WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) says the process to repair and replace wheels on 7000-series railcars may take years and cost around $55 million.
According to a release from WMATA, Metro's plan to change the way it presses wheels on the 7000-series rail cars is currently under development.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found defects in several of the 7000 series railcars while investigating the derailment of a Blue Line railcar (train 407) on Oct. 12, 2021. During that incident, almost 200 people were safely evacuated from a derailed Metro Blue Line train near Arlington Cemetery.
Among a new investigation docket released by NTSB Tuesday is a report from engineering firm Hatch-LTK identifying a technical issue -- microslip due to reduction in contact pressure, according to WMATA.
"Metro’s internal and external engineering experts agree that an increase to the fit and press tonnage used to mount rail wheels onto axles is required for the 7Ks," WMATA said in a release.
The agency estimates the work to repress all 7000-series wheels will take up to 36 months and cost approximately $55 million.
“The process of changing all 5,984 wheels on 2,992 axles for 748 railcars may take a couple of years to complete,” said Dwyer. “We thank our customers for their patience and want them to know that the good news is we will be able to fix about 20 cars a month to safely build up more trains and restore the safe, frequent and reliable service the region needs.”
Currently, WMATA is moving to measure the 7000-series wheels every seven days instead of every four days, a plan that will remain in effect until a new plan is agreed upon with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC).
“Process changes must be safe and deliberate,” said Chief of Safety and Readiness Theresa Impastato. “We will take the time needed to get this right because every single rail car must undergo a rigorous process to be ready to serve our customers and support our employees.”
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