STrRedWolf
Is the current load justifying running 4's and 6's over 8's right now/
MetroHero showing the presents of 8 car trains would indicate the running of 7k car trains.
Railroad Forums
Metro to take 7000 series out of service after defect was discovered in axle
- Discussion related to DC area passenger rail services from Northern Virginia to Baltimore, MD. Includes Light Rail and Baltimore Subway.
Moderators: mtuandrew, therock, Robert Paniagua
by Sand Box John
John in the sand box of Maryland's eastern shore.
by JDC
I've lost the tweet, but people are seeing 7000-series trains back in revenue service.
Living in Broadlands, VA; Working at Half & L SE, DC.
by KTHW
Article says that at least two are already back. https://dcist.com/story/21/12/17/wmata- ... erailment/
by danib62
I had a 7K set on the red line this morning led by 7560.
"We are running with normal train service on the Red Line. We apologize for the inconvenience."
by Literalman
On Dec. 29, The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission ordered Metro to remove all 7000-series trains from service, according to WJLA (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/metro ... d=msedgntp). "The safety commission says some of the wheels on the returning train cars had started to move apart and Metro should have pulled them out of service but did not."
by Sand Box John
Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Order Keeping 7000 Series Trains Out of Service
12 29 2021 1702 EST
356 KB PDF file
Text of PDF
ORDER OF THE
WASHINGTON METRORAIL SAFEY COMMISSION
On this day, December 29, 2021, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (“WMSC”) issues
the following order regarding Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) 7000
Series railcars:
WHEREAS, the WMSC is the designated State Safety Oversight Agency for the WMATA Rail System, as
required by 49 U.S.C. § 5329(e)(3)(C);
WHEREAS, the WMSC’s powers are established by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Interstate
Compact (P.L. 115-54; 131 Stat. 1093) (“WMSC Compact”), passed into law by the Commonwealth of
Virginia, State of Maryland, and District of Columbia and approved by Congress on August 22, 2017;
WHEREAS, among the powers granted to the WMSC under the WMSC Compact is the authority
to “[r]emov[e] a specific vehicle, infrastructure element, or hazard from the WMATA Rail System[.]”
WMSC Compact § 31(c)(4);
WHEREAS, WMSC Bylaws Art. VI.C.2. authorizes the Chief Executive Officer to act pursuant to WMSC
Compact § 31(c)(4);
WHEREAS, the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the derailment of WMATA Railcar
7200 on October 12, 2021, near Arlington Cemetery Station found that the fourth axle of Railcar 7200
was out of compliance with the 7000 Series specifications for the wheel and axle assembly;
WHEREAS, railcar inspections conducted as part of the derailment investigation have found similar
defectsin 7000 Series railcars that were not involved in the October 12 accident;
WHEREAS, the WMSC issued an Order on October 17, 2021, removing all 7000 Series railcars from
revenue (passenger) service pending the development and implementation of a return to service
(“RTS”) plan to assess the cause, and to provide for the detection and prevention of wheel gauge
anomalies in 7000 Series railcars;
WHEREAS, on December 11, 2021, WMATA submitted to the WMSC its RTS plan, and on December
14, 2021, the WMSC notified WMATA that the WMSC had no technical objections to the RTS plan to
safely return each individual 7000 Series railcar into passenger use, upon confirmation that each
such railcar satisfied specified inspection criteria;
WHEREAS, after the WMSC notified WMATA it had no technical objections to WMATA’s RTS plan,
on December 29, 2021, the WMSC observed and notified WMATA that WMATA returned to service
certain 7000 Series railcars that do not meet the inspection criteria specified in the RTS plan; and
WHEREAS, upon learning from the WMSC that 7000 Series railcars that do not meet the specified
inspection criteria were returned to passenger service, WMATA committed to removing all 7000
Series railcars from passenger service;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that WMATA will:
Chief Executive Officer
Washington Metrorail Safety Commission
###
12 29 2021 1702 EST
356 KB PDF file
Text of PDF
ORDER OF THE
WASHINGTON METRORAIL SAFEY COMMISSION
On this day, December 29, 2021, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (“WMSC”) issues
the following order regarding Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) 7000
Series railcars:
WHEREAS, the WMSC is the designated State Safety Oversight Agency for the WMATA Rail System, as
required by 49 U.S.C. § 5329(e)(3)(C);
WHEREAS, the WMSC’s powers are established by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission Interstate
Compact (P.L. 115-54; 131 Stat. 1093) (“WMSC Compact”), passed into law by the Commonwealth of
Virginia, State of Maryland, and District of Columbia and approved by Congress on August 22, 2017;
WHEREAS, among the powers granted to the WMSC under the WMSC Compact is the authority
to “[r]emov[e] a specific vehicle, infrastructure element, or hazard from the WMATA Rail System[.]”
