Safety Concerns Force Metro To Remove 60% Of Its Fleet From Service On Monday

WASHINGTON, DC — Metrorail service was significantly curtailed Monday after the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was ordered to pull nearly 60 percent of its rail fleet out of service due to safety concerns.

"We understand the impact this decision has on transportation for the DMV area (National Capital Region), Metro said, in a series of posts on its official Twitter account Monday morning. "We apologize for this reduction in service and the inconvenience this is causing our customers."

The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) issued the order Sunday after an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed defects in one of the railcars involved in last Tuesday's derailment on Metro's Blue Line.

NTSB investigators found that the fourth axle of Railcar 7200 was not in compliance for the wheel and axle assembly for 7000 Series specifications. Investigators discovered similar defects in other 7000 series railcars in Metro's fleet.

Since it was unclear how many 7000 series railcars had similar defects, WMSC ordered WMATA to take all railcars from that series out of service by 5 a.m. on Monday. WMATA was also charged with developing a plan to identify the defects and find a way to prevent further wheel gauge anomalies from occurring. WMSC will oversee the execution of the plan, as WMATA works to bring each of the 7000 series cars safely back into service.

With the removal of nearly 60 percent of its fleet, Metro will be operating with just 40 railcars on Monday and offering basic service only on all train lines. This means that six-car trains will be departing every 30 minutes.

In its Twitter posts on Monday, Metro said that it removed the 7000-series railcars due to an abundance of caution so that it could inspect the fleet.

"We want the public to know we are committed to their safety and will continue to release updates as we receive them," Metro said, on Twitter. "As customers experience delays and full rail cars during their commute, please know we have made a concerted effort to improve airflow. Face masks continue to be required throughout the system, and Metrorail cars recycle the air approximately every three minutes."

Last week, Metro was forced to suspend service between the Foggy Bottom and Pentagon stations for several days, following Tuesday's derailment of a Blue Line train traveling from Rosslyn to the Arlington Cemetery station during the evening rush hour.

Before the Metrorail stations reopened on Friday, Metro was offering shuttle bus service between Rosslyn, Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon stations. At the same time, the Blue Line only ran between the Franconia-Springfield and the Mount Vernon Square stations.

A reminder that Metrorail is operating reduced service today, Monday, October 18. Trains on all lines to operate about every 30 minutes. #wmata pic.twitter.com/FdaiKzTpId
— Metro (@wmata) October 18, 2021