Metrorail added more trains, improved service beginning Monday, Nov. 1
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
Management changes at WMATA
WMATA
Metrorail customers saw improved service Monday morning (Nov. 1), including the extension of Silver Line service, as a result of around-the-clock efforts by rail maintenance teams to get more trains into service.
Metro had 39 trains in service Monday, with the addition of seven more train sets and an increase from the 32 trains that operated on Friday. The added trains allowed Metro to provide Silver Line service to Largo Town Center instead of ending at Federal Center SW and improve Green Line service to every 20 minutes.
“Our rail maintenance crews are working hard to get more trains into service so that customers don’t have to wait as long to get where they need to go,” said Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld. “We are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore more service in the coming weeks and continue to develop plans for inspections to return our 7000-series railcar fleet to service.”
Metro removed all 748 of the 7000-series railcars from service two weeks ago as part of the investigation into the derailment of a Blue Line train October 12. The 7000-series railcars, Metro’s newest, make up 60-percent of the entire fleet.
Since removing the trains from service, Metro has been working to bring older model 2000- and 3000-series trains out of storage and return more 6000-series trains which are under repair. On Friday, Metro also restored power to the Shady Grove Yard and began inspecting additional railcars to prepare them for service. The yard has been cut off due to the Rockville Canopy Replacement project and getting those railcars out will require additional work to remove construction staging and equipment.
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