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On Tuesday Metro introduced those two redesigned railcars we mentioned last week, which have a variety of new features including non-carpeted flooring, bench seating and those odd looking leaning pads designed to give standing passengers a back rest.
Rail cars #6104 and #6105 also feature and more overhead stainless steel grab straps, which are apparently designed to be more accessible to shorter customers, and fewer windscreens. The overall effect of the design is intended to make the cars more open and allow for more standing passengers to fit relatively comfortably inside.
More photos after the jump.
Photos courtesy WMATA
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About time they got rid of the mildew farms (aka carpets).
The padding things in the first picture after the jump scare me.
Also, does the laminate have this fake wood look to it? Or is it just a bad picture?
Metro has a horrible time matching colors.
Anyone else think those 'hand grip rings' look like bear traps? Oh! I get it! thats where you will be kept the next time you chew gum or even sniff your McNuggets by the angry and bored transit police.
I'm happy with the decision to get rid of the carpets; it just makes sense. But I wonder if the cars will be louder now. Seems like the carpets would absorb a lot of sound.
Overall, I'm kind of excited to see how this changes the commute on a packed car.
I personally see a lawsuit out of the change in floors. Wait till they get slippery during the snow/rain!
If altitudinally-challenged people have trouble reaching the hand rails, how are they going to reach the straps when they're just as high as the bar when not in use?
And seriously, what with the clashing upholstry? That looks like a living room of some Adams Morgan group house.
with the lack of available seats, how will people sudoku on the way to work now!?
I don't like any of it. The seats along the walls look very out of place and clearly look to be taken from a bus.
The pads for standing look to cumbersome and unnecessary. Might as well have seats there.
And as someone already said, the colors don't match and look pretty awful. Ack.
So the vertical poles and handgrips are only away from the doors...what am I supposed to hang on to if I can't get in that far?
Then again, we did just record what is probably the world's first multi-million dollar dry cleaning lawsuit, so who knows?
all i'm going to say for now is "thank goodness the carpets are gone!" i read a report on how often Metro actually cleaned them, and it did not reflect how often drunks get sick on the train.
yuck yuck yuck. now at least they'll be able to wash the floors more easily.
The seats should have been upholstered in burgundy and gold. Or black and red.
I'm 5'1 and even if the overhead handles were in the down position I could not reach them.
I like that they got rid of the carpets. Now, if they could get matching on the colors.
Metro misses yet another opportunity. Look at those upholstered "leaning" benches in the second photo: just add some hinges and a hole for your face and voila! Instant massage therapy/chiropractic table! Who wouldn't pay a fare premium to hear the conductor announce: "Red Line....to stress reduction!" Of course, the kids would end up using it to fellate eachother and practice tantric sex magick, but you can't make an omlette without breaking some eggs.
Metro misses yet another opportunity. Look at those upholstered "leaning" benches in the second photo: just add some hinges and a hole for your face and voila! Instant massage therapy/chiropractic table! Who wouldn't pay a fare premium to hear the conductor announce: "Red Line....to stress reduction!" Of course, the kids would end up using it to fellate eachother and practice tantric sex magick, but you can't make an omlette without breaking some eggs.
I'm 5'1 and even if the overhead handles were in the down position I could not reach them.
I like that they got rid of the carpets. Now, if they could get matching on the colors.
Please, let's everyone try to remember one important thing: It's an effing subway car.
"The seats along the walls look very out of place and clearly look to be taken from a bus."
Wow, I think you're right. Those are totally meant to be in a bus. That would explain the style clash.
One of the new cars (the carpet-less version shown in the first pic) was in use on a New Carrollton-bound Orange line train this morning. It wasn't too shabby, and certainly accommodated this morning's crush with a smoother passenger flow than the old-style cars.
Where's the damn wet bar?
Metro makes no sense to me. The problem is that trains are becoming more and more overcrowded, and thus uncomfortable and a hassle at times to get off due to people in the aisle.
