also awarded a S$749 million contract to supply 91 new four-car trains — of a different model — for the Thomson-East Coast Line.

According to LTA's account of events, the hairline cracks on the car-body bolster of the 26 defective trains were discovered during a routine inspection in July 2013. Upon further inspections, no cracks were found on other parts of the trains.

Laboratory tests found that the hairline cracks were due to "localised impurity in the aluminum car-body shell", though the LTA's engineers and contractor found that the cracks "would not affect the operational safety of the trains". LTA said an independent assessor, Cologne-based TUV Rheinland, agree with its assessment.

The defective trains were still under warranty, and LTA said it told the contractor to replace the entire car-body shell - the most effective way of addressing the problem of hairline cracks.

The defective trains have been sent back to China for rectification works since July 2014. But only one train was sent back to the mainland factory at any one time, the LTA said, due to the time consuming process - each car-body replacement took up to four months - as well as the need to minimise the impact on train operations in Singapore.

LTA added: "To minimise the impact on our train operations in Singapore as well as the lack of facilities and space for repair works of this nature at our depots, only one train is sent back to the factory in China at any one time. We did not send all of the trains back at once as they were still fit and safe for service and we wanted to ensure sufficient train-availability for commuters."

But from next year, the LTA expects to be able to send two defective trains for replacement works at a time. This is due to the arrival of new trains for the NSEWL, and also because trains currently undergoing re-signalling are expected to be ready by then.

This will bring forward the completion date of the repairs to 2019, the LTA added. SMRT previously said the replacement works would be finished only in 2023 - a time frame that transport analyst Park Byung Joon described as “an awfully long time”.

So far, five of the 26 affected trains have undergone repairs and have been brought back into service. The car-body of a sixth train is currently being replaced. The other trains are still running before being sent for repairs to minimise disruption to train operations, with the LTA reiterating that they are “safe for service”.

The NSEWL have been plagued by a litany of woes in recent years. Last year, services on both lines came to a complete standstill for several hours in an unprecedented incident. In 2011, a massive breakdown during the evening rush hour affected 127,000 commuters at 11 MRT stations on the North-South Line.

Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/cracks-26-defective-smrt-trains-due-localised-impurity-lta