metro

photo by Eric P.

From WMATA:

“Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Wiedefeld said today he will not resume the placement of 7000-series trains into passenger service for about 90 days to allow Metro engineering and mechanical experts time to focus on root cause analysis and acquire technology to measure 7000-series wheelsets.

During the 90-day period, Metro will accelerate efforts to restore 6000-series railcars to increase the availability of newer cars in the fleet and improve reliability for customers. (more…)

photo by nevermindtheend

From WMATA on Thursday:

“Metro’s General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Wiedefeld today paused the return of additional 7000-series railcars to passenger service, ordering a new regime of daily 7000-series inspections.

Although there are no new issues of concern, the Chief Safety Officer and Chief Operating Officer met with the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (the independent consultant Metro hired to help with its root cause analysis following the derailment) and Metro officials concluded in an abundance of caution that moving to a nightly inspection of 7000-series railcars is the prudent course of action. (more…)

photo by nevermindtheend

From WMATA:

“Metro announced that it has reached another step in the process to restore the 7000-series railcars to service. The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) has informed Metro that it has no technical objections to the final plan submitted to gradually return nearly half of the 7000-series railcars to passenger service with the metered release of no more than 336 railcars. This will provide an additional 42 trains for more frequent, reliable service. Metro will pause for 90 days without further release of additional cars until all aspects of the new inspection cycles are fully established and any needed adjustments are made under WMSC oversight. (more…)