Metro increasing rush hour trains

Washington DC (Map, News) - Metro will expand the number of eight-car trains operating during rush hours starting next week, the transit system said Friday.

Twenty new railcars will be added to service Monday, which will allow Metro to turn several six-car trains into the eight-car variety. Three Red Line trains will run with eight cars instead of six, as will two trains on the Orange and Green lines.

The remaining cars not used for new eight-car trains will be used to replace cars that break down.

"We made a promise to our customers that our fleet would have 20 percent eight-car trains in the peak, and we kept our word," Metro General Manager John Catoe said.

The new cars bring Metro's rush-hour fleet to 820, the largest in its 31-year history. Metro last increased its fleet in October, when 18 cars were added to the Blue and Yellow lines to eliminate four-car trains on those routes during rush hours.

"The placement of these railcars represent a new, higher level of capacity and convenience for our customers," said Dave Kubicek, Metro's assistant general manager for rail.

Metro expects to add 56 more cars by the end of 2008.

Metro's newer cars, known as the 6000 series, have more overhead rails for standing passengers than older models. The cars do not have poles stretching from the floor to the ceiling, as the older ones do, because Metro officials believe the long poles obstruct passenger movement and discourage standing riders from moving away from the doors.

jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com