Riders pick new colors for inside PATCO trains

Color Palette Blue No. 3 has defeated No. 2 as the color scheme for seats, floors and walls for the entire fleet of PATCO cars.

Yellow and green, the interior colors since 1969, will be replaced in all 120 cars of the High Speed Line serving Camden County and Center City Philadelphia.

Last month, blue in general won out over green and brown in voting online and at the 13 stations between the township of Lindenwold and 16th and Locusts Streets in the city.

Then blues went head to head to head.

No. 3, which beat No. 2 by just 38 votes out of 1,266 cast, includes a medium blue, a couple of lighter blue-grays, white, and a two mixtures of hues, including a speckled blue for the floors. A rendering also shows dark gray or blue handgrabs and armrests.

The new seats will have higher backs for increased comfort and safety.

The rehabbing of the fleet, which will take several years, is expected to cost $194 million.

PATCO, a unit of the Delaware River Port Authority, decided on refurbishing the cars instead of buying new ones because the bodies and truck assemblies - including frames, wheels, motors and gear boxes - had been maintained well enough to be reused.

Systems being replaced or updated include brakes, train controls, door operators, heating and air conditioning, and lighting. Operator cabs will be enclosed.

The first 26 cars are being overhauled at Alstom Transportation's plant in Hornell, N.Y.

They were transported there by tractor-trailer.

PATCO serves about 36,700 customers on an average weekday.

For more about the service, visit www.ridepatco.org.