LOS ANGELES — LA Metro has received the first cars in an order of new subway equipment built by China’s CRRC, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
The 75-foot-long stainless steel HR4000 cars will be placed in service in six to eight months, a Metro spokesman told the Daily News in an email. They have 41 seats and a total capacity of 246 people, and will be used on the B and D subway lines. The cars feature an open-gangway allowing easy movement between cars, and are the first LA subway cars with bench-style, side-facing seats to allow more standing room.
The first equipment in the 64-car order arrived earlier this month. Cars were built in China and completed at the Springfield, Mass., plant of affiliate CRRC MA. The cars have arrived about a year behind schedule because of COVID-19-related delays, according to Metro records; the Daily News reports the delivery issues led Metro to cancel an option for an additional 218 cars.
