The story of this week is the fallout after Metro was forced to pull 60% of its fleet out of service this week following last week's derailment along the Blue Line. Read a firsthand account of riders' experience of Metro during a chaotic Monday commute.
Why did the Metro train derail? Officials said this week that the derailment has to do with a wheel issue Metro has known about since 2017.
Later, Stephen Repetski dives into the details of Metro's safety failures, finding that one likely cause of the problem is a discrepancy in how tightly wheels were attached during the manufacturing of the 7000-series trains.
Metro is chaotic, but some might argue we're lucky to have rail access at all. Legislators are hoping to bring passenger rail to Washington County, and they're studying a MARC extension to make it happen.
Finally, read a rebuttal to an article we published last week about upzoning in Langley Park. This week's piece argues that whether we upzone or not, neighborhoods in in-demand areas are bound to see higher housing prices.
By Stephen Repetski (Editorial Board Alum) • October 18, 2021
The safety board heading the investigation into last week’s Blue Line derailment outside Rosslyn discovered issues with the axles that the cars run on, potentially affecting the entire car series.
By Stephen Repetski (Editorial Board Alum) • October 22, 2021
A technical specification that changed how the 7000-series trains’ wheels were put onto their axles appears to be a possible contributing factor to the Blue line derailment outside Rosslyn last week.
An unlikely coalition has formed to push for an extension of MARC’s Brunswick line to Hagerstown, and they’re eyeing a long-abandoned rail branch to make it happen.
By Dan Malouff (Editorial Board) • October 20, 2021
The basic dilemma for affordable but increasingly desirable neighborhoods like Langley Park is that both building housing and preventing housing construction result in prices going up, and existing residents being displaced.
