March 24, 2008
More Metro Stations to Get Red LED Lights
You might be getting more red lights in your commute to work, but these you might actually appreciate. Metro has announced it will be installing red LED lamps at 16 more station platforms.
The red lights apparently grab more passengers' attention, according to Metro general manager John Catoe.
"I've observed customers stop, and keep a safer distance from the edge of the platform, and that's why we're installing the new lights," Catoe said in a statement.
The new lamps will last 10-12 years and cost $54 apiece. The more natural looking white LED lamps are two times more expensive to install, and since the purpose of these LED lamps is to save money, it makes sense they'd go with the cheaper alternative. It costs Metro $400,000 a year to replace the old white lamps.
Eight stations already have the red lights, including Gallery Place/Chinatown, Metro Center, Smithsonian, and Union Station, among others. The 16 stations that will get the new platform lighting in the next couple of months are: Navy Yard, Waterfront-SEU, Archives Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter, Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center, Foggy Bottom-GWU, Capitol South, Farragut West, Federal Triangle, McPherson Square, Federal Center SW, Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Judiciary Square, and Fort Totten.
Do you like the red lights better than the white ones? Let us know in our reader poll below the jump.
Photo by christaki
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Do you like the red lights better than the white ones?
Only in Amsterdam.
I think the red lights are easier to notice and they emphasize the imminent danger of an oncoming train. Most importantly (to me at least) - we wouldn't be seeing any more burnt out lights, which makes our metro stations look more ghetto'ish.
If the red are cheaper, fine. I do prefer the white because I already feel like I'm in a dungeon when I go into the metro system. The red lights make it feel like Mario's final battle in Bowzer's castle.
May be they should add a few sound effects while they are at it.
i KNEW there were little green men in the metro tunnels. i just figured they were some kind of troll or leprechaun left over from st. patrick's day. didn't realize they were the demon spawn of richard dreyfuss.
So it saves money and helps prevent people from possibly being struck by a train?
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
Bladezone, you mean aside from the train coming in with its high-beams on? And a sign that usually says when a train is arriving?
I would prefer white lights. I don't know why they would be any more expensive, but then again, I am not an expert on LED technology. But it is interesting that they are installing red ones, regardless if it is a Red Line station, even though on the lower-level of Metro Center they're orange.
I think first and foremost, they should stick to one color scheme and not have a hodge-podge of different colors systemwide.
I like the red lights but why stop there? Velvet wallpaper and tassels on the turnstiles would go a long way towards that New Orleans bordello look they're going for.
I prefer the white lights. When they switched to red, which put out less total light, the stations got noticably darker. Plus, when the red lights are flashing, and reflecting off the stainless steel sides of the Metro cars, it looks like an evil disco down there.
What I'd really like to see is the use of LED warning lights to reflect what train is entering the station. It'd be pretty righteous to be walking down an escalator and know from the flashing lights whether it's an Orange or Blue line train coming at Metro Center. Probably not feasible, but I may as well dream.
Is the poll broken? It's not working for me, anyway. My vote is -- very begrudgingly -- for red, due to the cost-efficiency noted above. If it were about aesthetics, white would take the cake.
It would be nice if Metro could figure out a way for the platform lights to correspond to the train in the station (e.g., orange or blue lights for whatever the next train is in Metro Center, etc.).
But, if red is the only option, I do prefer it to the white lights. The red ones are more noticable.
Metrooooooooooooooo. You don't have to turn on the red light.
I'm announcing to random unsuspecting tourists that they turn all the metro lights red to celebrate Cherry Blossom Festival, and then they all go back to white in May.
Wallenda, tell them they don't go back to white until after Memorial day.
And then back to red after Labor Day. Metro does NOT wear white after Labor Day.
I prefer the white but the problem with them is that they look so dingy over time. In that respect, bring on the red. Hopefully some people will think they've descended into the depths of hell and flee back to the surface.
The red lights kind of seem like they're lighting the path to hell.
I first saw the rest lights and thought they were for all red line trains and they'd have similar for each color. Not the case and I'm afraid it may end up confusing people.
But I could be wrong. It's happened before.
I prefer the red, from both an aesthetic and practical point of view. They're cheaper which is great, and more noticeable too, which is the whole point of the lights. They run cooler as well, so the dirt that accumulates on the underside of the lenses by convention from the hot incandescents should be less evident with the LED's. ...and they match the red tile so..meh, why not?
Those romantic devils at Metro are installing red lights in an attempt to make pasty-faced Washingtonians look more attractive to each other. Perhaps bar-cars will be next.
"Probably not feasible, but I may as well dream."
It's technically feasible, as there are two independent circuits for the platform lights, but it won't happen.
Note that while LEDs should last longer than the old bulbs, they still aren't going to do spot replacements, so 'burned out' lights will still occur.
Drew - yes there are a number of obvious ways one can tell a train is coming for the average joe. But there are some who can be pretty ignorant, and some who are deaf and are not facing the sign or the direction the train is coming in - and so this is where the lights come in handy.
Politiburo - true they'll burn out, but they will within 10-12 years and not as frequently as the current light bulbs.
Red LEDs have been around for decades, while white LEDs only emerged in the last few years. That's because white LEDs are technologically much more complicated, and therefore more expensive. Wikipedia explains this.
Yeah -- it does remind me of the fireballs from Super Mario Bros. 1.
When the lights flash you should hear the music from "The Shining" and if somebody steps too close -- "RED RUM! RED RUM!"
If it saves money -- come come now WMATA.
I really despise the red lights. And find it more difficult to detect that they're flashing. Oh Metro, why you gotta fool with me like this?
When the "money train" goes by, could they flash green?
I'm changing all my house lights to red LEDs to save money.