Hyundai Rotem Wins $664MM LA Metro Order
Written by International Railway Journal Staff
(Hyundai Rotem Photograph)
A Korean manufacturer will deliver 182 cars to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA) in time for the 2028 LA Olympics.
Hyundai Rotem has beaten rival Stadler to win an order from LACMTA to supply 182 HR5000 cars for the LA Metro.
The contract is valued at around $663.7 million and includes the provision for a follow-on order of 50 cars at an additional and as yet unspecified cost.
Hyundai Rotem will deliver two-car trains—each with a capacity of 245 passengers—designed to enable up to three trains to run in multiple. They will operate on LA Metro’s B (Red) Line, which runs for 16.4 miles between downtown LA and northern Hollywood, and the D (Purple) Line, which runs between downtown LA and Koreatown (6.4 miles).
Hyundai Rotem has committed to delivering the new trains ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and Paralympics, when passenger numbers are expected to soar.
“Based on the experience and capabilities we have accumulated while carrying out numerous local projects in the United States, we will do our best to deliver electric trains that will satisfy both local citizens and tourists,” a spokesperson for Hyundai Rotem said.
LACMTA has stressed that the contract was decided on factors in addition to price, including contract fulfillment ability, performance, quality and technology. Stadler queried this bid assessment methodology, but LACTMA has insisted that Hyundai Rotem, whose bid was the most expensive, had still won.
Last summer, LACMTA took delivery of the first of a new fleet of HR4000 trains ordered from CRRC in December 2016 and assembled at the Chinese supplier’s plant in Springfield, Mass. The 64 cars, which arrived significantly later than expected, could finally enter service later this year, also on the B and D lines.
The order for the HR4000 trains was the first from a $647 million framework deal that included options for a further 218 vehicles, which LACMTA has not exercised.
