The WMSC has reviewed WMATA’s 7000 Series Return to Service Plan revision submitted today, October 25, 2022, and the WMSC has informed Metrorail that the WMSC has no technical objections to Metrorail’s revised plan as submitted today.
WMATA’s plan specifies the steps Metrorail must follow to increase the number of 7000 Series passenger trains in use each day.
The revised plan includes the introduction of cars with solely high press tonnage axles on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, and the introduction of a limited number of cars with low press tonnage axles each day on the Red, Yellow and Green Lines.
The plan continues back-to-back and journal bearing inspections after every four consecutive service days.
The plan includes specific data collection and analysis related to vehicles and vehicle-track interaction including continued use of the Metrorail Vehicle and Track Working Group established under the 9/2 plan to address engineering recommendations and suggestions and other data.
Future phases in the plan would, if supported by the available data, include use of cars with low tonnage axles on all lines, followed by an adjustment of the back-to-back and journal bearing inspection interval for all 7000 Series cars to every seven days.
The mitigations in the revised plan reflect currently known data including that wheel migration has been identified on more than 80 7000 Series axles since 2017 (including through the current inspection procedure)…..
…that those trains in passenger use under Metrorail’s May 19 and subsequent #WMATA Return to Service Plans to this point were selected from a specific group of 7000 Series cars….
….that Metrorail has generally not run cars with low press tonnage axles in non-passenger service to any significant degree for the last six months….
…that available information continues to suggest there are multiple contributing factors to this wheel migration on 7000 Series cars, including factors that could differ across similar elements of the Metrorail system; and that wheel migration remains under investigation.
Metrorail will continue adjustments that have been made to referenced documents, training, and inspection-related systems that reflect lessons learned and implementation challenges that have been identified due to the WMSC’s ongoing oversight.
The first phase of this plan specifies that any cars with all high press tonnage axles may be used each day if compliant with inspection requirements, and that up to 80 cars with one or more low press tonnage axles may be used each day
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