Transit officials submitted a plan to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission on restoring a limited number of 7000-series cars, inspecting them daily before they began carrying passengers. The daily screening would use digital tools to measure the distance between wheels on an axle to ensure the wheels aren’t showing sign of the defect by migrating outward, the safety commission said in a statement.
The announcement is a welcome milestone amid what has become Metro’s worst crisis in years. The agency’s 7000 series makes up 60 percent of its fleet, while their removal under an order of the safety commission has flummoxed business and elected leaders who had looked to Metro to play a key role in helping the region recover from the pandemic.Metro, too, hoped to capitalize on a return to in-person work, as a rise in telework has reduced rail ridership to one-third of pre-pandemic levels.
The announcement led to criticism from elected officials, including D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser , who said Metro’s lapses were part of a “management problem.” One day later, the Metro Board announced the immediate resignations of General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld, who had planned to retire on June 30, and Chief Operating Officer Joseph Leader.
Kawasaki Rail under the cars’ warranty, but a Metro inspector general’s investigation found out the problems did not rise to the attention of Metro’s top officials or its safety department. Such mechanical problems are required to be reported to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an independent agency Congress created to oversee safety after a January 2015 fire filled a stalled Metro train with smoke, killing one passenger and sickening others.On Oct.