An update on our new old subway rail cars…they’re getting straps!

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As some of you have noticed, quite a few of our subway cars have been looking a little spiffier of late. Eighteen rail cars have now undergone interior renovations and getting new flooring, lighting, fresh paint and — by popular request — vinyl seats.

Maintenance Diaries: get to know Bob Spadafora, Senior Executive of Rail Fleet Services

Even more recently, some rail cars have been outfitted with a new accessory that has a long transit history: the hanging strap.

I know some riders, especially taller ones, aren’t big fans of the hanging straps. But for slightly shorter riders like myself they’re a welcome addition. Finally, I no longer have to rely on the center pole or strain my shoulder to reach the overhead bar! Finally, I can be a real straphanger.

The straps are currently being added to the Red and Purple Line, but you’ll start seeing them on the light rail lines soon.

Our current fleet of subway cars will continue to undergo refurbishment so they can keep running until the new cars we’ve ordered arrive.

More subway cars for Red/Purple Lines in the works

Categories: Transportation News

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24 replies ›

  3. Metro seems to take forever to reach the conclusion their own way isn’t better and it’s better to follow industry norms. Straps are long overdue. Standing on the train is miserable when there’s no place to avoid bumping into the passenger on the seats. The next worst thing is calling the Blue Line the A Train.

  5. Please tell me that actual red colored cars will stay assigned on the Red Line and Purple colored trains will stay assigned on the Purple Line!!!!

    Does anyone at Metro not realize how idiotic it looks when the 704 or 733 has buses for All door boarding (that we’re meant to be for the 720), yet patrons get yelled at on those Lines for using all doors cause you know, all 3 doors have TAP validators on buses that are assigned to wrong lines??

    What that being said, yes it’s nice to actually see the red line cars actually clean, even though it’ll only last a few months unfortunately.

    • I think color coding trains limits the ability to switch and replace vehicles when they go down for maintenance or service. And advertisement train wraps are a decent source of revenue for Metro; relying on color-coded trains would kill that revenue, wouldn’t you say?

      As far as the confusion between Purple and Red Line trains though, I agree we need some better signage rather than trying to squint and read the tiny marquee on every other car as it pulls into the station. Those things should be color coded, similar to how the Chicago L trains are labeled.

      • Then Metro probably shouldn’t consider them at all. Thing is, I’ve seen a few color coded cars on the red/purple line, but operating on their counterparts. Yeah, I prefer just a plain silver color, but they also need better signage at this point. Why are we still using 1980s tech signage on the subway is beyond me. What’s on the new Gold/Expo Line train cars is perfect.

        • I note there was no effort made to take the red paint off the exterior of the cars, nor was the opportunity that this rebuild offered to add interior variable signage that would have brought the cars up to modern ADA standards (for the hearing impaired) and would have assisted in letting customers know if they were on a Koreatown or North Hollywood Train.

    • Lets hope your trip is not delayed due a shortage of the right colored cars while there is an excess of the other colored. Like the right colored cars, sometimes buses set up for the 720 only have to be assigned to a different line. Since this experiment is on going one would expect tat Bus Operators were trained properly to deal with this situation. But less us be aware unqualified management are now making uninformed decisions.

  6. Makes absolutely no sense Metro doesn’t have bench seating in their subway cars like NYC, Boston, any major public transit system in the world. increases capacity in the subway cars dramatically and makes it a whole lot easier for people to get in and out of their seat when getting on/off a station instead of having to push up against everyone as they’re trying to get out.

  7. It’s amazing what some paneling and a little paint can do to make the subway cars look brand new. These renovations go a long way towards improving the rider experience and the straps are a welcome addition as well.

    • Finally, we join the rest of the world with straps! These are much needed: I hope to see them on the A Line (“New Blue”) when it reopens next month.

  10. I think that Metro should consider putting the strap hanger on the Metro buses as well. I have been on the bus when it suddenly jerks and I lose my balance due to not being able to catch the grab bars.