After months of waiting on repairs, the summer maintenance program is finally complete for the Metro, which means that the number of eight-car trains in service during rush hour will increase. According to WAMU, while all 954 of the Metro's railcars are running, only about one-third of the rush hour trains have eight cars. Factors that have contributed to this include a shortage of parts that caused about 50 broken railcars to take longer to return to service. Last June, the Metro also had to pull all 100 of its 4000-series railcars from service to investigate a problem that caused doors to open while the train was moving. Last July, 64 7000-series railcars were planned to be in service, but the tsunami and nuclear and emergency in Japan pushed the delivery ahead six months or so, reported WAMU. There are currently 60 7000-series cars on Metro property with only 44 of those gone through a commissioning process and ready for service. Other delays include a software update on the new models' propulsion and door systems. All of these issues have caused 34 of 42 weekdays during the second quarter of 2015 to be plagued by constant delays, crowding, and depleting customer satisfaction. WAMU reported that by the end of the year the Metro expects to receive 16 cars per month.
· Metro Completes Summer Maintenance Program, Meaning More 8-Car Trains [WAMU]
· All Metro coverage [Curbed DC]