Photo: Erik Von Weber / The Image Bank / Getty Images
Subway passengers in LA and Hollywood will soon be riding in new train cars that have similar bench seating as the trains running underground in New York City and London!
The concept of “open gangways” allows passengers to pass unencumbered between train cars and avoiding interrupting riders as they maneuver their way in and out of trains.
LA Metro took delivery of 64 brand new subway cars that will replace the [older] cars on the B (Red) and D (Purple) lines and also add rolling stock to the new sections of the D Line expanding nine miles out to Westwood by 2027.
LA Metro ’s spokesperson, Patrick Chandler mentions that “some of the trains on the B and D lines are between 20 and 30 years old and badly need replacing"..
Metro plans to begin the project and to have the train cars in service in six to eight months.
Metro claims, that the side-facing seating provides for wider walkways and even more room for standing passengers who ride Metro.
“There is bench seating. Instead of always facing forward, there are seats on the side. You will have more capacity,” said Bart Reed, executive director of The Transit Coalition, a San Fernando Valley-based nonprofit advocating for public transit.
The goal is to have the facelift of seats completed in time for the Summer Olympic Games that is set to take place in La La Land in 2028!
“If the Olympics are a success, you will have massive amounts of people to move because you are connecting UCLA and Wilshire Boulevard to Downtown LA. Plus, you have the Expo Line connecting to the Coliseum.”