WMATA reports increased reliability; hopes for dedicated funding source
WMATA has reported that rail service reliability has improved in recent months. Officials credit better track and railcar maintenance for the improvement. Metro says the new CAF cars (readily identified by their 5000-series car numbers and, if you are quite geeky, the distinctive sound of the cars' propulsion systems) are finally reaching the reliability level they were supposed to attain years ago.
The Post story linked above stated the the CAF cars are readily identified by their red, white, and blue interiors. This is only partially true. Though all the CAF cars do have these new interiors, there are also many old Breda cars that also have been rebuilt. To the untrained eye these rebuilt Bredas and new CAFs look the same, though there are some small differences (the outsides of the rebuilt Bredas are not nearly as shiny as the new CAFs, and the rebuilt Bredas have additional signs on the emergency exits.) The rebuilt cars may also be readily identified by their distinct sound and by the "AC" appended to the end of the car number. (Old 1000-series Rohrs also have the AC, but they have obviously old-style interiors.)
I give this lesson in car identification because I have been wondering if Metro has had many problems with the rebuilt Breda cars. Some Metro people have said that, with new cars, you have to "work the bugs out." I wonder if the rebuilt cars also have bugs? I haven't heard about any. The Breda rebuilds were done by a different company (Alstom, instead of CAF, which built the brand new cars) and maybe Alstom did a better job?
In other WMATA news, talk of a dedicated funding source is bandied about, just as it has been for the past decade...
Post Author:
massysett | 9:31 AM |
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