WMSC Compact § 31(c)(4);
WHEREAS, WMSC Bylaws Art. VI.C.2. authorizes the Chief Executive Officer to act pursuant to WMSC
Compact § 31(c)(4);
WHEREAS, the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the derailment of WMATA Railcar
7200 on October 12, 2021, near Arlington Cemetery Station found that the fourth axle of Railcar 7200
was out of compliance with the 7000 Series specifications for the wheel and axle assembly;
WHEREAS, railcar inspections conducted as part of the derailment investigation have found similar
defectsin 7000 Series railcars that were not involved in the October 12 accident;
WHEREAS, the WMSC issued an Order on October 17, 2021, removing all 7000 Series railcars from
revenue (passenger) service pending the development and implementation of a return to service
(“RTS”) plan to assess the cause, and to provide for the detection and prevention of wheel gauge
anomalies in 7000 Series railcars;
WHEREAS, on December 11, 2021, WMATA submitted to the WMSC its RTS plan, and on December
14, 2021, the WMSC notified WMATA that the WMSC had no technical objections to the RTS plan to
safely return each individual 7000 Series railcar into passenger use, upon confirmation that each
such railcar satisfied specified inspection criteria;
WHEREAS, after the WMSC notified WMATA it had no technical objections to WMATA’s RTS plan,
on December 29, 2021, the WMSC observed and notified WMATA that WMATA returned to service
certain 7000 Series railcars that do not meet the inspection criteria specified in the RTS plan; and
WHEREAS, upon learning from the WMSC that 7000 Series railcars that do not meet the specified
inspection criteria were returned to passenger service, WMATA committed to removing all 7000
Series railcars from passenger service;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that WMATA will:
- 1. Keep all 7000 Series railcars out of passenger service until:
- a. WMATA provides to the WMSC a revised RTS plan describing:
- i. The specific additional protections and internal oversight Metrorail will
carry out to ensure that any asset that fails a safety-critical inspection,
including back-to-back measurements, is removed from and kept out
of passenger service;
ii. The specific additional protections and internal oversight Metrorail will
carry out to ensure that no alternative procedures or practices are
introduced outside of the official RTS plan;
iii. Revised inspection frequency and any other criteria based on all
available data, including measurements taken since December 1, 2021;
and
revised RTS plan, and Metrorail then implements such plan. - i. The specific additional protections and internal oversight Metrorail will
any subsequent changes to said plan to the WMSC for a 14-day review period prior
to implementation for the WMSC to determine whether there are any technical
objections considering the subsequent changes. - a. WMATA provides to the WMSC a revised RTS plan describing:
Chief Executive Officer
Washington Metrorail Safety Commission
###
John in the sand box of Maryland's eastern shore.
by STrRedWolf
Can we say that the axels on the 7000 series are lemons and swap the trucks out on these?
by scratchyX1
STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Thu Dec 30, 2021 4:27 pm Can we say that the axels on the 7000 series are lemons and swap the trucks out on these?I've wondered that, too.
Sounds like they just need new trucks, could they use ones from 5000 series?
by Sand Box John
scratchyX1
I've wondered that, too.
Sounds like they just need new trucks, could they use ones from 5000 series?
Thankfully the trucks under 5k cars have all been scrapped. The trucks under those cars were crap, they would derail more often then the trucks under any of the other series. They are the reason why WMATA upgraded all of their #6 and #8 turnouts the guarded turnouts.
I've wondered that, too.
Sounds like they just need new trucks, could they use ones from 5000 series?
Thankfully the trucks under 5k cars have all been scrapped. The trucks under those cars were crap, they would derail more often then the trucks under any of the other series. They are the reason why WMATA upgraded all of their #6 and #8 turnouts the guarded turnouts.
John in the sand box of Maryland's eastern shore.
by Robert Paniagua
YOLO wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 1:42 pm This is causing the Rockville canopy replacement project to get delayed: https://www.wmata.com/about/news/rockvi ... delays.cfmYes, and thats been interfering with the Shady Grove railyard so a lot of the OOS 7Ks have been forced to layover on the Silver Line revenue ROW
Now Shady Grove & Rockville wont open until January 2022
by Robert Paniagua
Pensyfan19 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:42 am Do you think the NYC Subway can lend some R32s and R42s to DC..?Or MBTA's Red Line 015/01600s, 017/01800s as well in a few years since they are getting new railcars identical to the 7Ks
by Robert Paniagua
Well, they can change out the wheel trucks to fit the correct track gauge for the NYC Subway and MBTA Red Line traincars. Also, uphere in Boston weve had similar situations with our CRRC Orange/Red line fleet. One of the new Orange Line MBTA cars derailed on March 16, '21 and they all running CRRC traincars at the time were remov ed from service. But they were returned to service in November while ther new Red Line MBTA 1.9K railcars didnt return to service until Dec 30 wi/th only one 1.9K trainset circulating. Im lucky I went down to DC (On Colombus Day Weekend) before the latest 7K railcar fiasco
by kitchin
The long delay is tied up with the governance issue. The board etc. are trying to lay down the line on management that it needs to report openly, and management continues to fail to do so.
by west point
As I understand it the problem is that wheels are sliding on the axel enough to put the wheels wider or narrower than gauge specs. "IF" that is so then the fit between axel and wheel needs to be tighter. that means that the axel will need to be thicker, the wheel opening smaller or a combination of both. Consequently, the machinery that presses the wheels onto the axel will need to be set at higher values or maybe a different machine?
But before that is done a study of interaction between the axel and wheel metals will need study. Also, the possibility of metal creep on either part also has to be considered. Certain aluminum alloys can have this problem.
The possibility of the above might be occurring due to wheel over heating because of hard braking on the wheels? Anyone know if braking is done on the wheels only or do the axels have additional disks to absorb braking energy? Additional disks are difficult to place IMO due to each axel being part of traction system.
But before that is done a study of interaction between the axel and wheel metals will need study. Also, the possibility of metal creep on either part also has to be considered. Certain aluminum alloys can have this problem.
The possibility of the above might be occurring due to wheel over heating because of hard braking on the wheels? Anyone know if braking is done on the wheels only or do the axels have additional disks to absorb braking energy? Additional disks are difficult to place IMO due to each axel being part of traction system.