Post by Elson on Jan 20, 2013 23:04:25 GMT -8
Get a load of Miami Metrorail's new heavy rail vehicles that they just ordered:
Story:
miami.curbed.com/archives/2012/12/13/new-metrorail-cars-1.php#50ca0bd3f92ea160c9005c34 (More pics in the article)
They feature folding seats, hanging bicycle racks (a la Portland) and...Wi-Fi(!)
Why am I talking about Miami's rail cars? Because they are built to the exact same spec as the Metro Red/Purple Lines (and Baltimore's Metro as well). In fact, over 20 years ago, the then-RTD borrowed a pair of Miami Metrorail HRVs and successfully ran them in pre-revenue testing for a number of months in the MOS-1 tunnels.
Could Metro be ordering these cars in the not-so-distant future?
So here's the controversial thing: The Miami contract was awarded to AnsaldoBreda.
Yes, the company that delivered some tardy, overweight LRVs to us not so long ago...But here's the thing: The P2550 LRVs were a custom spec, while the Miami cars, if Metro wants to order them, would be an off-the-shelf model, possibly cheaper and possibly more reliable in terms of delivery (if the Miami delivery works out well). The original Breda HRVs we got were, essentially, an off-the-shelf design; the RTD wanted the same cars as Baltimore had, but their manufacturer (Budd) went out of business. Breda built our current A650s to the same Budd/UTDC spec the Baltimore and Miami cars were made.
Does this look like the LA Metro subway car of the future? Or do we need to go with a more unique design?
Story:
miami.curbed.com/archives/2012/12/13/new-metrorail-cars-1.php#50ca0bd3f92ea160c9005c34 (More pics in the article)
They feature folding seats, hanging bicycle racks (a la Portland) and...Wi-Fi(!)
Why am I talking about Miami's rail cars? Because they are built to the exact same spec as the Metro Red/Purple Lines (and Baltimore's Metro as well). In fact, over 20 years ago, the then-RTD borrowed a pair of Miami Metrorail HRVs and successfully ran them in pre-revenue testing for a number of months in the MOS-1 tunnels.
Could Metro be ordering these cars in the not-so-distant future?
So here's the controversial thing: The Miami contract was awarded to AnsaldoBreda.
Yes, the company that delivered some tardy, overweight LRVs to us not so long ago...But here's the thing: The P2550 LRVs were a custom spec, while the Miami cars, if Metro wants to order them, would be an off-the-shelf model, possibly cheaper and possibly more reliable in terms of delivery (if the Miami delivery works out well). The original Breda HRVs we got were, essentially, an off-the-shelf design; the RTD wanted the same cars as Baltimore had, but their manufacturer (Budd) went out of business. Breda built our current A650s to the same Budd/UTDC spec the Baltimore and Miami cars were made.
Does this look like the LA Metro subway car of the future? Or do we need to go with a more unique design?
