A Los Angeles Metro Rail P2000 at Sierra Madre Villa station of the then Gold Line. Pasadena, CA, May 2007.
(Buchanan-Hermit, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons)
SIEMENS P2000
The P2000 is an articulated light rail vehicle used on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system, manufactured by Siemens-Duewag. The P2000 trains were ordered to supplement the fleet of the C Line, then known as the Green Line. P2000 trains originally serviced the Gold Line, but were later transferred to the Blue Line (now A Line) in 2012.
P2000 trains continue to operate on the A Line as of 2024, and are expected to operate for an additional 15 years following an overhaul program that began in 2020.
Interior of a Siemens P2000 light rail vehicle (LRV) on the Los Angeles Metro Rail C Line.
(METRO96, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Background
In July 1992, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission issued a request for proposals for light rail vehicles for use on the then-under construction Green Line. Four bids were received – Bombardier Transportation, Morrison–Knudsen, Siemens-Duewag and Sumitomo/Nippon Sharyo. In June 1993, a contract was awarded to Siemens-Duewag to deliver 72 light rail vehicles at a cost of $2.7 million per vehicle. The contract was signed in February 1994.
Construction
Siemens-Duewag opened a manufacturing facility in Carson, operated in partnership with AAI Corporation, to build the car shells. The car shells, the key structural components of the train, were the first to be manufactured in the United States for 50 years. Final assembly was performed in Sacramento.
Following cost cutting in 1995, 20 trains were cut from the contract. 52 trains were eventually built between 1996 and 1999.
Service history
The first train was delivered to Metro in January 1998, and trains entered service on the Green Line in July 2000. Introduction into service was delayed slightly, drawing criticism from the news media that highlighted the P2000 contract's high cost and Metro's contemporary fiscal issues. The trains were subsequently used on the Green (C) and Blue (A) lines.
The P2000 was used on the Gold Line (L) between 2003 and 2012 and the A and Expo (E) lines thereafter. It returned in revenue service on the L Line in 2023 shortly before the Regional Connector began revenue service and the L Line was discontinued. It had since been exclusive to the C Line, until its rocky return to the A Line in late 2024. Ever since its rocky return, P2000s were removed from the C Line altogether.
In June 2013, Metro awarded a fixed price contract to PAMCO Machine Works in Monrovia, California, to overhaul the powered axle assemblies for the then thirteen year old P2000 trains.
The entire fleet was refurbished by Alstom, on Mare Island in Vallejo, California. The overhaul program includes major mechanical work, new graphics, and maintenance of control systems. Metro received the first refurbished P2000 train in October 2020, and expected to receive one train per month until all 52 trains were overhauled.
Retirement
In 2024, Metro began work to replace the P2000 trains, which are scheduled to be retired in the early 2030s.
Technical specifications
The P2000 trains feature automatic train control, air conditioning, emergency intercoms, wheelchair spaces and emergency braking. Refurbished cars feature new door control systems, communication systems, and HVAC technology.
The P2000 trains are capable of multiple-unit operation with some other light rail vehicles in service on the Metro Rail system, including the P3010 and the now-retired P865.
P2000 light rail vehicles are equipped with automatic train operation technology. This technology was intended to be used on the Green Line (later the C Line), enabled by the line's lack of grade crossings. Despite this capability, the trains are manually operated.
Overview
In service: 2001–present
Manufacturer: Siemens Mobility
Constructed: 1996–1999
Entered service: 2001–2003
Refurbished: Alstom, 2019—2024
Number built: 52
Formation: Single unit
Fleet numbers: 201–250, 301–302
Capacity: 100 (76 seats)
Operators
Depots: Division 11 (Long Beach); Division 24 (Monrovia)
Lines served: A Line
Specifications
Car body construction: LAHT
Train length: 268 ft 8 in (81.9 m) (three cars)
Car length: 89 ft 7 in (27.3 m)
Width: 8 ft 8 in (2.65 m)
Height: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) (without pantograph)
Floor height: 3 ft 2.4 in (975 mm)
Doors: 8 (4 per side)
Articulated sections: 2 (one articulation)
Wheelbase: 6 ft 11 in (2.1 m)
Maximum speed: 70 mph (110 km/h)
Weight: 98,000 lb (44 t)
Traction system
As built: AEG/Westinghouse GTO–VVVF
After repowering: Alstom OPTONIX IGBT–VVVF
Traction motors: 4 × 185 hp (138 kW)
Power output: 740 hp (552 kW)
Acceleration: 3 mph/s (4.4 ft/s2; 1.3 m/s2)
Deceleration: 3.5 mph/s (5.1 ft/s2; 1.6 m/s2)
Electric system: 750 V DC overhead catenary
Current collector: Brecknell Willis & Faiveley pantographs
UIC classification: Bo′+2′+Bo′
AAR wheel arrangement: B-2-B
Safety system: ATC, Emergency brakes, ATP, ATO
Coupling system: Tomlinson
Track gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
