Breda A650


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

Details

The fleet of 104 vehicles was supplied in two orders:
The first vehicles were built between 1988 and 1993 and are propelled by a Chopper traction control system manufactured by Westinghouse.
The remaining vehicles, were built between 1995 and 1997 and include AC inverter traction control and intercar safety barriers.
The acceleration for this last group of cars is almost identical to that of the now-retired 1000 series cars found on the Washington Metro because they both utilize the same General Electric AC traction motors.
These cars share a design very similar to the Budd Universal Transit Vehicle, which was built between 1982 and 1986 for the Baltimore Metro Subway and the Miami Metrorail; in fact, Budd's UTV was originally intended to be the Metro's train, but as Budd/TransitAmerica stopped railcar manufacturing in 1987, the Italian Breda company was contracted to build an as-similar-as-possible variant. As such, the A650 shares the UTV's bodyshell, layout and general appearance.
Costing $1.5 million each, the trains usually run in four to six car consists, and feature automatic train control, air conditioning, emergency intercoms, wheelchair spaces and emergency braking.
The fleet is maintained in a yard south of Union Station on Santa Fe Drive near 4th Street on the west bank of the Los Angeles River in Downtown Los Angeles.

Replacement

The A650 series will be fully replaced in 2024. LACMTA has signed a contract with CRRC 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 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.