Metro will increase its train service Monday, following a derailment earlier this month that led the transit agency to pull 60% of its fleet of railcars from the tracks.
Metro plans to have 39 trains in service compared to 32 on Friday. That will allow trains to run every 20 minutes on the Green Line. It will also allow the extension of Silver Line service to Largo Town Center instead of ending at Federal Center SW.
Trains will continue to run every 15-20 minutes on the Red Line and every 30-40 minutes on Blue, Orange, Yellow and Silver lines.
“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 General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said.
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The transit agency pulled all of its 7000-series rail cars after Oct. 12's partial derailment on the Blue Line, which happened near the Arlington Cemetery station.
Nearly 200 riders sat on the dark train and then walked through a tunnel the equivalent of about six football fields to get to safety. Some riders reported smoke on the train and made panicked calls to family members to tell them they loved them, fearing the worst.
One person was taken to a hospital. Many more people could have been hurt or even killed, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said at a news conference earlier this month.
Wiedefeld said WMATA is continuing to work with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission on a plan to get the 7000-series railcars back into service. Wiedefeld said the transit agency has finished inspections of all its 7000-series railcars for the wheel defect that caused the derailment.
Metro is working to bring older model 2000- and 3000-series trains out of storage and return more 6000-series trains that are under repair to service.
