Metro鈥檚 safety oversight board has signed off on Metro鈥檚 plan to bring the 7000 series trains back into service. But there won鈥檛 be many of them, and it won鈥檛 happen until several conditions are met.
It鈥檚 also not clear exactly when the process will begin.
鈥淭here鈥檚 work to be done before even the first 7000 series cars are returned to service,鈥� said David Mayer, the CEO of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. 鈥淢etrorail鈥檚 plan specifies that there will be no more than eight 7000 series trains in passenger service each day.鈥�
That means there will never be more than 64 of those cars on the tracks in any one day until the WMSC signs off on any changes to the current plan to bring those trains back into service. In the meantime, those trains will be given numerous, rigorous inspections once they鈥檙e put back into service.
鈥淭hese steps include new and improved manual inspection tools,鈥� said WMSC COO Sharmila Samarasinghe. 鈥淣ew and improved procedures鈥� will include a dedicated team that conducts those inspections.
The oversight requirements include 鈥渋ncreased frequency of manual inspections, including inspection prior to each day鈥檚 passenger service,鈥� she said. The movement of each wheel and axel on those trains will also be measured and recorded 鈥渄esigned to proactively identify any sign鈥� of problems.
鈥淭his includes dedicated teams and specific responsibilities of carrying out specific roles,鈥� said Samarasinghe. 鈥淭hese protections must be completed and active before any cars return to passenger service.鈥�
That also means Metro workers must be trained to conduct those inspections before the 7000 series trains returns.
A Metro spokesman said that right now there鈥檚 no firm date as to when that might start to happen, but anticipated some time in 鈥渢he next several weeks.鈥�
