A Bad News Day For Metro: No Quick Fix For 7000-Series, Silver Line Opening Delayed Again
https://dcist.com/story/22/03/24/metro-7000-series-trains/
Metro delivered two major news items Thursday that rail riders wont want to hear.
The transit agency says it has no quick fix for the beleaguered 7000-series trains. Theyve been out of service since an October derailment and that has meant reduced service across the system for five months thats expected to continue through summer. Meanwhile, the extension of the Silver Line to Dulles Airport and Ashburn will not open before July 1, missing yet another target.
The problems ailing the wheels of the 7000-series trains, which make up 60% of the fleet, are multi-faceted and have no near term solution, according to General Manager Paul Wiedefeld.
WMATA will attempt to bring back eight more 6000-series trains by May, which will help with reliability and add more trains on the crowded Yellow and Green lines.
Metro aims to gradually bring back the 7000-series trains throughout the summer, eventually aiming to get 10-minute headways on the Red Line and trains every 15 minutes on all other lines.
This is frustrating for folks who depend on it. Not everyone can work from home and gas prices are up.