The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) in the US has taken delivery of the first of 78 Kinkisharyo P3010 light rail cars from Kinkisharyo International, a US subsidiary of Japan-based Kinki Sharyo Company.

The new-build light car is a highly advanced stainless-steel vehicle with a six-axle articulated design, which can accomodate 68 passengers and is suitable for the Metro’s existing light rail lines.

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The delivery is part of an $890m contract that was approved in 2012 to buy light rail cars. Metro initially agreed to buy 78 railcars for $299m and the contract also includes an option to purchase an additional 157 railcars.

"This pilot car is the vanguard of our expanding rail fleet."

Under this contract, the trains were partially constructed in Osaka, Japan, before being assembled by Kinkisharyo International at its facility in Palmdale.

Metro board chair and Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said: "This pilot car is the vanguard of our expanding rail fleet.

"It will undergo extensive testing over a period of months and the results will be passed on to Kinkisharyo for analysis before moving forward with Metro’s initial order of 78 production vehicles."

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Along with these 78 cars, Metro has also exercised a $739m option for 97 additional railcars, with another two pending options for 60 vehicles.

Metro will be operating these first 78 cars on the Gold Line Foothill Extension to Azusa and the Expo Line Phase II extension to Santa Monica, which is expected to be completed by mid-2016.

Metro has said that the additional vehicles will be running on the Crenshaw / Lax Transit line and the Blue Line.

The first set of trains is expected to be in service by January 2017.

The expansion of railcar fleet and the Gold and Expo lines are mostly funded by Los Angeles County Measure R, along with additional financial support from state and federal sources.