Mechanically improved. Futuristic. Faster and more reliable.

John Beale, Post-Gazette Paul Skoutelas, the Port Authority's chief executive officer, stands in front of a new train car stopped yesterday at Willow Station in Castle Shannon. Click photo for larger image. Online graphic: Overbrook line See a map of the 5.2-mile Overbrook light rail line and upcoming changes being planned by the Port Authority.

That's what Light Rail Transit riders will experience on new "Pittsburgh high-tech" trolleys and the new 5.2-mile Overbrook line starting next Wednesday when the Port Authority begins regular service through the Route 51-88 corridor.

Several officials took a test ride yesterday. At the end, Chief Executive Officer Paul Skoutelas was all smiles.

The debut of the vehicles and rebuilt Overbrook line, replacing the streetcar line closed in 1993 because it was falling apart, is the latest milestone in the $386 million Stage II light rail improvement program.

For now, 42L Library service will be renamed 47L and operate via Overbrook. This fall, South Hills Village service will be rerouted there, cutting an average 10 minutes off trips, while Beechview, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon riders will get their own new route, the 42C Castle Shannon via Beechview.

Although it's the Overbrook line that will open next week, all riders along the 25-mile T system have been promised quicker travel times, increased capacity and better seat availability within the next five months as a result of the project funded jointly by federal, state and county governments.

Yesterday's test ride showcased three elements -- an expanded Operations Control Center, the rebuilt Overbrook line and an LRV with a silver exterior, reflective metallic trim and red, blue, green, white and yellow LED lights that made it look like a big Christmas tree going through the Downtown subway.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the ride was speeding up to 50 mph on a straight section of track, something not possible elsewhere in the system for various reasons. On the Overbrook line, the authority has replaced 22 stops with eight stations, so there's room to roll.

Pulley weights provide tension for the 650-volt overhead electric lines from which LRVs draw their power, as opposed to fixed lines on the old system cluttered with I-beams, poles and extra wires to secure them.

"In the summer, the [old] lines droop and in the winter, they're tight as banjo strings," authority Operations Manager Steve Banta said.

He could have added that the copper lines erected in such a manner break easily and have often disrupted service and inconvenienced riders, especially in winter.

Banta pointed out improvements and amenities in the new $2.3 million LRVs being bought from a Spain-based manufacturer and assembled in Elmira, N.Y., putting them a generation ahead of 55 cars bought from a German-based company in the early 1980s.

The new cars have smaller, more efficient motors to individually power each wheel rather than single motors, called "monomotors," that power entire axles on the present LRVs. Because the wheels of the latter can't turn at different speeds for curves, the authority has spent millions of dollars to repair gearboxes, wheels and tracks and has missed thousands of scheduled trips over the years when vehicles were out of service.

"These [motors] are more efficient to operate, easier to maintain and enable the steel wheels to perform like differentials and automatic braking systems on automobiles," Banta said.

As for creature comforts, riders will find stiffer but more ergonomically correct seats, 62 to a car like the present LRVs; more hip-to-knee room; unobstructed, large and more darkly tinted windows; modern destination signs; convenient emergency call boxes; improved heating and air conditioning; automated station announcements; and heated thresholds to melt snow and ice from the folding doors.

For the time being, the new cars will operate exclusively on the Library-Overbrook line, but they eventually will be used systemwide.

Forty of the 20-year-old LRVs are being rebuilt from the wheels up -- only the bodies will stay the same -- as part of a $151.3 million vehicle contract. The Port Authority has not yet found enough funds to rebuild the remaining 15 LRVs.

Because the new LRVs should be mechanically more reliable, schedules should be more dependable.

The authority spent $13 million to improve the system control center, where operations personnel have more ability to oversee, monitor and control LRV routing and operations.

"This system gives us a better understanding of where cars are," Banta said. "If we have too many cars too close to each other, the Operations Control Center can throw up a red signal and hold up a car to improve the spacing."

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday where the Overbrook and existing lines meet at Castle Shannon. Regular service will start on the Overbrook line on Wednesday morning.