Wait Times Reduced To 15 Minutes Between Metro Trains Starting Aug. 1

WASHINGTON, DC — Metro riders on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines soon won't have to wait as long for the next train to arrive. Starting Aug. 1, trains will begin arriving every 15 minutes on weekdays and even 5-8 minutes for stations that are served by all three lines, according to a Metro release.

“Improving service for customers is how we will restore the confidence of the National Capital Region,” said Randy Clarke, Metro's new general manager and chief executive officer, in the release. “Restoring 7K service frequency and providing even more improvements is my focus.”

Come September, Metro plans to expand the service improvements to the weekends, so that customers will only have to wait every 15 minutes on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines, according to the release.

To make these improvements possible, Metro will be running additional trains and keeping trains standing by throughout the system in case a train is removed from service due to unexpected maintenance issues. After completing coupler repairs on the majority of its 6000-series fleet, Metro has also restored more 6000-series railcars to service.

The transit system is also working to gradually phase in 7000-series trains, many of which had been removed from service since last fall.

On Oct. 12, 2021, a Blue Line train derailed between the Rosslyn and Arlington National Cemetery stations in Virginia. A subsequent investigation revealed problems with the wheel axle assembly of Metro's 7000 series railcars, forcing the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority to sideline nearly 60 percent of its fleet.

WMATA made aborted attempts at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 to reintroduce the 7000-series railcars to service, but the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, which provides oversight of Metro, halted that process when wheel axle assemblies continued to go out of alignment. WMSC told Metro it needed to revise its plan to reintroduce trains into service and implement a process to test cars in real time.

Part of Metro's plan is to use an automatic wheel measurement system on all six of its lines. The system, which uses laser technology to measure the wheel sets in realtime, is already in place on the Green and Yellow line. Metro is currently running tests on the system so that it can be installed all of its lines.

A phased return to service for the remaining 7000-series trains is dependent a successful integration of the automatic wheel measurement system with Metro's inspection process. Once Metro achieves that, it will need to demonstrate to its critical stakeholders before it can develop its return to service plan.

WMSC must approve Metro's plan before any 7000-series railcars are allowed to return to service. So far, Metro has found no evidence of failures connected with maintenance or manufacturing equipment, according to the release.