Their solution is to (1) make more people stand to fit more people in comfortably which will (2) further increase the hassle of people getting on/off packed cars.
As AG points out, how is someone under 5'9" going to reach the handlebars at the top of the ceiling? And if they can't reach it, where will they hold on to so they aren't knocked on their (expletive) by the train's inertia?
Rather than waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on this project, wouldn't it have been more productive to invest that money into more of the current style of cars and start running the trains as 8-car trains more frequently? That might solve overcrowding. And more people would get a seat and not have to stand from Grosvenor to Farragut North.
Love those '70s colors.
The one thing that never seems addressed is the fact that anyone over 5'8" can't fit their legs in the damn seats! I'm no fattie, but what if an over 5'8" fattie tries to sit in one of those seats? Dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria.
The Tube in London has leaning "pads". Due to narrow tunnels, some cars are very narrow indeed, and they work pretty well there. I think they made leaning "benches" for the Metro because of the curvature of the cars' walls. One person leaning takes up less space than a person sitting, so this should help with overcrowding.
NYC and other subways have bench seats. What's the big deal?
Finally, are the floors slick or do they have some grip to them?
This snow is making me see double....DCist, tell Gothamist to fix the server or tell the readers that if you get a server error message, wait a little bit and see if you post went through.
Have the people complaining about possibly slippery floors in the cars noticed that the whole station is floored in tiles that turn into an ice rink every time it rains or snows? If lawsuits haven't prevented Metro from continuing to use frictionless tiles in building new stations, I don't think there's much worry about lawsuits from carpetless cars.
This double-posting thing has got me feeling like Leonard Shelby from Memento: I keep waking up in a thread that I have the oddest feeling that' I've posted to before. Have I told you about my condition?
WTOP Radio did a piece on the new benches; they're about an inch-and-a-half narrower. So y'alls need to either get used to being cramped or lay off the Popeyes 3-piece-and-a-biscuit.
My guess is that Metro tried to accommodate the majority of people when they designed the new cars. The majority of people are taller than 5'0". The majority of people could care less about the colors. The opinions of the riders matter, but just because something inconveniences you personally, or isn't to your taste, doesn't make it incorrect.
What I don't get is why they don't have more bars on the ceiling to hang on to.
If you look at the second photo, you'll see one parallel ceiling bar in the middle of the car. I know they want to discourage "crowding near the doors", but when there are 50 million passengers in there, it's nice to have something to hang on to (apart from your neighbor's arm!)
So Metro - how about double poles that run along the ceiling down the whole car’s aisle?
Have the people complaining about possibly slippery floors in the cars noticed that the whole station is floored in tiles that turn into an ice rink every time it rains or snows? If lawsuits haven't prevented Metro from continuing to use frictionless tiles in building new stations, I don't think there's much worry about lawsuits from carpetless cars.
Yeah I'm sorry, but everyone complaining about the lack of seats apparently has not been on a mass transit system in other cities or countries. And guess what, there are short people in other cities too and they manage. If the entire metro train car here had bench seating they could put more floor-to-ceiling poles in the train running down the middle, however, because people insist on having the most seats possible, there is no place for them to put the poles except near the door or from the seatback to the ceiling. You can't have it both ways.
What they thought was enough writing to last just one comment ended up repeating for eight comments in a row. And thus began the holiday of Commentukah, the Festival of Multiple Posts.
(It can also be spelled Kommentuka. It's up to you. No one will remember the right spelling anyway.)
Please, let's everyone try to remember one important thing: It's an effing subway car.
Oh quit complaining about the handles on the ceiling. You'd rather have nothing there? If you can't reach them then use the back of seat or a vertical bar -- like you've been doing up until now! How's this: Tall people stand in the middle of the car, short people along the sides of the aisle. Sheesh.
Metro makes no sense to me. The problem is that trains are becoming more and more overcrowded, and thus uncomfortable and a hassle at times to get off due to people in the aisle.
