WMATA Washington

[Chris.A]

On 5/21/2019 at 9:44 PM, WMATAC40LF said:

A few Metrorail updates:

WMATA has pulled all 3000 Series trains (274 active cars) from service after a door opened on a moving Orange Line train. 

https://wamu.org/story/19/05/21/door-malfunction-prompts-metro-to-pull-3000-series-trains-from-service/ 

There are now about 650 7000s in service, and it looks like the rest will be delivered by the end of the year. 

The current three contenders for the 8000 Series contract appear to be Alstom, Hyundai Rotem, and CRRC. However, due to cybersecurity concerns, CRRC may be at a disadvantage (I for one hope they don't win). We'll see what happens...

https://wamu.org/story/19/04/15/senators-threaten-to-withhold-federal-funding-if-wmata-buys-chinese-railcars/ 

I doubt the XD40s will end up in Virginia, but who knows...

WMATA is apparently planning to replace the 30 ft Orion VII CNGs with 40 ft buses (2020 NFI XN40s). Seems like they are moving away from shorter buses (like other large transit authorities). Then again, there are very few (if any) routes that cannot handle 40 ft buses.

Which makes you wonder about the future of some area services like TAGS. You think they'll eventually move back to cutaway buses or will could they get XD40s or something? Those EPA10 Orion VII hybrids will probably go back to the inner city depot(s) eventually.

 As far as the 8000 series go, due to the ongoing trade wars with China at the moment, I kinda doubt that they'll go with CRRC for  variety of reasons. Probably another Alstom order in the works tbh.

Lastly on the upcoming XD40 order, from a parts and maintenance standpoint, sending the first batch of XD40s to West Ox wouldn't be that far fetched considering that the Fairfax Connector side of the depot already have a bunch of them and they probably do joint maintenance work to keep costs of staff down. I think they could easily get them.

[Chris.A]

BTW, DASH bus 2007 Gillig Phantom #103 is back in service! Saw it parked at NOVA starting an AT6 run yesterday.

[Orion6025]

On 5/21/2019 at 9:44 PM, WMATAC40LF said:

WMATA is apparently planning to replace the 30 ft Orion VII CNGs with 40 ft buses (2020 NFI XN40s).

Jesus christ WMATA has gone to shit so fast over the past year/year-and-a-half. Then again so have many other cities.

[WMATAC40LF]

14 hours ago, Chris.A said:

Which makes you wonder about the future of some area services like TAGS. You think they'll eventually move back to cutaway buses or will could they get XD40s or something? Those EPA10 Orion VII hybrids will probably go back to the inner city depot(s) eventually.

 As far as the 8000 series go, due to the ongoing trade wars with China at the moment, I kinda doubt that they'll go with CRRC for  variety of reasons. Probably another Alstom order in the works tbh.

Lastly on the upcoming XD40 order, from a parts and maintenance standpoint, sending the first batch of XD40s to West Ox wouldn't be that far fetched considering that the Fairfax Connector side of the depot already have a bunch of them and they probably do joint maintenance work to keep costs of staff down. I think they could easily get them.

The 2012 VIIs and the DE35LFAs won't be retired anytime soon, so this isn't the end of baby buses on WMATA. There are some 30 ft assigned routes, like those run by Western (and also TAGS) where these buses make sense. I just think that this apparent plan indicates Metro's desire to move away from shorter buses in the long term.  

10 hours ago, Orion6025 said:

Jesus christ WMATA has gone to shit so fast over the past year/year-and-a-half. Then again so have many other cities.

It was unfortunately bound to happen, as the CNG tanks on these things will expire.    

 

[Orion6025]

On 5/24/2019 at 12:03 AM, WMATAC40LF said:

It was unfortunately bound to happen, as the CNG tanks on these things will expire.    

Well ultimately as long as the de40lf/lfr don’t retire just yet DC will still be interesting at least in my eyes!

the one good thing to come out of all these CNG retirements is that those have been “safe” at least. Sometime in 2020 i gotta make a trip down just to see those

[Chris.A]

9 hours ago, Orion6025 said:

Well ultimately as long as the de40lf/lfr don’t retire just yet DC will still be interesting at least in my eyes!

the one good thing to come out of all these CNG retirements is that those have been “safe” at least. Sometime in 2020 i gotta make a trip down just to see those

Yeah, but once those Orion Vs go, these will be next.

