Why are the front of commuter trains flat?

2.25K views

I’ve lived in or near 3 different cities (DC, Philly, and Trenton) and all of their local metro trains have had flat fronts. Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to be shaped more like cars or Amtrak trains when it comes to aerodynamics? I don’t understand how the flat front design could be efficient.

In: Engineering

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

After you factor in all the weight of the entire train, and the long snake like shape, and the lower speed, i don’t think there is much savings at all. The cost savings of having similar shaped cars (and manifacturing/maintenance savings) probably outweighs the energy savings of having a different shape.

You are viewing 1 out of 5 answers, click here to view all answers.