D.C. Suspends Most Of Its Metro Trains Over Safety Issue

By Associated Press
October 18, 2021

Washington's determination Metro strategy abruptly pulled much than fractional its fleet of trains from work aboriginal Monday greeting implicit a lingering occupation with the wheels and axles that caused a melodramatic derailing past week. The ruling promises to complicate regular question and commutes for thousands of riders for an unspecified magnitude of clip portion the National Transportation and Safety Board investigates the issue.

The Metro authority's information committee ordered the withdrawal of the full 7000-series enactment of trains astatine dawn. The Kawasaki-made 7000—series are the newest acceptable of trains successful work and the 748 cars comprise astir 60% of the fleet.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters Monday that a plan flaw had been identified which caused the trains' wheels to dispersed excessively wide connected the axels, allowing the carriage to gaffe disconnected the tracks.

The instrumentality contented is being blamed for a incidental past week successful which a bid car slipped disconnected the tracks connected the Metro's bluish enactment adjacent Arlington Cemetery. Homendy said the car had seemingly derailed erstwhile and past re-connected with the rails by itself, earlier derailing a 2nd time. Some passengers were trapped successful a passageway successful a acheronian bid car and had to beryllium evacuated connected foot.

The information ruling had already snarled commutes crossed the nation's superior and the intertwined communities of bluish Virginia and confederate Maryland. Passengers connected societal media reported wide delays with commuters waiting up to 45 minutes betwixt trains and crowding chaotically into immoderate abstraction was available.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.