WASHINGTON — The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) announced Tuesday that as Metro works to return the 7000-series railcars to service they are not following their own guidelines for marking cars that fail inspection.
The 7000-series cars, that were partially returned to passenger service on June 16, had been out of commission since the derailment of a Blue Line car in October 2021. The incident led to around 200 people having to evacuate from the trains sparking a safety investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
As part of the investigation, Metro's return to service plan includes wheel inspection procedures, which the WMSC found flaws in the process.
WMSC staff observed Tuesday that some 7000-series railcars with faulty wheelsets being stored at West Falls Church Yard were improperly labeled. There were labels and signage missing to mark the failed wheelsets.
WMSC went on to say in its tweet thread that it brought the issue to the attention of Metrorail personnel to be corrected.
"The WMSC continues to share our insight with Metrorail and NTSB on a variety of aspects pertaining to the 7000 series rail cars," a WMSC spokesperson said in a tweet. "Our interactions with Metrorail and the NTSB are at several levels of the organization, and these interactions occur several times a week."