3-Proposed 8000 Series Railcars (open gangways)

thisisbossi • 05-12-2017

Описание: As noted on a recent Greater Greater Washington post as well as in my tweets, WMATA is looking into what might be desirable in the next generation of railcars (8000 series cars). My suggestions: - Existing - Proposed (closed gangways) - Proposed (open gangways) ("A" cars are the engine cars; "B" cars are the carriage cars) Open gangways Considering the long trip-times, I tend toward being a fan of transverse seating and in my sketches I aim to retain some of it, though certainly less as to accompany more total riders. But we can fit a lot more riders in especially if we provide open gangways between each railcar. This can also help relieve crowding in specific cars, particularly where some stations encourage such crowding (such as on the Red Line at Gallery Place). Doors Four doors per side; each about 10" wider. These should allow 2 people to board/alight at once in each door (today it tends to be 1 at a time), and the additional doors should boost boarding/alighting speeds by almost 3x. Other features should include Automatic Doors that control which side the doors can be opened on, and Push-Button Doors to reduce wear and tear on the doors as well as the temperature control systems (and simply for comfort: so A/C doesn't escape in summer and heat doesn't escape in winter). Operational Capabilities Improved reliability, interoperability w/ 7000 series, and consideration of A-B-B-B-B-B-B-A coupling instead of A-B-B-A-A-B-B-A. Also readiness for Automatic Train Control, though I'm aware our lack of ATC right now isn't necessarily due to the rolling stock. Comfort Flat-topped "footrests" (the metal-enclosed conduits in the bottom longitudinal corners that were flat-topped in pre-7000 cars; sloped in 7000-series cars). Softer seats (I like the back-friendly ergonomics of the 7000 cars, but miss the butt-padding of the pre-7000 cars). My designs also include slightly more total window area. Information Displays More+Improved (interactive?) information displays. 7000 series cars provide great info compared to pre-7000, but there's still room to improve. There should also be info screens readily visible from every point, and redundancy could allow for some greater flexibility with including ads. Amenities Low priority, but wifi and charging ports (the latter being the absolute lowest priority). Things to Keep 7000 series cars have a great open feel, generally plentiful grab-bars, no carpets, and recorded station announcements. I wouldn't be adverse to a warmer decor as per the pre-7000 cars, but I don't necessarily dislike the 7000 series decor.