Some 7000-Series Trains Are Back In Service Two Months After They Were Sidelined For Wheel Issues

It’s been 61 days since Metrorail riders have seen a 7000-series train on the tracks, but today they’re back. Two of Metro’s newest trains are in passenger service, one on the Blue Line and one on the Silver Line.

But don’t expect better service right away. Trains continue to run every 12 minutes on the Red Line, every 20 minutes on the Green and Yellow lines, and every 24 minutes on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines. One aspect that will improve slightly is crowding. Metro has mostly been running older 2000, 3000, and 6000-series trains in six-car configurations. The 7000-series will run in eight-car configurations, which should give riders 33% more space.

Trains will be inspected every seven days, instead of every 90 days, according to a plan approved by the Metrorail Safety Commission.

Metro says it will gradually add more 7000-series trains over the next three weeks, but they will largely be taking the place of older trains that are less reliable. The first wave will provide an additional 42 trains that will make service more reliable and frequent. Last week, Metro said service would eventually improve to every eight minutes on the Red Line and 15 minutes on all other lines.

About half of the 748 cars will return in the coming weeks and will then wait 90 days to make sure things are running smoothly before starting to reintroduce the second half.

That likely means service may not return to “normal” until sometime in April. Metrorail service levels have been all over the place during the pandemic, but according to the schedule set in the recent budget, trains during peak hours will run every five minutes on the Red Line, and every 10 minutes on other lines. During non-peak hours, trains will run every six minutes on the Red Line and every 12 minutes on all other lines.

The 7000-series trains have been off the tracks since October, when a pair of wheels moved more than 2 inches apart on an axle, contributing to a derailment when the wheels ran through a switching part of the tracks in between the Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery stations. No one was injured in the derailment, but the Metrorail Safety Commission ordered the trains sidelined on Oct. 18 after it found 20 instances of wheels out of compliance. With limited trains, the transit agency has warned that limited service could continue through the end of the year.

Metro knew of the 7000-series train car wheel issues as far back as 2017 and the issue got progressively worse. Various regulatory agencies — plus the U.S. Senate — are investigating the issue.

Metro tweeted a video this morning that shows workers inspecting trains and preparing them to go back in service. Metro says it is giving the trains, which have been in storage for two months, a full inspection before going back out to service.

This morning, the first 7000-series train reentered service under Metro’s new inspection protocols. More 7000-series trains will gradually be put back into service in the coming weeks. #wmata pic.twitter.com/8aockpLMCl

— Metro Forward (@wmata) December 17, 2021

After approving Metro’s plan to increase testing on the trains, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission approved bringing them back into service earlier this week. The trains will undergo weekly testing to make sure the wheels haven’t moved more than 1/16th of an inch apart. Trains used to be inspected every 90 days.