"I thought the 6000 Series was 62 cars. And I was not aware the 7000 Series had been proposed or even ordered."
From the text on page 44 in the CIP.pdf ;
System Access and Capacity Program Throughput
The table on the following page presents system performance at each of the peak-hour, peak-direction maximum load points for each line at significant points in time over the 10-Year program. The table is read as five tables, each presenting a snapshot of the system’s peak-period performance, identifying (from left to right as the table is read) the following by line and portal*:
· Four-, six-, and eight-car trains, along with total number of trains and the equivalent number of rail cars.
· Passenger (PAX) capacity provided by the delivery of the total number of rail cars in service (calculated as 120 passengers per car multiplied by the number of rail cars).
· Passenger demand, or the projected peak-hour, peak-direction ridership through the maximum.
· Capacity utilization, calculated as passenger demand divided by the amount of passenger capacity provided (an efficiency measure of how well the system accommodates the projected demand).
· Passengers per car, calculated as passenger demand divided by the total number of rail cars provided through the maximum load point.
Each table represents a point in time where rail car deliveries will allow WMATA to expand service in the peak period. The first table is the 2002 base year, from which all other years can be evaluated in relative terms.
The remaining years are:
· 2003: projected delivery of the remaining 5000 Series CAF cars.
· 2005: projected delivery of the initial growth cars provided through the 6000 Series Alstom procurement.
· 2006: projected delivery of the Alstom contract option cars
· 2013: full delivery of the 7000 Series cars.
Also embedded within the demand estimates and fleet requirements of each table are the projected system expansion projects:
· 2005: Largo extension and New York Ave. Station.
· 2006: rail to Tyson’s and Blue Line reconfiguration to divert one-half of the Blue Line trains across the Yellow Line bridge through L’Enfant Plaza rather than Rosslyn, to accommodate additional Orange Line trains from Tyson’s (and from Dulles/Loudoun County by 2010).
· 2010: rail to Dulles/Loudoun County.
*Each portal refers to the inter-lined segments of the Blue/Yellow Line,
Yellow/Green Line and Blue/Orange Line. The Red Line does not interline
with any other line so it is essentially one large portal
Refer to tables on page 45 in the CIP.pdf for more details;
Base: 758 Car Fleet (Rohr 1000 Breda 2000, 3000 and 4000 series)
Portal FY2003 192 CAF Cars; 950 Car Fleet (5000 Series)
FY2005 48 Alstrom Cars; 998 Car Fleet (6000 series)
FY2006 122 Alstrom Fleet Growth; 1,120 Cars Fleet - Includes Tyson’s Rail & Blue Line Reconfiguration (6000 Series)
FY2013 130 7000 Series; 1,250 Cars Fleet - Includes Dulles Rail & Blue Line Reconfiguration (7000 Series)
"Will the 7000 or 8000 Series cars replace the Rohrs? Someone better start thinking about that soon."
Based on the information in the table on page 45, no. Being that the Rohr car are structurally sound and have been upgraded I would see no reason to retire them, just upgrade and or replace the interiors, propulsion and other equipment when it come due again.
John