[Buzz2kb]

My long-awaited retro post on WMATA is finally here!  Compared to other mega agencies like NYC MTA, SEPTA and LACMTA, WMATA always had a more diverse fleet until the recent influx of various New Flyer Xcelsior's.  Back in my 2008 stay at its operating area for an academic rotation, it still operated a dwindling fleet of Flixible Metro buses at up to 18 years old, as exemplified by 1990 bus 9395 on a Virginia service.  They were followed by mostly identical 1993-94 buses in the 9700 and low 9800 series like buses 9775 and 9818 (They were Cummins-powered buses like the 9300's, except that they feature roof-mounted HVAC pods).  WMATA's final Flixible Metro's were Detroit Diesel-powered 1995 buses in the 4000-series like bus 4041 on a Maryland service.  The 4000's lacked roof-mounted HVAC pods.

Just after the delivery of the 1990 Flixible Metro's, WMATA introduced its first BIA/OBI Orion V 40ft. buses like 1992 BIA bus 9618 on a Maryland service.  The 9600's were followed by 1997-1998 buses like 4217, 4336 and 4412.  At the same time, 30ft. buses in te 3900 series like bus 3921 were also delivered.  The 2100's and 2200's were WMATA's final Orion V's new in 2000, and members of this batch like buses 2117 and 2203 are still hanging on at an ripe old age of 19 years old.  All other Orion V's were since removed from WMATA inventory.

WMATA's relationship with Orion definitely went beyond the Orion V's, as it had 100 Orion VI's like buses 2053 and 2071 delivered at the same time as the 2100's and 2200's.  In the end, the agency's first low-floor heavy-duty buses were outlived by their high-floor compatriots due to being unusually prone to fires.  Meanwhile, WMATA also operated 42 of the Orion II 26ft. low-floor buses like bus 3721.

Articulated buses back in that period were represented by 1995 American Ikarus 436's like bus 5209 and 2002 Neoplan USA AN460's like bus 5310.

The 2001-02 New Flyer C40LF's were the buses that initiated WMATA's long association with the manufacturer which lasts up to this day.  These 164 uses were represented by 2001 buses 2300 (The first of all) and 2322, as well as 2002 bus 2415.

The Orion VII OG CNG buses from 2005-06 are the oldest low-floor buses still active with WMATA by now.  The early 2500's among the 40ft. buses were wrapped in a promotional livery brandishing their green credential, as illustrated by bus 2503.  Meanwhile, bus 2582 from the same 2005 batch featured normal fleet livery, and bus 2607 was branded for route 38B, a flagship Virginia service.  2006 bus 2668 was branded for the flagship Pike Ride corridor along the Columbia Pike in Virginia, and 2676 from the same batch was branded for the Richmond Highway Express (REX) service in Virginia as well.  Finally, sister bus 2702 featured regular livery like bus 2582.  In fact, all 40ft. Orion VII's were delivered new as Virginia buses (Some moved on to the DC later in their careers as interim C40LF replacements).  The 2006 Orion VII delivery also featured 30ft. variants in the low 3000-series split between Virginia and the DC, as exemplified by  DC bus 3020 and Virginia bus 3033.

Subsequent New Flyer LF's/LFR's were represented here by 2007 C40LFR bus 2825 (WMATA's last-ever LFR-series bus), DE40LF buses 6021 and 6039 (WMATA's last-ever LF-series bus), DE40LFR buses 6040 and 6042; plus D40LFR buses 6176 and 6205.  The 6000's through the 6200's were new in 2006 and were all assigned to Maryland duties when new, while te 2800's were always based in the DC.

Finally, WMATA also introduced New Flyer DE42LFA's like 2008-09 buses 6396 and 6400.  They were the only LFA's from WMATA I've ever pictured, and they were new as Virginia buses.

Here is my WMATA Metrobus gallery:

WMATA Metrobus

Edited May 30, 2019 by Buzz2kb

[Mitsubishi Fuso 6512]

12 hours ago, Buzz2kb said:

My long-awaited retro thread on WMATA is finally here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you find Neoplan USA AN460A Transliner Articulated buses in Washington DC yet

[Buzz2kb]

3 hours ago, Mitsubishi Fuso 6512 said:

Did you find Neoplan USA AN460A Transliner Articulated buses in Washington DC yet

Hi!  I haven't finished the narrative part of my reply yet, and yes, the AN460 model is represented by bus 5310 there.

[Chris.A]

15 hours ago, Mitsubishi Fuso 6512 said:

Did you find Neoplan USA AN460A Transliner Articulated buses in Washington DC yet

They were all retired in 2015-2016, but DASH bus now has some ex-Bee Lines AN460s though. BTW, XN40 #2958 is back at FMR (if not already mentioned).

[Mitsubishi Fuso 6512]

On 5/30/2019 at 3:20 PM, Chris.A said:

They were all retired in 2015-2016, but DASH bus now has some ex-Bee Lines AN460s though. BTW, XN40 #2958 is back at FMR (if not already mentioned).

