Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC | Metro Fleet of the Future Expo

"With liberty and transportation for all" is a great motto. Also, not only are those wraps great, they don't block the windows! Take notes, literally every other metro system.

Those views of the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin are awe-inspiring! A fun fact, DC doesn't have the biggest collection of cherry blossoms in the US! That title goes to Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ! Branch Brook Park has over 5,300 of them in 18 varieties! Branch Brook is the oldest county park in the US, and the cherry blossoms have been there since 1927 when Caroline Bamberger Fuld (co-founder of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study) donated about 2,000 of them to the park after falling in love with them during a Japan trip. The park is served by the Newark Light Rail's Newark City Subway line, and Branch Brook Park (formerly Franklin Ave) was once the terminus of the Newark City Subway until it was extended to Grove Street in Bloomfield in 2002

Very cool. Can't wait for the 8000 trains & the open gangways.

The new trains look more "European" on the inside. The wraps on the existing trains are looking very cool.

So cool they let you sit up front in the driver's cab! You'd make a great operator for the DC Metro! Love the 8000 Series! Besides the open gangways, it's incredibly important for trains to have space for not just cyclists but also strollers for parents who don't have a car! Having open gangways on a train is very much safer, as open gangway trains provide a continuous line of sight throughout the entire train, it deters criminal activity and allows for better monitoring and faster response to incidents or emergencies. It also prevents subway surfing by eliminating the ability to ride between cars! They're not only great for accommodating more passengers, safety, and improving crowd flow, but also promoting accessibility by making it easier for passengers with disabilities or mobility challenges to move freely within the train!

More cities should use fun wraps like this

Takamine's a pioneer of biotechnology! His most notable achievement was the isolation of the chemical adrenalin, also known as epinephrine. This was the first pure hormone to be isolated from natural sources! The 1912 cherry blossoms were shipped from Yokohama on board the SS Awa Maru, bound for Seattle (the Awa Maru was an 1899 ship built by Mitsubishi that regularly sailed between Yokohama and Seattle). Upon arrival, they were transferred to insulated freight cars for the shipment to DC! On March 27, 1912, Helen Herron Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin, about 125 feet south of what is now Independence Avenue SW. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the first lady presented a bouquet of "American Beauty" roses to Viscountess Chinda. These two original trees still stand several hundred yards west of the John Paul Jones Memorial, located at the terminus of 17th Street SW! From 1913 to 1920, trees of the Somei-Yoshino variety, which comprised 1800 of the gift, were planted around the Tidal Basin. Trees of the other 11 cultivars, and the remaining Yoshinos, were planted in East Potomac Park. In 1927, a group of American school children re-enacted the initial planting. This event is recognized as the first DC cherry blossom festival, but as you mentioned, DC officially sponsored a three-day celebration of the flowering cherry trees in 1934.

The cherry blossoms are beautiful, and we experienced them ten years ago when our son was a student at University of Maryland. It was always convenient to take Metro into DC from College Park. Maybe we'll make another trip there in 2027 when, let's hope, the Purple Line is finally in operation.

I'm so glad The Metro doesn't cover their windows with their wraps! I hope to get there during cherry blossom season some.

Lindsey has a new backpack! Speaking of train wraps, the Metro wraps seemed to leave the windows clear, unlike the wraps Brightline used for the inaugural Orlando route. I need to learn more about the wrap design, production, and installation of train wraps.

Sooooooo beautiful, I can't wait to see a Cherry Blossom display like that, although it'll probably be in Japan! And those train wraps are cool, just a nice touch to make the journey more fun! :face-blue-smiling:

TRA, best letters of the day.

Notice the windows are bigger then on the 7000 series cars. Instead of 3 small windows they have 2 large windows

Those seats look like the seats on the 7000 series

NGL, the front of the 8000 series trains kinda reminds me of the NYC Subway's R211s.

Bro the Wmata got a whole giant I-Phone 13 for the new screen. 🤯 19:29

Wraps also give buzz to the system for almost no cost to WMATA (depending if only one vehicle gets a specific wrap, how many concurrent wraps there are-since Pride runs straight into July 4 and Christmas has basically fully invaded November)

That headlight design actually reminds me of Oslo metro trains

It's so cool that DC celebrates their cherry blossoms with transit wraps. Are the Cherry Blossom FestivalSmarTrip cards reloadable?

thanks for sharing, and i think more cities should wrap there fleet