Multiple factors are likely causing the wheels of the 7000-series of Metro rail cars to push outward, putting trains at risk for derailment, according to an analysis by Metro engineers and consultants that was outlined Thursday.

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       Metro is testing out its theories and looking for solutions to resolve a defect found in wheels and axles of several of the rail cars, Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld told board members. He did not elaborate on the suspected factors causing the malfunction or provide an estimate for when the rail cars might return to service.

       Transit officials say they hope the discovery could be the means to end Metro’s longest and most extensive crisis in at least seven years. The cars, which make up nearly 60 percent of Metro’s fleet, have been out of service since October, forcing the transit system to rely on a limited number of older cars. The train shortage has prompted four months of service reductions at a time when Metro needs customers as more commuters return to offices.

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       “We have collected and analyzed sufficient data to identify probable root causes and will now proceed with the finalization of dynamic testing in order to validate or reject the theories,” Wiedefeld said.

       Metro orders measurement devices to hasten end to train shortage

       The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, the transit system’s regulatory agency, suspended the cars after a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into an October derailment revealed that the defect that pushed a train off the tracks had been found in more than two dozen cars over four years.

       The suspension was briefly lifted in December after Metro presented the commission with a plan to screen the cars daily, but it was soon reinstated after safety inspectors said Metro was deviating from its inspection guidelines.

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       In January, Wiedefeld said Metro would take 90 days to search for the cause of the defect, which the NTSB investigation has not determined, while also testing more efficient and automated methods to inspect car wheels.

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       “The work is on schedule,” he told board members Thursday. Wiedefeld said the transit agency’s consultant, Colorado-based Transportation Technology Center, told him it was “very likely” a combination of factors were at fault, “which tells me that the mitigations obviously will have to be varied, as well.”

       “In this testing phase, we expect to learn what factors are ruled out and we will continue to update” the board, the commission, the NTSB and other stakeholders “when we can isolate those root causes, and what that tells us about the timeline to return the rail cars,” he said.

       Metro headquarters to transform into modern commercial building

       Wiedefeld also said that Metro has started moving out of its aging Judiciary Square headquarters and into a new home at L’Enfant Plaza. The move has been expected since the transit system reached a deal in February 2020 to lease its Jackson Graham Building headquarters across from Capital One Arena to a development company that plans to renovate the 48-year-old building into a commercial and retail center.

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       Stonebridge, a regional development firm, and Rockefeller Group, which has built office buildings in New York, the District and Tysons Corner, are planning to add three floors, transform the facade and turn the building entrances into walkways that lead to retail stores on the ground floor.

       Metro projects the move will save $130 million over 20 years, consolidating its office workforce that has been spread out in multiple locations. Two other new Metro buildings are under construction in Maryland and Virginia, which Wiedefeld said should open in the next year. About 1,100 Metro employees worked in the Jackson Graham building before the pandemic.

       “Employees will be moved in phases into the tremendous new headquarters building beginning in the next few weeks,” Wiedefeld said. “This is a significant milestone for Metro’s office consolidation plan, which reduced our office building footprint from 10 to four facilities.”

       Wiedefeld said the headquarters will include a retail space and office floors it will rent out, providing the transit agency with additional revenue. “In addition to providing a safe and modern experience, the new headquarters building at L’Enfant Plaza will also help advance recent revitalization efforts in the Southwest Waterfront area,” he said.