UPDATE: We now have word from Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel that next Tuesday’s event has been postponed. We’ll be sure to update you when it is rescheduled.

Did the recently revealed renderings of Metro’s newest railcar series leave you longing for a more tactile experience? Well, here’s your chance: Kytja Weir reports that WMATA will offer riders a chance to inspect a mock-up of the new cars at Metro Center from 6 to 7 p.m. next Tuesday.

You’ll even be able to sit in the car’s new seats during the study, which are a little different than the ones currently rolling around the tracks:

Each of the new rail cars will have 62 or 64 seats, depending on which car they are in the train configuration. That’s fewer seats than on most of the agency’s current rail cars.

But the new seats are curved steel, not the current foam rectangles, to give lumbar back support. They are covered with a layer of padding then vinyl. The width of the seats is not changing, though. They will have a clear separation from the adjacent seat to make sure it’s clear whose space is whose.

WMATA will apparently be doing several of these rider studies — we’ll keep our ear to the ground and pass a schedule along if and when the transit agency releases one.