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  • Metro testing 6-car train decals

  • 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

 #1374909  by JDC
 
Following up on a questionnaire sent to "Amplify" community members, Metro is currently testing decals at select stations that will indicate where a 6-car train ends. http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/P ... aseID=6079. I take this as another sign of Wiedefeld pushing changes that Metro had seemingly been reluctant to make because of aesthetics. Another example is Braddock Road, where Metro has painted yellow/black warning messages across the bumpy tiles warning riders of the large gap between the level of the platform and the level of the train.
 #1374974  by Chris Brown
 
srepetsk wrote:Center-berthing is dead. Long live center-berthing 6-car trains!
I think center-berthing is dead because Metro plans to eventually operate 100% 8-car trains. Therefore, there is no reason to train the software or operators to stop short.

I think the decals are a great idea. Metro is reaching a point where people care more about function than aesthetics. I think they also need to add additional "next train" signs to all stations. Having only one on each side of the platform requires people to have eagle eyes to see it if they're further down the platform.
 #1374978  by Sand Box John
 
"Chris Brown"
I think center-berthing is dead because Metro plans to eventually operate 100% 8-car trains. Therefore, there is no reason to train the software or operators to stop short.


100% 8 car trains went out the windows when the board made the decision to scrap instead of rehabilitate 4 and 5k cars. In automatic mode there is no reasons not to execute 6 car train center platform stops.
 #1375093  by Chris Brown
 
Sand Box John wrote:"Chris Brown"
I think center-berthing is dead because Metro plans to eventually operate 100% 8-car trains. Therefore, there is no reason to train the software or operators to stop short.


100% 8 car trains went out the windows when the board made the decision to scrap instead of rehabilitate 4 and 5k cars. In automatic mode there is no reasons not to execute 6 car train center platform stops.
I don't think 100% 8-cars trains has gone out the window. I think it has just been delayed. Increasing congestion in the coming years will ensure that 100% 8-car trains eventually becomes a reality. Its more a question of "when" than a question of "if".
 #1375133  by Sand Box John
 
"Chris Brown"
I don't think 100% 8-cars trains has gone out the window. I think it has just been delayed. Increasing congestion in the coming years will ensure that 100% 8-car trains eventually becomes a reality. Its more a question of "when" than a question of "if".


For the foreseeable future it's dead. Congestion now is driving, pun intended, passenger away. The 7k car procurement was intended to make 100% 8 car trains reality within 3 years. The next procurement will mostly be for replacing the 2 and 3k cars, and that procurement is at minimum 10 years in the future.
 #1375151  by Chris Brown
 
Sand Box John wrote:"Chris Brown"
I don't think 100% 8-cars trains has gone out the window. I think it has just been delayed. Increasing congestion in the coming years will ensure that 100% 8-car trains eventually becomes a reality. Its more a question of "when" than a question of "if".


For the foreseeable future it's dead. Congestion now is driving, pun intended, passenger away. The 7k car procurement was intended to make 100% 8 car trains reality within 3 years. The next procurement will mostly be for replacing the 2 and 3k cars, and that procurement is at minimum 10 years in the future.
The design phase for the 8k series is to commence in 2018, with the contract awarded the following year. Delivery of the cars is scheduled to begin in 2023.
 #1375162  by Sand Box John
 
"Chris Brown"
The design phase for the 8k series is to commence in 2018, with the contract awarded the following year. Delivery of the cars is scheduled to begin in 2023.


Kawasaki will not have finished delivering the 7k cars by then. That may have been what is planned in 2008 but I don't expect it to be followed through on that tight of a schedule. WMATA has never awarded a contract for the procurement new rolling stock while at the same time taking delivery of rolling stock from existing new rolling stock pronouncement program.
 #1375204  by MCL1981
 
I saw these decals this morning. Pretty useless. You don't know they're even there until you walk up it. This concept would be useful if they painted markers on the floor, wall, and maybe the ceiling above it. That way, people could actually see the markers. But since WMATA management doesn't actually ride their own system, it's not surprising they did it this way.