CapMetro adds more cars to Austin commuter line
Written by Railway Age Staff
The city of Austin, Tex., is counting on a bigger fleet to translate into bigger ridership for its MetroRail commuter system.
Operator Capitol Metropolitan Transit Authority recently took delivery of four new Swiss-made Stadler GTW diesel-powered articulated railcars to augment its existing fleet of six cars.
MetroRail in 2010 began service on a single 32-mile line from the Texas capitol downtown to Leander in the suburbs, and counts more than 66,000 boardings per month. It added the additional cars when annual events such as South by Southwest turned travel into standing room only for riders.
Each articulated train has a capacity of 200 passengers, 108 seated and 92 standing, as well as spaces for passengers with wheelchairs and bicycles.
The new cars entered service on March 22 and will be tested over the next five months.
