Metro combatting smelly train cars with new deodorizers

Metro trains could soon smell a lot sweeter, thanks to a plan the transit agency announced last week to install deodorizers in every one of its rail cars.

Though Metro CEO Phil Washington claimed in October that the agency steam cleans seats on trains and buses daily, many riders have complained about the unpleasant aromas that tend to settle into the cars after several hours of ferrying about passengers with wildly varying personal hygiene habits.

The new deodorizers will first be installed in Red and Purple Line trains before expanding to the rest of the system. According to The Source, the charcoal-filled devices absorb odors while simultaneously releasing a pleasant lavender-vanilla scent. Metro promises this new aroma will be “very very slight.”

Meanwhile, the agency also recently spent $178 million on 64 brand new subway cars—with hundreds more potentially on the way. The new cars are in part meant to facilitate the under-construction Purple Line extension, but, with sleek new interiors and now deodorizers, they should also help to improve rider experience right away.

• How We Roll, April 20: deodorizers for the subway [The Source]
• Metro steam cleans bus seats daily and other highlights from an AMA with Phil Washington [Curbed LA]
• Metro buys 64 new rail cars from China for the Red and Purple lines [Curbed LA]