WMATA
WMATA is calling on the public to help finalize the exterior design of its 256 8000-series rapid transit cars from Hitachi Rail, which will start arriving in 2027.
Voting for one of three design options (see below) will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 22. The winning concept will be announced the following week. (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority in 2021 similarly asked the public to weigh in on the exterior graphic design for its 254 new Stadler railcars. It revealed the winner in 2022.)
According to WMATA, the designs are part of a “broader branding refresh” that includes refined logos and illustrations that reflect its heritage. With this final step in the process, it said, riders will see a “revamped color scheme in a warm palette that embraces modern design principles and pays homage to the standards” set by WMATA’s founding designers.
The transit authority added that it has “identified several cost-saving and efficiency measures for the 8000-series fleet program, resulting in $21 million that can be reallocated back into the Capital Program and a reduction in future operating and maintenance costs for the fleet.”
WMATA in 2021 awarded a contract to Hitachi Rail to design and build an initial order of 256 8000-series rapid transit cars, which were slated to replace aging 2000- and 3000-series cars. If all the options in the contract are exercised, a total of 800 cars will be supplied to WMATA worth up to $2.2 billion. The trains will feature WMATA’s first open gangway design that will help increase safety, passenger flow, and capacity, according to the transit authority. Eight-car trains will be made up of four sets of two-car pairs, and six-car trains will be made up of three sets of two-car pairs. The trains will offer more seating along the walls to allow more standing room for passengers and dedicated spaces for people who use mobility devices. Additionally, they will have more flexible space for bikes, strollers, and luggage.
According to Hitachi Rail, the trains will also include digital screens with improved journey information; on-board Wi-Fi; “Smart Doors” with individual response to obstructions; and high-definition security cameras. They will feature ventilation system improvements, incorporate “stringent cybersecurity requirements,” offer increased space between seats and wider aisles, include heated floors throughout, and provide improved regenerative braking.
Hitachi Rail will assemble the cars at its new Hagerstown, Md., plant. The $70 million, 307,000-square-foot factory and 800-yard test track will be 90 minutes from WMATA’s Greenbelt Rail Yard, where the completed 8000-series cars will be delivered.
WMATA in May 2024 officially retired its 2000-series trains, which reached the end of their 40-year service life and had issues nearly four times as often as its newer Kawasaki Rail Car USA-built 7000-series trains.
The 76 2000-series rapid transit cars, which were built by Breda in Italy (now Hitachi Rail Italy) and assembled in Beech Grove, Ind., debuted in 1983—about two years behind schedule due to a factory breakdown in West Germany and a labor strike in a Wilmerding, Pa., brake factory, according to WMATA.
They are said to have operated nearly 200 million miles and carried more than 775 million riders. According to WMATA, their introduction allowed the agency to offer service to Huntington and Fairfax County, Va.
While the 2000-series cars look similar to the 300 Rohr-built 1000-series cars that entered service in 1976 and were retired in 2016-17, WMATA said they included “new” features like flip-dot destination signs instead of mylar roll signs that often malfunctioned, exterior speakers for announcements, and a dozen fewer seats to allow more riders per train.
In the early 2000s, the 2000-series cars went through a mid-life rehabilitation, replacing propulsion systems, adding new exterior and interior LED signs, and updating the seats with a new color motif (Colonial Burgundy, Potomac Blue, and Chesapeake Sand), WMATA said.
The cars were largely in storage during the pandemic but were used in recent years while the agency addressed issues with the other fleet series, it said. WMATA in 2021 began sidelining its 748 Kawasaki-built 7000-series cars due to a derailment, so it could develop a response to wheel gage anomalies and implement a plan for safely returning them to service. The 7000-series comprises roughly 60% of WMATA’s fleet.
WMATA has said thst its long-term fleet strategy calls for phasing out the 290 Breda-built 3000-series cars starting in 2027. At the same time, WMATA will begin introducing the first of its new 8000-series Fleet of the Future cars. The rest of the WMATA fleet will comprise Alstom-built 6000-series cars (with the classic brown stripe motif) and 7000-series cars.
Further Reading:
TriMet
TriMet on Aug. 18 reported installing dozens of digital displays at MAX light rail stations, bus stops and transit centers over the past year—including in places that didn’t previously have them. It now has more than 700 real-time displays, providing riders with service information, including train/bus arrivals and final destinations.
This is the first time TriMet has had real-time arrivals and service alerts displayed on electronic readerboards at every MAX station (except the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station, which will close Aug. 24).
TriMet also reported posting QR codes at stations, stops and transit centers to provide the same information. Additionally, riders can track vehicles and see up-to-date service information on its website, which is being upgraded.
Over the past year, it has added several new website features and improvements—with more still to come. Among them: an interactive map, including a 3D view, showing where the agency’s vehicles, stations, stops and Park & Rides are; a Trip Planner tool; and the ability to read and use the site in any of six languages with full translation support (English, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese).
Further Reading:
- TriMet Announces Service Cuts to Address Budget Shortfall
- WES: Commuter Rail Skirting Its Principal City
- TriMet Board Adopts $1.96B FY2026 Budget
Denver RTD
Denver RTD has upped its fare checks by more than 500% since May 2024 to ensure that riders on light rail and commuter rail trains have paid their fare to board, it reported Aug. 18. The Transit Police Department’s (RTD-PD), growth—now at approximately 100 officers—has allowed for increased patrolling across the agency’s stops and stations and on its vehicles.
According to Denver RTD, officers are conducting between 300,000 and 400,000 fare checks per month on the rail system this year.
“About 5% of RTD’s budget is comprised of fare revenue from customers,” Denver RTD reported. “Transit Police officers underwent fare enforcement training in October 2024 and the officers—along with contracted Allied security officers—are equipped with handheld scanners to conduct fare enforcement. An in-depth review led to RTD-PD’s four-step security plan initiated in August 2024, which ramped up fare enforcement to support customers and RTD employees. The agency found that 6% of customers did not pay their fare.”
The four-step security plan, it said, includes direct interaction with users of Denver RTD services and requires maintaining a high-visibility presence, which has been supported by RTD initiating 24/7 patrolling in May 2024 and growing the department to 120 officers by yearend. (In comparison, RTD-PD had 19 officers in 2022.)
The third step in the security plan: “When observing behavior that does not support a Welcoming Transit Environment, officers proactively educate customers by treating other customers with respect,” Denver RTD said.
The last step in RTD-PD’s security plan is to utilize technology. “Using real-time security video, officers can look at any camera in our 2,345-square-mile service area,” Chief of Police and Emergency Management Steve Martingano said. “These steps have led to a huge reduction in criminal conduct, including drug-related activity, thus allowing ridership to grow.”
Officers can access video feeds from their laptops in addition to Denver RTD video investigators conducting real-time video surveillance of stops and stations.
Beginning in 2023, the RTD-PD established live look-in cameras with the ability to hear and view vehicle activity for use in emergency situations across its bus fleet. The agency’s commuter rail system is already equipped with the live look-in technology and the addition of such technology on light rail vehicles is in progress.
With the combined tactics, including fare checks, security-related calls into the RTD-PD are down by about 33%, with reports of illicit drug use down anywhere between 50%-70% per month for 2025 compared with 2024, according to Denver RTD.
For monthly metrics, visit Denver RTD’s Security Related Metrics page, which launched earlier this year.
Separately, Denver RTD on July 30 reported that its Board has authorized General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson to enter into a successor three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001.
