The average number of passengers per car today stands at about 45, much less than the maximum standard set by Metro of 120 passengers per car.
Photo: WMATA
DC Metro CEO Paul J. Weidfeld has announced that he will not renew the placement of 7000 Series trains for passenger service for about 90 days to allow Metro experts in engineering hence time to focus on root cause analysis and acquire technology for measuring 7000 series wheels, according to The press release of the Agency.
During the 90-day period, Metro will accelerate efforts to restore 6000 Series cars to increase the availability of newer cars in the fleet and improve reliability for customers.
“Dedicated staff work with three outside teams to make sure the new carriages are safe to operate, and we have concluded that their efforts to maintain and test trains – with a maximum capacity to return only five trains to service each day – are out of place. We need to be focused,” said Widfeld. “We intend to direct our efforts to identify and address the root cause of track degradation and take steps to better support more continuous wheel measurements by installing rail technology.”
Metro said it will continue to operate the currently planned train service, with average customer waiting times of less than 10 minutes on all lines.
“Our customers are always first and foremost and none of the decisions we have made are easy, but they are critical to our ability to return the service,” Widfeld said. “We value every customer and customer who continues to travel on the Metro and recognize that many people depend on the service. We also thank our employees who do their best to meet the rider’s expectations in a challenging time.”
Metro said it will also continue to work closely with its outside experts, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI), as well as engage in transparency with regulatory agencies, the Washington MetroRail Safety Commission (WMSC), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
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