It's about time: D.C. officials consider replacing hideous Metro carpets

Metro's burgundy carpets are evolving to a bland brown thanks to a daily dose of gross. And now Metro's top officials are thinking about ripping them out and replacing them with a speckled black, hard surface.

"It was a great idea when they built the system to put carpet in the cars." Metro General Manager Richard Sarles told the D.C. Council. But despite periodic shampooing, "[The carpet] just, as we all know, it doesn't do too well."

Metro also is expecting its first cars from the new 7000 series to arrive in the summer of 2015, and the last to arrive in 2017, Sarles said. The snazzy new cars will feature rubber, no-slip floors, better safety mechanisms and signs to let riders know where their train is and which stations are coming up.