Washington Metro 7000 Series

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I thought I'd mention something I read about in the news this week. Yes, the 7000 Series rolling stock has commenced revenue service on the Metro system in Washington, DC and this time, it's a Kawasaki (they seem to have been making good progress in selling commuter stuff to the northeast these years, hopefully high speed trains to follow soon).

This 7000 Series is the first Washington Metro rolling stock to look drastically different from everything that precedes it. Sometimes change is good. Although I'm not so sure about the styling at first glance. I can see some family resemblance from the new Metro North and New Haven commuter EMUs from Kawasaki though. Also unlike anything before the 7000 Series, the EMU's car body is constructed of stainless steel and not aluminum.

Metro 7000-Series railcar debut 3.jpg
"Metro 7000-Series railcar debut 3" by Ben Schumin - Flickr: Metro 7000-Series railcar debut. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.


Metro 7000-Series railcar debut 5.jpg
"Metro 7000-Series railcar debut 5" by Ben Schumin - Flickr: Metro 7000-Series railcar debut. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

I'll leave most of the talking to this Wikipedia page (to keep this blog short and sweet? Or am I just being lazy... either way) which I'm quoting from. Oh, one interesting thing I find I have to mention here though, so far all the sources I can find (including an WMATA document) all state that the Metro in Washington is 1/4 inch narrow than standard gauge... not sure why or if all these numbers are typos. Enjoy the pictures and YouTube video.

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