Longer wait times for Metrorail riders will continue through Halloween

Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – Metro riders will have to wait longer for trains until at least Halloween because 7,000 series cars remain out of service after one derailed on Oct. 12. The average wait times will stay 15 to 20 minutes for Red Line trains and 30 to 40 for trains on all other lines according to Metro.

“We don’t yet have a timetable for placing the 7,000 series rail cars back in passenger service,” Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said during a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly for the first time since the derailment.

The 7,000 series rail cars make up about 60% of Metro’s rail fleet. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy blamed the derailment of a 7,000 series Blue Line train on wheel problems.

Wiedefeld said they’re working to restore full service but will only do so when it is safe. The agency and the train manufacturer, Kawasaki, are working on inspecting the wheels on all the 7,000 service cars, according to Wiedefeld. To put the cars back in use, Wiedefeld said transit agency leaders are focusing on four key elements. First, they are determining how often to inspect the wheel alignments on the cars. Second, they’re doing testing to figure out new inspection protocols. Third, they’re making sure only cars that pass inspection will return to service. Fourth, working out the logistics of how to put cars back into service once they’re ready.

“The real key is getting a new inspection program that everyone feels comfortable with, that it is safe, and then we’ll get those cars out as quickly as we can,” Wiedefeld said.

In the meantime, the transit agency’s inspecting the older 2,000, 3,000 and 6,000 series cars it has to put them into use while the 7,000 series ones are out of commission. Spokesperson Ian Jannetta told WMAL in an email there are a total of 268 of these cars available. Some have been in storage and are undergoing repairs and will need to be inspected before returning to service. He said they’re working as quickly as possible to get these trains on the tracks. They will put more into service each week, but he could not give a specific timetable for how many will be added and when.

Wiedefeld and Metro Board chair Paul Smedberg could not comment on the derailment while the NTSB investigation is underway but tried to reassure wary riders that the system is safe, and steps are being taken to address problems.

The derailment itself wasn’t the only thing that has rattled riders. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the train that derailed had done so two other times that day but re-railed itself. According to Homendy, Metro was aware of at least 52 wheel problems like the one that caused last week’s derailment but didn’t tell her agency, the Metro board or the public.

When asked about it, Wiedefeld said, “We’re not hiding anything. We wanna be transparent as possible, and we will be and are, and when we see issues that’s, unfortunately it does, I understand that erodes some confidence.”

Wiedefeld thinks the actions they’re taking, including pulling the 7,000 series cars out of service, will help restore people’s confidence in the system.

Smedberg said board members are going to reserve judgement on whether Metro should have told them about the issues with the 7,000 series cars before the derailment until all the facts come out. According to Homendy, the documented wheel problems with the cars spiked in 2021.

“The board, in general, has, does have some concerns that if we, you know, did see this uptick, that, you know, we weren’t informed,” Smedberg said.

Smedberg added the board will move forward working with the general manager to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.