[IMAGE]Railcar-Seats-.jpg[/IMAGE] The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) is testing five different types of wool fabric seats inside its new series 6000 railcars for the next six months.

The transit agency will test two different types of fabric, Aura and Vigor. The Aura fabric comes in three different designs and colors: blue dots, red dots, and blue squares. The second fabric, Vigor, comes in two different designs and colors, balls and seals and gray rainbow.

During the test phase, Metro will monitor ease of replacement, durability, ease of cleaning, overall costs against the existing seat covers, and the appearance of pattern and color. Upon conclusion of its evaluation, Metro will select one of the new fabrics for installation on its next order of railcars.

In addition to the new seat fabrics being tested, Metro has been testing new floors, recently completed installation of spring-loaded overhead handles on its series 6000 railcars and is currently installing nylon straps on up to 266 railcars to give shorter customers something to hold on to for balance and comfort while they stand.

Metro plans to complete this installation by the end of the year.