Light Rail Car Takes Off on a Joy Ride

It was kind of like a kid showing off his newest toy.

The first car of the new Los Angeles-Long Beach light rail line pulled out of the maintenance yard Tuesday and then barreled down the mainline with a small assemblage of reporters, photographers and camera operators aboard.

The event was organized by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to demonstrate the capabilities of the transit car and to point out the need for safety around the tracks.

Unveiled only last week, the blue- and orange-striped car ran along a section of track being used for testing near Spring Street in Long Beach as Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Jacki Bacharach, who chairs the commission’s Rail Transit Committee, extolled its virtues.

“I expected it to be great,” she said. “I’m thrilled.”

The rail car offered a quiet ride. At its maximum speed of 55 m.p.h., the loudest sounds were the hissing of the air-conditioning fan and the whir of its electric motors.

The driver, Kiyohiro Kazahaya, blew the car’s gong and whistle a few times for effect. Bystanders stopped to gawk at what is expected to become a familiar sight when the 22-mile, $752-million line opens its doors to passengers. That’s scheduled to occur in July, 1990.

The 230-passenger car was so new that dark blue fabric seats were still sheathed in plastic wrap and plywood planks covered the floor. Commission officials said they are testing the car extensively before accepting it from its makers, Sumitomo-Nippon Sharyo of Japan.

As the car made several runs back and forth past reporters at its Spring Street crossing, Bacharach pointed out that the car is so quiet and fast that people need to take extra care to stay out of its way.

The cars need up to 800 feet to stop, she said. Motorists will only have about 13 to 18 seconds of warning before the car breezes through an intersection.

“People need to respect the car,” Bacharach said.