5000 series (CTA)

5000 series
In service	2011–present
Manufacturer	Bombardier Transportation
Built at	Plattsburgh, New York
Constructed	2009–2015
Entered service	2011
Number under construction	326
Number built	388
Number in service	376
Formation	Married pair
Fleet numbers	5001–5714[citation needed]
Capacity	34 seated, 123 total
Operator	Chicago Transit Authority
Depot(s)	54th Avenue Yard 61st Yard Lower 63rd Yard 98th Street Yard Ashland Yard Harlem Yard Howard Yard
Line(s) served	Pink Line      Green Line      Red Line
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel
Car length	48 feet (14.63 m)
Width	9 feet 4 inches (2.84 m)
Height	12 feet (3.66 m)
Doors	4 per car
Maximum speed	Design: 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) Service: 55 miles per hour (89 km/h)
Weight	57,000 pounds (26,000 kg) empty
Traction system	Bombardier MITRAC AC Propulsion system
Electric system(s)	Third rail, 600 V DC
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	Regenerative and Pneumatic
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The 5000 series is a series of Chicago 'L' car built by Bombardier Transportation. A $577 million order for 406 cars was placed in 2006.^[1] In July 2011, the CTA ordered 300 more cars for $331 million as an option on the first contract.^[2]

The 5000-series reuses a numbering set used on 4 experimental articulated train-sets that were in service from 1947 to 1985. Only 2 currently survive, 5001 at the Fox River Trolley Museum and 5002 at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Specifications

The first 10 cars began testing in passenger service on April 19, 2010.^[3] Following completion of the testing phase and acceptance of the rail cars, a dozen cars are expected to be delivered every month until all cars are in service.

Seating is longitudinal, with passengers facing a wider aisle. This has increased capacity 20-30%, to a total of 123.^[4] Vertical stanchions and horizontal overhead bars with straps have been added throughout much of the car to give standing passengers more to hold onto.^[5] New amenities include seven security cameras per car, new electronic signs making announcements visually, and "active" system maps showing the location of the train on the line.^[6]

Features and usage

The 5000 series use technologies such as AC traction equipment^[2] that will enhance operations and maintenance and provide a smoother, more comfortable ride.^[7] Cars 5001–5114 originally came with amber LED destination signs; cars beginning with unit 5115–5116 came equipped with multicolored LED destination signs that can be programmed for the color of the line(s) that they will eventually operate on (the amber-only signs in the existing cars began to be replaced with the multicolored signs starting mid-August 2012 with units 5095–5096 and 5097–5098, which were originally delivered to the CTA with the amber signs but were retrofit with the colored signs before they were placed into service).^[8]

The first cars were placed into regular service on November 8, 2011, on the Pink Line.^[9][10] In addition to the Pink Line, these cars currently make up the entire Green Line fleet, and make up slightly less than half of the Red Line fleet.

Issues

The fleet was taken out of service for inspections in December 2011 concerning irregularities found in the wheel components of the cars.^[11] They went back into service on May 7, 2012.

References

Further reading

• "CTA Car Assignments". Chicago-'L'.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 
• "5000-series Cars". Chicago-'L'.org. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 
• Hilkevitch, Jon (April 15, 2010). "CTA to unveil new rail cars". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 

External links

• Official CTA page on the 5000-series trains
• CTA Connections - feature on 5000-series trains

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 5000 series.