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Metro has adopted new safety checks after a derailment last month outside Reagan National Airport, transit officials said Thursday, an incident that appears to trace to loose bolts in a rail car’s braking system.
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Inspections triggered by the derailment showed about 6 percent of brake discs on Metro’s oldest cars were problematic. In response, new protocols require a torque check of bolts on Metro’s older cars every 60 days to ensure they are properly tightened.
“This is well above and beyond the industry-recommended procedures and adds additional conservatism over our existing process,” Metro Chief Mechanical Officer Shushil Ramnaress told Metro board members during a regular meeting Thursday.
Metro and its regulator are continuing to investigate both trains involved in the incident, including the derailed 7000-series train. The train had 43 passengers onboard and remained upright when a lone car went off the track. The incident prompted a fresh investigation into Metro’s rail cars at a time when transit officials are notching pandemic-era ridership records while facing a growing budget shortfall.
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The 7000-series train was southbound on Sept. 29 toward the Franconia-Springfield station when it hit a brake disc that had fallen off another train. The Blue Line train started weaving, and the first axle on the wheel assembly came off the track south of the airport station’s Metro platform.
The brake had fallen from a 3000-series train that preceded the derailed train. The series, built in the late 1980s, is Metro’s second-oldest active rail-car model and is scheduled to be retired. The derailment prompted Metro to pull its 3000- and 2000-series cars from service Sept. 30 while initiating inspections on all 352 cars in those series.
Metro derailment probe finds loose bolts on some rail car brakes
Of the 2,816 brake discs probed for loose bolts or other safety issues, 182 did not pass inspection. Each disc is held together with eight bolts connected by a safety wire that wraps around each bolt head as an additional measure to keep them in place.
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“If a loose or defective bolt was found, all eight bolts were replaced on that brake disc,” said Metro Assistant Chief Safety Officer Jayme Johnson.
Metro engineers are analyzing data from inspections and maintenance records of the 3000-series train and 7000-series train to compile a report on the derailment, its cause and any ramifications.
Metro’s 7000-series cars are the subject of a federal safety investigation after a 2021 derailment revealed a defect caused several cars’ wheels to push outward, creating instability. The series is Metro’s most advanced car and makes up nearly 60 percent of its fleet. The cars had been suspended but are being reincorporated into service with regular wheel screenings.
Metro officials said the wheel defect and the most recent derailment are not related. Inspections found no wheel alignment deviations among the system’s older cars.
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Johnson said the derailment damaged 310 feet of track, as the incident ripped the track railing from concrete pads. It took Metro workers nearly three days to drill 494 holes in the concrete, install new studs and replace 247 rail fasteners.
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Metro board members, who were briefed on the investigation Thursday, said they were pleased with the transparency Metro provided to the public about the incident, which included the release of video footage of the derailment the day it occurred.
“Getting the video out was really helpful at an important time,” said Paul C. Smedberg, the Metro board chairman.
The transit agency has been criticized in the past for its communication efforts during emergencies.
“Looking historically at some of these incidents over time in Metro, this is a new level of transparency,” board member Matthew F. Letourneau said.
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Also Thursday, Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Anzallo updated board members on the agency’s crime-fighting efforts, which he said has resulted in crime decreases in recent months. A rise in several crimes earlier this year, including robberies and assaults, led transit police to boost patrols and solicit help from area law enforcement agencies to help patrol some of the system’s most troubled stations.
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Police have also stepped up fare evasion enforcement while equipping all 327 transit officers with body cameras as of late September, which Anzallo said has helped to de-escalate confrontations. Metro has also deployed six crisis intervention specialists this year, while four more are in training.
The additional patrols and strategies have coincided with a 6 percent decrease in crime between July and October, when compared with the previous three months. Felony offenses were down 3 percent, Anzallo said.
He said the increased police presence is making a difference, evidenced by a rise in the number of arrests, citations and warnings police have been making this year.
“The additional law enforcement support has allowed us to enhance our efforts to be more visible,” he said.
Metrobus ‘courtesy stops’ let riders exit between stops in the dark
Metro officials also announced that overnight Metrobus service will launch for the first time starting in December. The District is paying Metro to operate around-the-clock on 13 of its most-used routes to help low-income service workers, hospital personnel and passengers attending late-night events.
Overnight service will run at least every 20 minutes daily between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on the 32, 33, 52, 70, 80, 92, A6/A8, B2, H4, S2, V2, W4 and X2 lines.
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