Metro Receives Approval To Gradually Begin Returning 7000-Series Railcars To Service

WASHINGTON, DC — Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority cleared another hurdle for bringing back online its troubled 7000-series railcars and returning Metrorail to full service.

On Tuesday, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC), which is charged with oversight of Metro, approved the transit authority's plan to return half of the 7000-series railcars to passenger service, WMATA said in a press release. The metered release of no more than 336 railcars will provide an additional 42 trains, which should help to reduce wait times for customers.

Following the initial release, Metro pause the release of additional trains for 90 days. This will allow new inspection cycles to come online and be adjusted if necessary.

“From now until after the first of the year, customers may see some 7000- series railcars transition safely back to service,” said GM/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld, in a release. “This is part of the process that will enable Metro to announce a more definitive service plan after the first of the year. Until that time, the transition of the 7000-series railcars through the end of the year will allow us to improve reliability.”

Earlier in the day, WMSC notified WMATA that it had no technical objections on its return to service plan.

"The WMSC has reviewed the latest version of WMATA’s 7000 Series Railcar Return to Service Plan Metrorail submitted to us, and we have communicated to Metrorail that we have no technical objections to Metrorail’s revised plan," WMSC said, in a post on its official Twitter account. "We will closely monitor Metrorail’s implementation of this plan and data Metrorail collects under its return to service plan and other testing."

Gaining approval from WMSC was one of the last things WMATA had to check off its list before it could safely return the 7000-series trains after being out of service since October.

The 7000-series trains will be gradually reintroduced into service following inspection. This will allow Metro maintenance crews time to prepare and inspect 7000-series trains that have been in storage for months. Metro workers will also be trained on new inspection procedures.

Under new WMSC requirements, trains will be rotated out of service for inspection every seven days. Previously, trains underwent inspections every 90 days.

In October, a Metrorail train traveling on the Blue Line in Virginia derailed between the Rosslyn and Arlington stations. No one was injured, but the incident prompted a review by the National Transportation and Safety Board that revealed defects in the axle assemblies of 7000-series trains.

The NTSB also discovered WMATA had failed to release information about 52 similar derailments going back to 2017.

Based on these findings, the WMSC ordered WMATA to remove all 7000 series trains from service effective 5 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 18. That forced the Metro to sideline nearly 60 percent of its railcars and institute service cutbacks.