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5/13/2024
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has retired its 2000-series trains.
Introduced in the early 1980s, the trains have surpassed their useful life, WMATA officials said in a press release. The trains generally are built to last about 40 years.
Reliability has decreased over the years and parts are getting harder to procure, WMATA officials said. Plus, the 2000-series trains had issues nearly four times as often as the newer 7000-series trains, they added.
Over the past 40-plus years, the 2000-series trains operated nearly 200 million miles and carried more than 775 million passengers.
Metro’s long-term fleet strategy also calls for phasing out 3000-series trains starting in 2027. At the same time, WMATA expects to start introducing the first of at least 256 new 8000-series "Fleet of the Future" train cars. The remaining fleet will be made up of 6000-series trains, and newer 7000- and 8000-series trains.
Until the 8000-series arrive, the agency expects to have enough trains to accommodate current peak ridership and even up to 33% more ridership growth before sustained crowding, WMATA officials said.