USA: The rolling stock manufacturer has signed a contract worth $210 mln with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) for the refurbishment of 74 metro cars of series A650 by 2029.
It is planned to equip the vehicles, which were produced between 1988 and 1997 by Italian AnsaldoBreda (acquired by Hitachi Rail in 2015), with a new traction control and monitoring system, as well as air-conditioning and other onboard systems.
To fulfil the localisation terms of the LACMTA contract complying with the Buy American Act, Woojin is going to build a new plant in the USA. It is worth noting that the South Korean manufacturer has a production site in Santa Fe Springs (Los Angeles County), which was opened in 2011. However, there is no open-source information about the projects this plant has been engaged in.
Formerly, the metro cars were to be renovated by Talgo. Nonetheless, in 2022 LACMTA terminated the contract due to violation of the delivery deadlines by the Spanish company. Metro trains for Los Angeles are currently supplied by Chinese CRRC and South Korean Hyundai Rotem.
