New Metro Subway Railcars Started Service on Friday

This article also appears at Streetsblog Los Angeles.

Metro’s new HR4000 subway cars entered service today. They are currently operating on the Metro D Line. If all goes as expected, there will be just a few of the new railcars running through the end of the year. In early 2025 those numbers will ramp up. New cars will nearly always be on the D Line, though Metro operations staff say that, in a pinch, they could end up on the B Line, too.

Streetsblog reported on spotting a test train earlier this month. Today SBLA attended a preview ride.

The new trains don’t feel night-and-day different than the old ones. More than anything they are, of course, new – shiny, fresh, spotless, clean. New features (see photos above and below) include:

• The seating faces the middle of the car, which adds capacity because as the train gets crowded more people can stand.
• The passage between railcars is open – called “open gangways.” This allows riders to spread out throughout the train. The new trains are not fully open gangway, though. Every other gangway is open, so each pair of cars is called a “married pair.”
• The railcars feature new electronic signage, including signs on the outside of the car that make it easier to tell which trains are B Line (Red) vs. D Line (Purple).
• There are new fire suppression systems, new speaker systems, and new security cameras.

Metro is adding these new subway cars for its under-construction D Line subway extensions. The first new segment – from Western Avenue (in Koreatown) to La Cienega Avenue (in Beverly Hills) – is expected to open in 2025.

Readers – have you seen and/or ridden on Metro’s new trains? What do you think?

About The Author

Joe Linton

Joe Linton is editor of Los Angeles Streetsblog. He is also a longtime urban environmental activist. His main areas of interest have been restoring the Los Angeles River and fostering bicycling for everyday transportation. He’s worked for many Los Angeles livability non-profits, including Friends of the L.A. River, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, C.I.C.L.E., Livable Places, and CicLAvia. He also served as deputy to Los Angeles City Councilmember Ed Reyes.

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