Shown: Rendering of WMATA's next-generation 8000-series rail car.Photo – WMATA Facebook
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has selected Hitachi Rail to build 256 8000-series rail cars, The Washington Post reported yesterday.
Terms of the contract have not been finalized, and the contract has not yet been awarded.
WMATA plans to order 256 rail cars, with an option to purchase up to 800. The contract could be up to $1 billion, according to The Post.
Meanwhile, WMATA updated its 2021 construction schedule to rebuild deteriorating rail station platforms at Arlington Cemetery, Addison Road and four Green Line stations north of Fort Totten.
To facilitate the work, the Arlington Cemetery and Addison Road stations will be closed for about three months between February and May 2021. Construction at the West Hyattsville, Prince George's Plaza, College Park, and Greenbelt stations will take place in summer 2021.
Construction at the Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton stations will take place in summer 2022.
The platform work is part of a larger project to reconstruct platforms at 20 stations systemwide. The project is halfway complete, WMATA officials said in a press release.
Contact Progressive Railroading editorial staff.