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  • All Things WMATA 7000 Series

  • Discussion related to DC area passenger rail services from Northern Virginia to Baltimore, MD. Includes Light Rail and Baltimore Subway.
Discussion related to DC area passenger rail services from Northern Virginia to Baltimore, MD. Includes Light Rail and Baltimore Subway.

Moderators: mtuandrew, therock, Robert Paniagua

 #490057  by WMATAGMOAGH
 
WTOP just ran a story in the past few minutes about the designs for the new 7000 Series cars, which have yet to be ordered, in which they said that the cars will feature interior CCTV and "electronic maps that will light up depending upon what station the train is at." I wonder if these will be stripmaps or modifications to the existing maps. The first and last attempt at strip maps on WMATA cars was unsucessful, mainly due to the fact that the original roll signs on the Rohr cars proved to be very unreliable.
Last edited by Jeff Smith on Fri May 05, 2017 1:34 pm, edited 2 times in total. Reason: Creating an All Things thread for this class of cars.

 #490069  by Sand Box John
 
Taking a concept that was innovative for it's time but failed because of mechanical reasons and bringing it back using today's technology. What a concept.

It will be interesting to know if these electronic maps will resemble the strip maps that were original on the 1k cars. Hopefully they will. Now lets see if WMATA can make the exterior destination signs look like the original signs on the 1k cars using the same technology.

Now one must wonder if the existing cars in the fleet will also get fitted with these electronic maps.

 #490383  by McWmata
 
does anyone have a photo of the strip maps used on the 1k cars?

 #490484  by octr202
 
Interesting...

Its a shame they plan to do away with the brown exterior stripe -- the new design makes the car look like any other transit authority.

As for the interior, I feel like losing the carpeting is one thing, but I'd miss the old style seating. The ones pictured look like standard bus seating. That feeling of almost commuter rail comfort on a subway has always been a hallmark of the Metro -- its a shame to see that go away, if this design wins out.

 #490594  by Robert Paniagua
 
They'll look more like the NYCTA's R160 cars which have a dark coloured exterior A-end, and the sides silver (like most RTA's) however, there will be still transverse seats, although more longitudonal seats could be added if neccesary, and I like the carpetless ideas, although I hope this does not invite food/beverages onto the system.

 #490630  by realtype
 
octr202 wrote:Its a shame they plan to do away with the brown exterior stripe -- the new design makes the car look like any other transit authority.

As for the interior, I feel like losing the carpeting is one thing, but I'd miss the old style seating. The ones pictured look like standard bus seating. That feeling of almost commuter rail comfort on a subway has always been a hallmark of the Metro -- its a shame to see that go away, if this design wins out.
I agree completely. In my opinion Metro and UPS are the only two businesses that can make brown look good. Our "Luxury" Metrorail system is known for being one of the (if not the) most aesthetically pleasing and comfortable in the nation. Over the past year or so Metro management (ie. Mr. Catoe) seems to taking that away.

Now, aside from the lack of a brown paint scheme, carpeting, comfortable seating, and any character; the new design looks rather attractive. I'm really glad that the design will incorporate automated station announcements (audible and visual), which has been a major oversight in recent Metro designs. Many heavy rail, as well as commuter rail (including MARC), systems have this feature and its disappointing that Metro just now thought to use it for the 7000s. Also, I hope Kawasaki wins the contract for the new fleet, then there likely wouldn't be any major reliability issues.

 #490825  by Sand Box John
 
"realtype"
I agree completely. In my opinion Metro and UPS are the only two businesses that can make brown look good. Our "Luxury" Metrorail system is known for being one of the (if not
the) most aesthetically pleasing and comfortable in the nation. Over the past year or so Metro management (ie. Mr. Catoe) seems to taking that away.

Brown will and always will be present in the metrorail system. Remember all of the graphics in the stations are on brown backgrounds, all of the graphics pylons in the stations are brown.

Now, aside from the lack of a brown paint scheme, carpeting, comfortable seating, and any character; the new design looks rather attractive. I'm really glad that the design will incorporate automated station announcements (audible and visual), which has been a major oversight in recent Metro designs. Many heavy rail, as well as commuter rail (including MARC), systems have this feature and its disappointing that Metro just now thought to use it for the 7000s. Also, I hope Kawasaki wins the contract for the new fleet, then there likely wouldn't be any major reliability issues.

