In Warsaw, just about every city dweller will be able to afford to take a brand new BMW to work. It’s not some high-end car sharing service — it’s the brand new Siemens Metro Inspiro train, penned by BMW DesignworksUSA.
The Polish capital announced that they’ve inked a $375 million deal with Siemens to provide Inspiro light-rail trains to replace aging cars on the Warsaw Metro’s Line 1. The cars will also serve as the primary trainset for Line 2, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed by 2014
Just because BMW DesignworksUSA is a subsidiary of the BMW Group doesn’t mean Metro riders should expect the acceleration of an M3 in-between stops. However, it does mean that the Inspiro trains will feature extremely forward-thinking design cues. For instance, the train’s unique front end looks like a face, which is intended to be a “trust-building” feature for passengers. The train’s doors feature lights that let passengers know how much time they have left before the doors close, which the designers hope will put an end to the rugby scrum that takes place whenever train doors open anywhere in the world.
Those fancy doors open into a modernest palace, a first-class airport lounge just awaiting the Sharpies and keys of bored teenagers. The seats are made of birch and the floor is made of cork, which means the trains are 97.5 percent recyclable, and not just as artificial reefs.
Our favorite interior feature is a handrail we’d actually want to hold on to. Called “light trees,” each metal pole flowers into multiple branches for multiple riders’ hands. The trees also feature ambient lighting that corrects the color balance of the interior depending on the time of day, even when the trains are underground. We’re pretty sure that the lights on Inspiros running in Manhattan would be set to “dingy yellow” 24/7.
BMW isn’t the only famed automotive designer to participate in public transportation. Trams in Athens, railcars in Zurich and trolleys on Boston’s Green Line all have bodies by Pininfarina, and for the Warsaw contract the Inspiro narrowly beat out an offering from Skoda.
Photos: BMW
