Three New Rail Cars

As mentioned here and here, WMATA is testing out two new Metro car configurations. Imagine my delight when I boarded the train for my trip home. I rode in the new carpet-less car. Here are the differences I've noted:

• When boarding, no plexiglass near doors.
• No center facing seats at the first and last doors.
• No center facing seats and no partitions on the right hand side of the middle doors.
• Quadruple the vertical bars (16 in total now)
• Zero floor-to-ceiling poles in the middle of the standing area (makes cars feel downright spacious)
• Electronic sign stating line color and next stop in the middle of the car (the new rail cars they rolled out a few years ago only have them at the end)

I think it was a huge improvement. As people boarded they were able to quickly move into the train, not having to get past the side partitions, turn a corner, push past people stuck to the pole, etc. Now I want to ride in the rail car with bench seating. If I get the chance I will definitely report.