Their solution is to (1) make more people stand to fit more people in comfortably which will (2) further increase the hassle of people getting on/off packed cars.
As AG points out, how is someone under 5'9" going to reach the handlebars at the top of the ceiling? And if they can't reach it, where will they hold on to so they aren't knocked on their (expletive) by the train's inertia?
mmmm. Popeye's three piece with biscuit. I love their shit. And I always get a large diet coke with my orders, b/c of being on a diet and all.
I'm glad to see more vertical poles in the first photo, but why aren't there more of them where the bench seating is (in the third photo)?
Also, leaving the height of the grab straps aside for a moment, why are there so few of them? It's easier for multiple people to hold onto a single pole than a single strap ... and I count five straps in an area where 20 people are likely to be standing during rush hour.
What I don't get is why they don't have more bars on the ceiling to hang on to.
If you look at the second photo, you'll see one parallel ceiling bar in the middle of the car. I know they want to discourage "crowding near the doors", but when there are 50 million passengers in there, it's nice to have something to hang on to (apart from your neighbor's arm!)
So Metro - how about double poles that run along the ceiling down the whole car’s aisle?
Again, as a shortie here, I'm personnaly not complaining about the overhead rails. I've never been able to reach them and I don't expect to. I use the backs of the seats or the vertical poles (which seem to be missing from one of the designs). I also surf, and, like a gecko, hold on to the walls of the car.
@Drew: I know it's counterintuitive, but removing seats can actually accommodate more people AND make it easier for all those people to get on and off the cars. Part of the problem now is that it's fairly difficult to move into the car because of the narrow aisles. If it's easier for people to move into the car, that should alleviate some of the congestion near the door.
PEOPLE!
Just hit "post" ONCE! Even if you get a server error message, the damn thing still went through. Chill out with the itchy mouse fingers!
If Metro is serious about getting rid of bottlenecks in the train, they need to focus on the biggest one of all… the doors. A 6 to 12 inch increase in the width of the door will do wonders for the movement of people. As it is now, the door is really only designed for one person at a time....it almost wide enough for 2… but it’s not unless you walk out on an angle. Wider doors quicker in and outs and less time in the station. .
Where will the passed out people lay on if there aren't any seats? How will grown men, perfectly capable of standing not be able to take up as much space as they want? This is crazy!
I'm all about the "vertical poles" heh, heh, heh.
Has anybody else noticed the red line is running 4-car trains after 7pm during the week? The trains are so crowded I can't even get to the poles to hang onto, and I am waaaaay to small to reach the ceiling, so I've been clinging to backpacks...
Also, lately I've had a problem with the doors on the train not opening--I've noticed this on other cars too, not just mine. Metro seems to have a problem with sticky doors. Maybe they wouldn't need redesigns if they would run the right number of cars and would open the doors for people to get off the train at the right stop?
I hate those grab handles. I'm 6'2" and hit my head on those things all the time. Why do I have to suffer just because some people are short?
re: the seats. When i lived in new york and boston, I didn't mind that there were fewer seats in a rail car because most of my rides were under 20 minutes. But i'm not thrilled about paying top dollar to stand for a 40 minute commute. The original cars were built with a longer commute in mind ---these aren't. And with the staggered fare system, who's paying the highest fares? Those who'll be standing longest. (And i live near grosvenor and commute to Federal center. I pity the folks who go from Rockville to springfield.
Leaning seats work in London, but folks do make way for the elderly to sit down. Will that happen here?
And there really aren't enough things to hold on to. Those jerky metro stops and starts are going to cause some problems. More grab bars are needed, perhaps at every row of seats.
As for the colors, aren't the orange seats in the new cars in tribute to the first chairman?
As someone posted earlier - Come on, people. It's a subway car. If you want something nicer, buy yourself a Lexus and drive.
