lifespan

What is the lifespan of metrorail including trains,signals,traction power and other equipment as compared with the nyc,boston,cta,septa/patco,bart and lax counterparts?

"rail10"
What is the lifespan of metrorail including trains,signals,traction power and other equipment as compared with the nyc,boston,cta,septa/patco,bart and lax counterparts?

I can’t speak for the other properties but here is what I can tell you about metrorail:

Rolling Stock:
- The 1k cars were put in service in 1976, their are tentatively slated to be retired in 2015. I would expect cars procured after the 1k cars to last at least as long.

Signals:
- The oldest signal enclosures on the railroad are still in use, I would not expect for them to be replaced any time soon.
- The relay based hardware that drives the signal have been replaced and or upgraded on the oldest segment of the system within the last 5 years.
- The newest segments of the system use microprocessor based hardware.

Traction power:
- WMATA started a program to increase the output of their substation about 8 years ago.
- In some location total replacement was done to both switch gear and rectifier transformer packages.

Track:
- Rail, tangent 8 to 10 years.
- Curves 18 months to 5 years depending on vertical and horizontal curvature.
- Ties, track fastener hardware 10 to 15 years.
- Direct fixation track fastener hardware installed underground has a longer service life then the same hardware installed on the surface.
- Most of the track fastener in subway in the older segments of the system are original.

Turnouts:
- Terminal interlockings total replacement 5 to 6 years
- Lesser used interlockings total replacement 10 years.

Escalators:
- Depending on who the originally manufacture was and what the vertical rise of the escalator is determines whether total replacement is done.
- As an example the Q street entrance escalator at Dupont Circle are original, they have been totally overhauled at least once sense they were installed in 1977.
- The escalator in the entrance at Foggy Bottom have been total replaced at least once. Both examples were installed within 18 months of each other and were of the same manufacture.
- As far as I know none of the mezzanine to platform escalator in subway stations have been total replaced most of the ones in the older segments of the system have been totally overhauled at least once.

Elevators:
- Hydraulic totally overhaul 10 to 12 years
- Traction totally overhaul 14 to 16 years.