Some Railcars Out Of Service After Metro Derailment Between Arlington, Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Blue and Yellow Line service delays continue Monday after a Friday Metro train derailment, and some railcars are out of service as a fallen object from a train is tied to the derailment.

Metro reported the derailment after 11 a.m. Friday south of Reagan National Airport station on the way to the Potomac Yard station. The suspected cause of the derailment was an object on the track from a preceding 3000-series train.

"We continue to act quickly on information as it develops to ensure safe and reliable train operations for our customers and employees," said Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke. "I am proud of the team for delivering solid service while tackling this challenge with our 35-year-old equipment."

As of Monday, Blue and Yellow Line service runs every 15 minutes with single tracking between Reagan National Airport and Potomac Yard due to damaged track from the derailment. Repairs are happening around the clock to fix the damaged track near the airport station.

Metro's investigation with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission is focusing on a disc brake that came loose from a preceding train, causing the derailment. Clarke ordered 2000-series and 3000-series railcars out of service, and 32 of 102 railcars inspected were found to have "non-conforming" bolts. Metro says the 2000-series and 3000-series trains from the 1980s are nearing the end of their lives and will be replaced by 8000-series railcars.

The derailed train was part of the 7000 series, which was the series affected by the October 2021 derailment near Arlington National Cemetery. The October 2021 derailment was tied to a wheel defect in the 7000 series, causing those railcars to be taken out of service during an investigation.

Metro says there was no apparent wheel defect on the 7000-series train that derailed on Friday. No track or infrastructure defects were suspected as well, according to Metro's preliminary investigation.