Metro Boosts Service On 2 Lines, Tests 7000-Series Trains

WASHINGTON, DC — Metro service has been increased on two lines, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Monday.

All 7000-series railcars — a large portion of Metro's fleet — were taken out of service after the Oct. 12 Metro derailment between the Rosslyn and Arlington National Cemetery stations. Red Line trains are now running every 12 minutes, changed from every 15 minutes. Yellow Line service is running every 20 minutes, down from 30 minutes.

Blue, Orange and Silver Line trains continue to run every 30 minutes and Green Line trains run every 20 minutes. Trains will be every 10 to 15 minutes at stations served by multiple lines.

Most Metro trains continue to run with six cars rather than eight. Eight-car trains will be provided "as availability allows" to address crowding, according to Metro.

All 7000-series cars were initially removed as a safety precaution after the derailment. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations found defects in one of the railcars involved the Oct. 12 derailment. That same train had derailed twice before that day, the NTSB investigation confirmed. NTSB investigators found that the fourth axle of Railcar 7200 was not in compliance for the wheel and axle assembly for 7000-series specifications, and similar defects were found in other 7000-series railcars in Metro's fleet.

The 7000-series trains started going into service in April 2015 through February 2020. Metro said it has been working to resolve the wheel assembly issue with railcar manufacturer Kawasaki since 2017.

The investigation by Metro, the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission is ongoing to determine steps to prevent another derailment from happening. An inspection of all 748 cars in the 7000 series found 20 axles out of alignment out of 3,000 wheels inspected.

Metro also began testing two 7000-series trains on the tracks Monday. These eight-car trains are stopping at stations but not taking passengers. On Nov. 4, Metro submitted a plan to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission to restore the 7000-series cars back to passenger service. The commission accepted Metro's testing plan of two 7000-series trains and said it would closely monitor the testing.

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• Blue Line Train Had Derailed Twice Before On The Same Day: NTSB