Breda A650

Breda A650
Manufacturer AnsaldoBreda
Entered service 1993
Number built 72
Formation Married pairs
Capacity 180 (61 seats)
Operator(s) Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Line(s) served Purple Line
Red Line
Specifications
Car body construction Stainless steel
Car length 75 ft (22.86 m)
Width 10 ft (3.05 m)
Height 12 ft (3.66 m)
Floor height 3.73 ft (1.14 m)
Maximum speed 70 mph (110 km/h)
Weight 80,000 pounds (36,290 kg)
Acceleration 3 mph/s (1.34 m/s2)
Deceleration 2.2 mph/s (0.98 m/s2)
Power supply 650–950 V
Electric system(s) Third rail
Current collection method Contact shoe
Safety system(s) Automatic Train Control
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Notes
[1]

The Breda A650 is an electric multiple unit heavy rail car built used in the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system. It was manufactured by Breda and is used on the Metro's Red and Purple Lines.

The fleet of 72 vehicles was supplied in two orders. The first vehicles (fleet numbers 501–530) were built between 1988 and 1993 and are propelled by a DC traction system supplied by Westinghouse. The remaining vehicles (fleet numbers 531–604), were built between 1995 and 1997 and include AC propulsion and intercar safety barriers. The acceleration for this last group of cars is almost identical to that of the 1000 series cars used by the Washington Metro because they both use the same General Electric traction motors.

Costing $1.5 million each, the trains usually run in 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.

Fiction and movies

The Breda A650 was burned in the tunnel between MacArthur Park and Metro Center in the 1997 film Volcano when a flow of lava flowed down the tunnel and nearly killed everyone on board. The A650 was also featured in Speed when Jack Traven(Keanu Reeves) finds that the Emergency stop malfunctions and it jumps the track. It is featured yet again in the movie SWAT as well as "The Italian Job". The Breda A650 is also seen taking a nosedive plummet from a mountain as the cataclysmic events of December 21, 2012, unfold in 2012. It is also featured in countless commercials and TV shows.

See also

References

  1. "Los Angeles HRV" (PDF). AnsaldoBreda. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
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