is seeking to put more of its troubled 7000-series railcars back into service in the D.C. area.
The Washington-region transit provider is allowed to operate 64 of the railcars each day as it stands, amounting to eight trains鈥� worth of cars.
But Metro is asking its independent safety watchdog, the , for permission to bring back more of the railcars after they were sidelined last fall for safety concerns.
鈥淲e are evaluating this, and we will provide feedback to Metrorail soon,鈥� said safety commission chief operating officer Sharmila Samarasinghe at a Tuesday meeting.
鈥淎dditional investigative work is planned over the next several weeks.”
Watch the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission meeting:
No details have been given about how many cars Metro hopes to return to service, but the 64-car allowance represents only a small fraction of the 7000-series fleet.
Currently, Metro must keep close tabs on the returned cars mechanically because of a wheel-set issue connected to an October derailment on the Blue Line.