This redesign may suck for you normal people, but for frottage fetishists, this is a goddamned goldmine. Goodbye dry humping at the Black Cat and Recessions, hello Red Line to Shady Grove!
And with the staggered fare system, who's paying the highest fares? Those who'll be standing longest.
You neglect to mention that those same people have a far greater chance of geting a seat, as they have first dibs.
Top dollar. I like that. Of course, part of the problem is that people out in Rockville want commuter rail comfort at subway frequency and price. As a comparison, a peak hour 30-minute Metro trip from Rockville to Metro Center costs $3.70, while a peak hour 30-minute trip from New Rochelle to Grand Central Terminal will put you back $7.50.
It would be nice if this region had a more extensive commuter rail system that could be layered on top of the subway system (I know, we have VRE and MARC, but their reach is fairly limited compared to other cities in the Boston-Washington corridor). But as it is we have one rail system that has to serve a variety of needs, and when it comes down to it the ability to get more bodies on the trains is going to trump your desire to get your butt in a seat.
Not to go too far off topic, but the lack of capacity in our transit system is becoming a serious problem. The trains are packed, the buses are packed and stuck in traffic, but unfortunately the money and the will aren't there for any drastic increase in capacity. No-one wants to pay for more tunnels and more track in the core, and no-one wants to take lanes away from cars, so instead we get small fixes like the redesigned Metro cars and services like the MetroExtra on Georgia Avenue.
Has anybody else noticed the red line is running 4-car trains after 7pm during the week? The trains are so crowded I can't even get to the poles to hang onto, and I am waaaaay to small to reach the ceiling, so I've been clinging to backpacks...
I haven't noticed during the week, though it wouldn't shock me, but Metro is certainly running almost all 4-car trains on the weekends now. There's a new Metrorail chief and his rationale for the cutback is that since it's no longer tourist season, there's no reason to run all that extra capacity.
This might be a good thread for me to put forth an idea that was given to me by a friend: excavation of a walkway tunnel between Chinatown and Metro Center. The two stops are only two-three blocks away from each other. It would alleviate the pressure at L'Enfant from people transferring between blue/orange and green/yellow. New York has several examples of this (the tunnel between Port Authority and 42nd St station comes to mind), I don't know why we can't/shouldn't do it here.
I agree completely. The density of rail cars needed near the center of DC is entirely different from that needed at the edges of the system, such as shady grove. The system was clearly designed as a drive-and-ride, without adequately building up staton density in the inner regions of the metro area. The fact that Metro can't figure out how to balance its longer rides with the need for increased car capacity is a symptom of that fact. Well, maybe it's less that they can't figure it out, but when the choice is between comfort and cost savings, you know which one will win out.
I hate the changes. I want to go back to the cars with the vertical pole in the center between the doors. At least with those, when the car is jammed there is still something to hold onto. I think the newer cars that have been out for awhile actually encourage further crowding directly in front of the doors because of where the overhead bars are, and the lack of vertical pole options away from the doorway.
What is WRONG with the new Metrorail chief? My 8 p.m. train yesterday was more crowded than any at rush hour. There is absolutely no excuse for his decision. Anyone have his home phone number so I can call for a ride home when I can't fit on a train?
excavation of a walkway tunnel between Chinatown and Metro Center.
That's been on Metro's capital improvement plan books for more than 5 years now. (I think as an idea it's been around for even longer) I'm not 100% sure why it never gets pushed forward, but I'll bet lack of funds would be right up there.
There has also been a plan since Metro was built to connect Farragut West + Farragut North with a similar walkway.
The body fascists at Metro HQ clearly only care about people between 5'6" and 5' 9" because of the handle height and leg room issues.
Also, they prefer patrons who are nostalgic for the 70's and can walk without falling. And frottagists, and proponents of the ADA. Those jerks.
I just hope that everyone who is disgusted with the metro redesign stops riding. That will improve my commute immensely. I'll get a butt pad for each cheek!
YEah, 5' 7" people rule!