WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced Wednesday that it's prepared to move to the final phase of a plan to introduce more 7000-series railcars.
According to WMATA, under the new plan, railcars will be inspected every 15 days.
Metro's original plan aimed to inspect the trains every seven days, but with longer periods between inspections, riders will see more trains on the tracks instead of them being out for inspection so frequently.
Officials decided to go with 15 days between services after reviewing data and operation feedback.
Additionally, the new plan coincides with the return of the Yellow Line and allows for more training for rail operators.
"This is good news for Metro customers. The WMSC’s concurrence on the 15-day plan means more 7000-series cars are available for more frequent and reliable service,” said Chief Safety and Readiness Officer Theresa M. Impastato. “This final phase of our Return-to-Service plan is built upon nearly a year of continuous refinement of our measurement process and makes more of our 7000-series fleet accessible to provide service throughout the region."
This comes more than a year after Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) pulled its 7000-series trains from service.
This all dates back to October of 2021, when the NTSB found defects in several of the 7000-series railcars while investigating the derailment of a Blue Line railcar (train 407). During that incident on Oct. 12, almost 200 people were safely evacuated from a derailed Metro Blue Line train near Arlington Cemetery.
Immediately after, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) had WMATA pull all of its 7000-series cars from the tracks. This forced Metro to reduce service across all lines.
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