Limited service on DC Metro to extend through November

WASHINGTON – Commuters successful the Washington country volition look longer waits for Metro trains done astatine slightest the extremity of the period and astir apt longer, arsenic much than fractional the fleet of bid cars volition stay retired of work implicit information issues.

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld told reporters Friday determination was nary timeline for the instrumentality of the transit authority's 7000-series bid cars, which were abruptly pulled from work this week aft a derailing revealed a chronic occupation with the wheels and axles. The 748 cars are the newest and comprise much than 60% of the fleet.

The derailing is nether probe by the National Transportation Safety Board, and Wiedefeld said helium couldn't remark connected it portion the probe was ongoing.

In the meantime, Wiedefeld said Metro engineers were moving to bring older retired cars backmost into service. But helium said the older cars were undergoing rigorous inspections and helium didn't expect them backmost successful work until aboriginal November. Until then, riders tin expect longer delays betwixt trains crossed the system, whose six lines crisscross the metropolis and agelong heavy into the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

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The transit authorization presently has 268 obstruction cars successful service. There are 180 cars from the older 6000-series trains that whitethorn beryllium brought backmost if they walk inspections. Currently lone 22 of them are disposable for service.

The suspension of the bulk of Washington's Metro fleet was prompted erstwhile a bid car slipped disconnected the tracks connected the Metro’s Blue Line adjacent Arlington National Cemetery connected Oct. 12. The car had seemingly derailed erstwhile and past re-connected with the rails by itself, earlier derailing a 2nd time. Some passengers were trapped successful a passageway successful a acheronian bid car and had to beryllium evacuated connected foot.

After the derailing, the NTSB revealed that the Kawasaki-made 7000-series trains had been suffering an escalating bid of incidents owed to a plan flaw that caused the wheels to dispersed excessively wide connected the axles, allowing the carriage to gaffe disconnected the tracks. The contented had been evident to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which oversees the determination D.C. transport system, since 2017, but neither NTSB nor the WMATA committee had been informed, said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy.

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The strategy experienced 18 abstracted incidents with the wheels successful 2021 alone, Homendy said, and inspections revealed akin problems with an further 21 obstruction cars.

Wiedefeld said his bureau was present moving to “inspect each wheel” connected the 7000-series cars, proceeding successful consultation with some Kawasaki and the NTSB. He acknowledged that WMATA could beryllium blamed for failing to code the contented oregon pass NTSB oregon its ain committee of the problem.

“I recognize that erodes immoderate confidence," Wiedefeld said. “We're not hiding anything. We privation to beryllium arsenic transparent arsenic possible.”

Paul Smedberg, the Metro committee chair, told reporters the committee would “reserve judgment” connected whether Wiedefeld should person brought the contented to their attraction earlier.

“We're down the full squad looking to get work backmost safely,” helium said. “We've got to marque definite we get this right.”

In an seemingly unrelated incident, bid work was suspended Friday day connected the Green and Yellow lines downtown and passengers were evacuated from a disabled bid implicit a suspected braking problem. There were nary reported injuries.

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