D.C. Metro officials added emergency weekend maitinence work to the next SafeTrack repair surge that kicked off Tuesday, after an investigation into the recent derailment revealed additional safety issues.
SafeTrack, Metro’s 10-month maitinence overhaul of the beleaguered transit system, hit the red line for the first time in August and continues with Surge 7 repairs focusing on track between the Shady Grove and Twinbrook stations in Maryland. Surge 7 repairs will last 10 days through August 18. Trains are single tracking between the Shady Grove and Twinbrook stations, disrupting roughly 32,000 weekly trips. Trains are running once every 18 minutes, according to a statement from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
Officials will expand the repair work over the weekend and initiate a full shutdown of the red line between the Shady Grove and Grosvenor stations following troubling revelations about track reliability throughout the system.
“While Metro and the outside experts continue their review, we are requiring supervisors to conduct a specialized track inspection to look for any other similar conditions that must be immediately addressed,” Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said in a statement following the July 29 derailment in Virginia.
The inspections revealed familiar safety issues on the track between Shady Grove and Grosvenor outside the East Falls Church station. The full track shutdown will allow maitinence personnel to replace deteriorating rail ties and repair track switches. The Rockville, Twinbrook, Shady Grove and White Flint stations will be closed for the weekend work and service will be replaced by free shuttle buses, reports The Washington Post.
Officials said that deteriorating rail ties on the tracks outside the East Falls Church station allowed tracks to move apart by nearly two inches, causing the derailment as the train entered a track switch. The defective track rail ties extended for 30 feet, despite Metro policy allowing a maximum of 10 feet of space between functioning ties.
Officials with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which oversees Metro, released findings from their own investigation of the derailment Monday, ripping apart the continued lax safety culture at the D.C. Metro. Investigators are requiring Metro officials to increase managerial oversight and perform increased track maintenance throughout the system, naming 10 different sections of track on all six lines that present serious safety concerns.
In addition to ongoing SafeTrack repairs Metro officials have 30 days to complete the fixes outlined by the FTA.
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