Did WMATA preserved Neoplan USA AN460A Transliner Articulated buses yet

[WMATAC40LF]

On 5/31/2019 at 10:52 PM, Mitsubishi Fuso 6512 said:

Did WMATA preserved Neoplan USA AN460A Transliner Articulated buses yet

No, and AFAIK they never had any intentions of doing so. All of them were removed from the property quite a while ago, and are likely scrapped.

On 5/25/2019 at 12:37 PM, Orion6025 said:

Well ultimately as long as the de40lf/lfr don’t retire just yet DC will still be interesting at least in my eyes!

Yeah I love those buses. The fleet plans from a couple of years ago stated that the DE40LFs would retire this year, but thankfully that's now very unlikely (they should last until next year at least). 

[Chris.A]

1 hour ago, WMATAC40LF said:

No, and AFAIK they never had any intentions of doing so. All of them were removed from the property quite a while ago, and are likely scrapped.

Yeah I love those buses. The fleet plans from a couple of years ago stated that the DE40LFs would retire this year, but thankfully that's now very unlikely (they should last until next year at least). 

I think the next wave(s) of XD40s will kill them off after the Orion Vs are gone. I do wonder about the 2007 C40LFRs though. Will the 2020 XN40s replace those? Cause the way I see it, the 2019 XN40s are to kill of most of them 2600 series Orion VIIs (and whatever 2005 buses are still on the road at this point if any) and the 2020 XN40s are to kill off the rest ( #2701-2730 and #3001-3035).

[Mitsubishi Fuso 6512]

3 hours ago, WMATAC40LF said:

No, and AFAIK they never had any intentions of doing so. All of them were removed from the property quite a while ago, and are likely scrapped.

Yeah I love those buses. The fleet plans from a couple of years ago stated that the DE40LFs would retire this year, but thankfully that's now very unlikely (they should last until next year at least). 

When 

[Chris.A]

23 hours ago, Mitsubishi Fuso 6512 said:

When 

They have been gone for about 2-3 years now.  BTW, #2659 is still in service. It was on the 28A heading west late afternoon yesterday (Sunday). Also, #2946-2957 are all back at FMR depot now, so expect a dozen or so more Orion VII OG CNGs to head to CET for the scrapper.

BTW, 3 more 2000 Orion Vs came back into service a few days ago, #2105 (officially) #2108, and #2212 are now on the roster. 2006 Orion VII OG CNG #2616 is also back on the roster but is now out of Bladensburg depot. Lastly, DE62LFA #5451 is listed as retired on the WMATA wiki, can anyone confirm that?

[Chris.A]

2010 DE42LFAs #6588, #6589, and #6590, West Ox -----< Sheppard's Parkway. Only #6591-6609 remain for now How are they not short on buses at this point. I guess West Ox will eventually lose all their DE42LFAs. 2019 XN40 #3224 is out of service from Bladensburg (along with #3235) due to a crash over the weekend. Will be the 3rd new CNG to be out after the aforementioned #3235 and #3112 (Is this bus still out from Four Mile Run depot?).

[Chris.A]

On 5/21/2019 at 9:44 PM, WMATAC40LF said:

A few Metrorail updates:

WMATA has pulled all 3000 Series trains (274 active cars) from service after a door opened on a moving Orange Line train. 

https://wamu.org/story/19/05/21/door-malfunction-prompts-metro-to-pull-3000-series-trains-from-service/ 

There are now about 650 7000s in service, and it looks like the rest will be delivered by the end of the year. 

The current three contenders for the 8000 Series contract appear to be Alstom, Hyundai Rotem, and CRRC. However, due to cybersecurity concerns, CRRC may be at a disadvantage (I for one hope they don't win). We'll see what happens...

https://wamu.org/story/19/04/15/senators-threaten-to-withhold-federal-funding-if-wmata-buys-chinese-railcars/ 

I doubt the XD40s will end up in Virginia, but who knows...

WMATA is apparently planning to replace the 30 ft Orion VII CNGs with 40 ft buses (2020 NFI XN40s). Seems like they are moving away from shorter buses (like other large transit authorities). Then again, there are very few (if any) routes that cannot handle 40 ft buses.

I can confirm that XN40 #3112 is back in service. Saw it parked at the upper Huntington Metrobus bays. Also saw 3 XDE60s doing the shuttle, two of which at Pentagon. Also caught Orion V #2113, Orion VII OG CNG #2681, and 2005 New Flyer DE40LF #6011 on the B29, G9, and C22 respectively. pretty good day to transit fan for the most part.

[Orion6025]

Are the Orion 5s and NABItics running on the WMATA Blue line shuttles or are they relegated to regular service? If so, what divisions/lines tend to get them the most?

