Metro is testing four types of rubber and stone railcar floors as the transit agency moves away from using carpeting, which officials say is expensive and difficult to maintain.
Metro has used carpet floors since its earliest days but began testing rubber, light-gray floors in two if its new 6000-series railcars in November.
Early this year, the agency began testing two additional styles of floors — a black one with gray and white flecks and a gray one with black flecks.
Metro now is also trying out gray quartz flooring in one railcar.
“Rail systems have been moving away from carpet for years,” Metro General Manager John Catoe said. “Non-carpet floors are easier, less expensive and more environmentally friendly to maintain. They also don’t have a moldy smell that some carpeted railcars have after getting wet, and it is stain-resistant.”
Replacing carpet in each railcar costs Metro $5,200, which the agency does about every five years.
The non-carpet floors, which cost about 5 percent more than carpeted ones, will last for 20 years, officials said.
Rail systems in Miami, Chicago, Seattle and Canada, and some MARC and VRE trains use the rubber flooring, which has shallow grooves that officials said may trap water better than the smooth stone.
Orlando, Fla.’s Monorail trains have the stone flooring.
Metro has installed cameras in all of the test railcars, which officials said will help them gauge customer reaction and determine whether the nonabsorbent floors cause riders to slip on rainy days. Catoe said he conducted his own slip test Tuesday.
“I did wet my shoes out in the puddle on the [platform] paver tile, which you can slip on, and then came in here and it was better,” he said, noting that in terms of style, he preferred the black flooring to the gray.
Officials said they plan to conduct the tests for about six months before making a decision.
“We’re going to look at ease of installation, durability and maintenance,” said Gene Garzone, Metro’s general superintendent for railcar maintenance. “We’re looking at maybe getting some good feedback by September.”
