With so many 7000-series Metro rail cars still not back in service, and still not carrying passengers – Metro appears to have a storage problem.
Railcar after railcar could be seen parked along parts of the second phase of the Silver Line in Northern Virginia, which isn’t yet open.
There currently isn’t enough room in Metro's railyards for the cars, the transit agency said.
Metro pulled all 7000-series rail cars —which represent 60% of its fleet—after a derailment on the Blue Line on Oct.12. near the Arlington Cemetery station.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
The incident revealed that the wheels on some of the railcars were spreading too far apart.
"From my point of view as a board member, when the board and the general manager
should be told about something is when there is something unusual occurring,
and so I am troubled about the current situation, about, you know, exactly what was known when," Metro Board Member and Loudoun County Supervisor Matt Letourneau told News4.
Metro continues to indicate that the wheel issue expanded much more this past year.
"A lot of what we know in ’21 was around a totally different experience, right, where this thing had grown and obviously we had the derailment," Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said.
In the meantime, the multimillion dollar railcars will continue to sit until they pass inspection.
Metro still has not yet released a timetable to get all the cars back in service.