On a slightly related note, DASH has acquired 12 MCI D4500s for the shuttle... at least 6 are ex-PRTC (So presumably 2002?) I haven't heard what the other 6 are. I was shocked when I heard this but I was able to confirm it through 4 separate sources in the know/closely involved with DASH so I assume it's true. Not sure when they're going in service though......... Doesn't really help that the Blue line shuttle doesn't track.

Also the two ex-PRTC Phantoms that DASH acquired are numbered 701-702

[Chris.A]

20 hours ago, Orion6025 said:

Are the Orion 5s and NABItics running on the WMATA Blue line shuttles or are they relegated to regular service? If so, what divisions/lines tend to get them the most?

On a slightly related note, DASH has acquired 12 MCI D4500s for the shuttle... at least 6 are ex-PRTC (So presumably 2002?) I haven't heard what the other 6 are. I was shocked when I heard this but I was able to confirm it through 4 separate sources in the know/closely involved with DASH so I assume it's true. Not sure when they're going in service though......... Doesn't really help that the Blue line shuttle doesn't track.

Also the two ex-PRTC Phantoms that DASH acquired are numbered 701-702

The Orion Vs are now only out of Bladensburg and Landover depots with Bladens having the most (around 25 units). I haven't seen a WMATA Orion V in Virginia since last summer, so I don't believe they are involved in the shuttles. The Nabi BRT 60 CNGs are basically retired now, having been replaced with the displaced XDE60s due to Northern depot closing down in a few weeks. As for DASH, I'm shocked that they have MCI's too. You know they are not going to keep all those oddball buses after the summer. I'm surprised they are not getting WMATA Orion Vs! The other 6 MCIs COULD be EX-LCT or MTA Maryland MCIs.

[Border City Transit]

7 hours ago, Chris.A said:

...due to Northern depot closing down in a few weeks.

Whoa! More on this, please!

Which divisions will be absorbing Northern's service?

I always thought Northern was the most underrated Metrobus division... just minding its own business, tucked in an easily overlooked corner of the District, serving two of the biggest routes in the system while not making much noise.

My theory: the S2-S4 and 52-54 run fairly well because Northern isn't "overextended", either in route line-up or service area size. They can really concentrate on running their big routes properly. Something tells me the S2-S4 just won't feel the same when lumped in with the rest of Montgomery or Bladensburg or whatever...

 

 

 

 

[Orion6025]

11 hours ago, Chris.A said:

The Nabi BRT 60 CNGs are basically retired now

Nvm i poked a bit around faecbook. Apparently very few have made it out onto the shuttle and the X2. But there have been so few sightings idk if it's a regular thing or not.

 

[Chris.A]

5 hours ago, Border City Transit said:

Whoa! More on this, please!

Which divisions will be absorbing Northern's service?

I always thought Northern was the most underrated Metrobus division... just minding its own business, tucked in an easily overlooked corner of the District, serving two of the biggest routes in the system while not making much noise.

My theory: the S2-S4 and 52-54 run fairly well because Northern isn't "overextended", either in route line-up or service area size. They can really concentrate on running their big routes properly. Something tells me the S2-S4 just won't feel the same when lumped in with the rest of Montgomery or Bladensburg or whatever...

 

 

 

 

Andrew's Airforce depot is suppose to be opening this summer, so I guess many of Northern's lines will go there. Kinda like how Cinder Bed got many of the former Royal street depot's (and Sheppard's Parkways VA routes) lines when opened.

1 hour ago, Orion6025 said:

Nvm i poked a bit around faecbook. Apparently very few have made it out onto the shuttle and the X2. But there have been so few sightings idk if it's a regular thing or not.

 

Haven't seen those buses in action since last December. I just assumed that the XDE60s replaced them.

[Chris.A]

On 6/6/2019 at 3:49 PM, Border City Transit said:

Whoa! More on this, please!

Which divisions will be absorbing Northern's service?

I always thought Northern was the most underrated Metrobus division... just minding its own business, tucked in an easily overlooked corner of the District, serving two of the biggest routes in the system while not making much noise.

My theory: the S2-S4 and 52-54 run fairly well because Northern isn't "overextended", either in route line-up or service area size. They can really concentrate on running their big routes properly. Something tells me the S2-S4 just won't feel the same when lumped in with the rest of Montgomery or Bladensburg or whatever...

 

 

 

 

2019 XN40s numbers #3240-3250 are all in service out of Bladensburg. Question is, will there be any blue buses in this batch of CNGs? We haven't had new blue buses since 2011 and we only have 24 more units to go before the end of this order and as it stands, most of the blue Orion VII OG CNGs are still active.

[Chris.A]

2018 XDE60 #5486 was reported working the 11Y line yesterday afternoon.

[Chris.A]

Orion V #2107 is back on the roster. Storage to Bladensburg. 35 Orion Vs active.