The A650 is an electric multiple unit subway car built for use on the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The cars were manufactured by the Italian company Breda at its Pistoia plant between 1988 and 1997 and are used on the Metro B and D Lines.

Details

The fleet of 104 vehicles was supplied in two orders. The first batch of vehicles (fleet numbers 501–530) were built between 1988 and 1993 and are propelled by chopper control and DC motors designed and manufactured by Garrett Air Research, later supported by

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

. The second batch of vehicles (fleet numbers 531–604), were built between 1995 and 1997 and include 3-phase AC 4-pole asynchronous traction motors and

VVVF A variable-frequency drive (VFD) is a type of motor drive used in electro-mechanical drive systems to control AC motor speed and torque by varying motor input frequency and, depending on topology, to control associated voltage or current vari ...

inverter control using GTO thyristor technology, manufactured by

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

. Both types of vehicles use electronic sliding pocket doors, air conditioning and braking systems built by

Wabtec Wabtec Corporation (derived from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is an American company formed by the merger of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) and MotivePower Industries Corporation in 1999. It is headquartered ...

. Costing $1.5 million each, the trains usually run in four to six car consists, and feature

automatic train control Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver d ...

, air conditioning, emergency intercoms, wheelchair spaces and emergency braking. The fleet is maintained in a yard south of

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

on Santa Fe Drive near 4th Street on the west bank of the

Los Angeles River , name_etymology = , image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg , image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge , image_size = 300 , map = LARmap.jpg , map_size ...

in Downtown Los Angeles.

Replacement

The A650 series are expected to be replaced in 2024, which is the same year that the first phase of the

Purple Line Extension The Purple Line Extension, formerly known as the Westside Subway Extension and the Subway to the Sea, is a new heavy-rail subway corridor in Los Angeles County, California, extending the D Line (Purple Line) from its current terminus at in Kor ...

opens. LACMTA has signed a contract with CRRC Changchun to acquire new heavy rail vehicles, dubbed the HR4000 series.

In popular culture

Because Los Angeles is the home of many television and production agencies, A650 subway cars are featured in countless commercials, TV shows and movies. The Breda A650 was depicted as being burned in the tunnel between

MacArthur Park MacArthur Park (originally Westlake Park) is a park dating back to the late 19th century in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, it was renamed after General Douglas MacArthur, and later designated City of Los Angeles H ...

and Metro Center in the 1997 film ''Volcano'', when a lava flow through the tunnel causes all passengers and conductor to pass out on board. The A650 was featured in ''Speed'' when the emergency brake feature stops and the train derails. It is also featured in ''SWAT'' and it is seen taking a nosedive plummet from a mountain as the cataclysmic events of December 21, 2012, unfold in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

References

{{reflist A650 Los Angeles Metro Rail Electric multiple units of the United States 750 V DC multiple units Train-related introductions in 1993

Details

Replacement

In popular culture

See also

References