#WMATA GM Paul Wiedefeld and board chair Paul Smedberg are briefing the media on the latest with service and details about the process of getting the 7000-series trains back on track.
I'll thread updates below:
Read our latest story for background here: dcist.com/story/21/10/21…
I'll thread updates below:
Read our latest story for background here: dcist.com/story/21/10/21…
Metro GM says 7000-series trains will only come back when safe.
Service plan for next week stays the same as now
15-20 mins for Red
30-40 mins other lines
Service plan for next week stays the same as now
15-20 mins for Red
30-40 mins other lines
Wiedefeld has no timetable for returning 7000-series to service.
Working with safety agencies and Kawasaksi to inspect each axle.
Working with safety agencies and Kawasaksi to inspect each axle.
- Will increase inspection frequency
- Will increase testing for issues
- Car isolation - returning only cars that are ready to be back in service
- Re-mobilization - getting older stored cars back into service
- Will increase testing for issues
- Car isolation - returning only cars that are ready to be back in service
- Re-mobilization - getting older stored cars back into service
Wiedefeld says he's sure riders will come back because Metro focusing on safety.
Wiedefeld said they are working as fast as possible to get more train cars, 2000-series and 6000-series (which need a safety inspection checks before they go into service after they had coupler issues)
Says bus service is pretty much maxed out at 97%
Says bus service is pretty much maxed out at 97%
Wiedefeld said he hopes Metrorail service will improve after Oct. 31. Adding more cars for redundancy if train needs to come out of service.
Board Chair Paul Smedberg says he has confidence and faith in Metro leadership from Paul Wiedefeld down the chain.
The board is in charge of oversight of leadership.
The board is in charge of oversight of leadership.
Wiedefeld said he's unsure why the reports of increasing failures of wheelsets weren't sent up the chain to WMSC and the board. But says it probably should have as the issue crescendoed this year. He says they're looking into it.
Said at beginning numbers were small and they were just going through warranty process with Kawasaki to replace those wheelsets affected.
Wheels were under warranty. Wiedefeld said different cars are under different warranties depending on age etc.
Wheels were under warranty. Wiedefeld said different cars are under different warranties depending on age etc.
Smedberg on hiring safety advisors: We want to make sure we have the right information, ask the right questions and maybe there are things to do better.
"Our primary goal is safety oversight, so we have to get this right."
"Our primary goal is safety oversight, so we have to get this right."
Smedberg said the board had "no knowledge of the wheelset issue."
Going to "reserve judgment" on whether we needed to know about it yet.
But if we saw an uptick, we wanted to be informed, he said. In the future, we need to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Going to "reserve judgment" on whether we needed to know about it yet.
But if we saw an uptick, we wanted to be informed, he said. In the future, we need to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Average ridership this week has been 157,000 Metrorail riders.
Presser over. Lots of good background information but still no answer to the question we all want to know: When will this issue be fixed and service return to normal?
Here were my two questions for Metro GM Paul Wiedefeld and Board Chair Paul Smedberg. Listen here or read below otter.ai/s/NYZBbOz7Rt6c… 
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