Subway passengers in Los Angeles and Hollywood will soon be riding in new train cars that incorporate bench seating resembling trains running under New York City and London, and “open gangways” enabling passengers to pass unencumbered between train cars.
Earlier this month, LA Metro took delivery of 64 brand new subway cars that will replace aging cars on the B (Red) and D (Purple) lines and also add rolling stock to the new sections of the D Line expanding nine miles out to Westwood by 2027.
Some of the trains on the B and D lines are between 20 and 30 years old and badly need replacing. Metro will put the new cars in service in six to eight months, said Patrick Chandler, spokesman, in an emailed response.
The stainless steel cars are 75 feet long, 10.2 feet wide and 12.3 feet in height. Each car is equipped with 41 seats with a total seating capacity of 246 per car. Each car has 12 USB ports for charging phones or laptop computers, according to Metro records.
Side-facing seating allows for wider walkways and more room for standing passengers, Metro reported.
“There is bench seating. Instead of always facing forward, there are seats on the side. You will have more capacity,” said Bart Reed, executive director of The Transit Coalition, a San Fernando Valley-based nonprofit advocating for public transit.
“This is being done so Metro is in line for the Olympics in five years,” Reed added, referring to the Summer Olympic Games coming to LA in 2028. “If the Olympics are a success, you will have massive amounts of people to move because you are connecting UCLA and Wilshire Boulevard to Downtown LA. Plus, you have the Expo Line connecting to the Coliseum.”
By being able to walk from car to car while the train is moving without opening emergency doors, it allows passengers to find a better seat or avoid an annoying passenger. The “open gangway” function is similar to what exists on an articulated bus, sometimes called an accordion bus.
“In a train of six cars you can walk from one end of the train to another end. There are no doors through the cars,” Reed said.
Train car replacements are also needed to upgrade technology toward the end of the life of a train car, Reed said. “The cars do wear out. Some of the existing rail cars have technology from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.” Getting parts for the old models is becoming difficult, he said.
Just getting the new train cars proved difficult.
The cars were manufactured by CCRC Corp. Limited (China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation), a Chinese, state-owned locomotive and train car manufacturers headquarters in Beijing.
Ordered in 2016, the first shipment was delayed about a year and was expected to arrive in 2022. But COVID-19 shutdowns in China delayed the order, according to Metro records.
Trouble getting the train cars caused Metro to cancel an option for an additional 218 rail cars with the Chinese company. These additional cars were planned for new service on the D Line.
Cars were shipped to the CRRC facility in Spingfield, Mass., for assembly. The cars arrived from the Springfield facility on or around Aug. 2, according to the Metro Facebook page that shows a video of the cars arriving and being unpacked.
Also, the U.S. Department of Defense, in a statement released on Oct. 5, 2022, listed the CRRC as a Chinese military company operating in the United States. The DOJ alleged that CRRC is a supplier to the People’s Liberation Army. In November 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies listed with links to the Chinese army.
It is not clear if the DOJ listing and the presidential executive order affected Metro’s decision not to continue the contract for more train cars with CRRC. Metro did not comment on the trains’ procurement, the history of the purchase order or give more details on the issues surrounding the purchase.
According to news reports, other transit agencies in Massachusetts and Chicago have completed orders with CRRC. Some critics in news reports have said the company could offer a low bid because it is receiving subsidies from the People’s Republic of China.
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