Washington Metro rolling stock

The rolling stock of the Washington Metro system consists of 1,242 75-foot (22.86 m) cars that were acquired across seven orders. All cars operate as married pairs (consecutively numbered even-odd), with systems shared across the pair. The 7000-series cars, the system's newest, have an operator's cab in only one of each married pair's cars and operate in groups of three or four.[1]

The system's track gauge is 4 ft 8+1⁄4 in (1,429 mm) – 0.25 inches (6 mm) narrower than 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.[2] Also, at 40 inches (1,016 mm) above top of rail,[2] the floor height of the cars is lower than that of most other East Coast mass transit systems, including New York City, Boston[3] and Philadelphia.

As of May 2024, Metro owns a fleet of 1,216 cars, 1,208 of which were in active revenue service.

Active railcars
Series Manufacturer Number purchased [4] Entered service Planned retirement Currently owned [4] Currently active [4] Planned replacement
3000 Breda 290 1987 2027–2029 284 280 8000-Series
6000 Alstom 184 2006 184 180[5]
+ 2 as money train		 8000-series
(if option order is exercised)[6]
7000 Kawasaki 748 2015 748 748[7]
Retired railcars
Series Manufacturer Number purchased [4] Entered service Retired Currently owned [4] Replacement
1000 Rohr 300 1976 2016–2017 2 preserved[8] 7000-series
2000 Breda 76 1982 2024[9] 2 preserved 8000-series
4000 Breda 100 1991 2017[10] 2 preserved 7000-series
5000 CAF / AAI 192 2001 2018–2019[11] 2 preserved
Future railcars
Series Manufacturer Number purchased [4] Entered service (estimated)
8000 Hitachi[12] 256
(with options for up to 800)[13] (proposed)		 2027[14]
  1. ^ @wmataGM (January 10, 2024). ""7k as 6 car trains"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "WMATA Summary – Level Rail Car Performance For Design And Simulation" (PDF). WMATA. October 13, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 14, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  3. ^ Washington, Robin (February 26, 2015). "On the T, one size doesn't fit all". The Boston Globe. p. A.13. [dead link] Alt URL (Archive link is only to one-sentence abstract; subscription required)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Metrorail Fleet Management Plan" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. December 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  5. ^ "4A Metrorail Fleet Strategy" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Washington Metro starts next fleet renewal". Metro Report International. September 6, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference 7000 series return 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ WMATA [@wmata] (October 27, 2017). "Milestone: As of today, all 1000-series passenger cars (except #1000-1001 which are being preserved) have been sent to scrap yard" (Tweet). Retrieved November 10, 2017 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "The end of an era: Metro to retire the 2000-series train". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  10. ^ Tuss, Adam (February 13, 2018). "Say Goodbye: Metro Retires Its Most Unreliable Trains". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference EOL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ George, Justin. "Metro selects Hitachi Rail to build its next-generation rail car". Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  13. ^ "Metro begins 8000-series railcar procurement". WMATA. September 4, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  14. ^ "Metro's Fleet of the Future". WMATA. Retrieved April 4, 2024.