Not at all. The 1k cars were originally equipped with an automated station announcements system. The system used a 4-track audio tape cart player. The cart player was mounted in the cab bulkhead on the right behind the operators seat. The endless loop tape had your typical 'this is station is x', 'the next station is x' announcement on it. The tape player was activated by the same system that executes programmed station stop. The system was never used in revenue service. There was issues with the tape getting out of sequence resulting incorrect station announcements. One must remember that WMATA decimated a lot propaganda to the public that their shiny new trains were automatically controlled. WMATA at the time chose to reassure the riding public by having the live train operator in the cab make the station announcements.

 #492205  by mtaworkhorse
 
is CCTV closed circut television? as in it jsut gets recorded or is it actively watched by a company or security or the system its self?

 #492384  by Sand Box John
 
"mtaworkhorse"
is CCTV closed circut television? as in it jsut gets recorded or is it actively watched by a company or security or the system its self?


CCTV=Closed Circuit Television. In this context CCTV means the content on the LCD video displays will come from an internal source at WMATA. No where in the WMATA press releases or the WTOP story does it say that there will be security cameras installed on these cars.

[quote=" "Metro considers new look for trains" "]"The new rail maps will be on LCD monitors. Passengers could also see advertisements and passenger information on the screens," said Kubicek.[/quote]

 #493096  by tommyboy6181
 
The design for the 7000 series actually looks pretty nice and it reminds me of the MARTA trains in Atlanta, minus the paint on the sides. I can say that the America's Metro logo looks dumb on the side and it should just have the regular logo. Also, Metro could keep the brown stripe and this way it looks more like the traditional trains on the outside.

One thing I would not miss is the carpet. I've been in some trains where you can tell the mold is alive and well during certain times of the year. However if they get the automated announcements going and maybe go back to the older "Doors Closing" announcements first used on the CAF and rehab cars, it truly could be a great thing.

Now if Metro can actually do a test train first and actually run them like NYC does and fix problems before deploying a fleet too early, it really would be a winning situation.

 #493197  by WMATAGMOAGH
 
tommyboy6181 wrote:The design for the 7000 series actually looks pretty nice and it reminds me of the MARTA trains in Atlanta, minus the paint on the sides. I can say that the America's Metro logo looks dumb on the side and it should just have the regular logo. Also, Metro could keep the brown stripe and this way it looks more like the traditional trains on the outside.

One thing I would not miss is the carpet. I've been in some trains where you can tell the mold is alive and well during certain times of the year. However if they get the automated announcements going and maybe go back to the older "Doors Closing" announcements first used on the CAF and rehab cars, it truly could be a great thing.

Now if Metro can actually do a test train first and actually run them like NYC does and fix problems before deploying a fleet too early, it really would be a winning situation.
Test trains like the R110A and R110B are very expensive, but a more comprehensive acceptance program (i.e. test train must run 30 days w/o any failures) could benefit WMATA.

 #493205  by Sand Box John
 
"WMATAGMOAGH"
Test trains like the R110A and R110B are very expensive, but a more comprehensive acceptance program (i.e. test train must run 30 days w/o any failures) could benefit WMATA.


If WMATA were to make this procurement larger (replace the 1k cars as well as procure cars for the Tysons, Dulles, Loudoun County line) such a program would likely be cost effective.

 #493871  by Mirai Zikasu
 
This proposed redesign, the second of such significance in seven years, was a waste of money and time. It is bland, austere, and downright sterile. There is no beauty in it, and it looks like hell. Unless this redesign results in cars costing a fraction of what they currently do to purchase/maintain and that leads to fare cuts--doubtful given the unnecessary addition of the automated messages, CCTV, and glorified Lite-Brite maps that will most likely fail frequently due to hasty implementation--it is my hope that the individual who proposed this redesign is promptly fired and replaced by someone who either comes up with something less horrific or does the easy thing and realize that what isn't broken doesn't need to be fixed. Reliability plummets, fares skyrocket, and all we get is this piss-poor redesign which is a downright insult to the designers of the system and to us riders whose fares pay the salaries of the fools who continue to screw up Metro.

 #511643  by LossOfCCU
 
I wonder who builds this train? I hope its kawi.
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