W300b project to modernize LA metro ahead of 2028 Olympics The first refurbished A650 railcar prepares for testing at the Osong Test Track in April. (Woojin Industrial Systems) Subway cars that once rumbled through darkened tunnels beneath Los Angeles, their steel exteriors stripped of shine, are ready to roll again half a world away. Painted canary yellow and fully reengineered, they run again on a test track in Osong, North Chungcheong Province.The resurrection was the work of Woojin Industrial Systems, a Korean rolling stock manufacturer. In 2024, it won a 300 billion won ($200 million) contract from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to overhaul up to 74 aging A650 units, as Los Angeles races to modernize its metro fleet ahead of the 2028 Olympics.The first two-car unit arrived at the Osong track in April. It started rolling earlier this month when the track was energized.For Woojin, the moment was the latest chapter in a half-century story that began when it reverse-engineered foreign train components in the 1970s and, by 2011, had broken into the US market through refurbishment work."We see the A650 contract as recognition of the relentless technological development we have pursued over the past 50 years," said CEO Kim Jung-hyun. "Because we design and manufacture more than 90 percent of the electrical systems used in railcars, we have the capability to restore virtually any train to operation.” An A650 railcar in its original condition before refurbishment (Woojin Industrial Systems) Rather than simply replacing worn parts, Woojin rebuilds the trains from the inside out — swapping propulsion systems, auxiliary power units, air conditioning, passenger communication systems and diagnostics software with entirely redesigned components.For now, the first four train pairs are being refurbished and tested in Korea, where they will complete a 3,000-mile burn-in run at the Osong track before being shipped to California for additional testing on Los Angeles rail lines.Later vehicles will be refurbished at Woojin's newly completed factory in Carson, California, planting the company firmly in the US market ahead of future contract bids. Delivery of the first unit is scheduled for October 2027, with the final unit set for April 2029.Woojin said the project would demonstrate its engineering and execution capabilities in the demanding US rail market, a step toward its ambitions as a global railway player."The fact that we successfully commenced test operation of our first married pair is itself proof of our technological capability," a Woojin official stated.In the years ahead, Woojin has bigger plans than subway overhauls, with its driverless mass transit systems already operating in Busan and Seoul and shuttle trains at airports in Jakarta and Incheon built on its technology."Woojin plans to expand overseas not only through refurbishment projects, but also through shuttle train systems used at airports," Kim said. The first A650 railcar pair is lifted by crane during its transfer to the Osong Test Track in North Chungcheong Province. (Woojin Industrial Systems)