D.C. Metro railcar purchase hits potential snag

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) plan to buy 220 additional state-of-the-art railcars has hit a snag involving federal approval, without which, the agency may cancel the order, The Washington Post reported.

The agency’s plan was to retire 192 cars of the 5000 series, which were built in the early 2000s, and replace them with the technologically superior 7000-series cars. Since federal money helped pay for the 5000-series cars, which have years left on their designed life spans, the FTA has to approve the early retirement of those 5000-series cars.

If the FTA determines within the next several weeks that the 5000-series should not be retired so soon, WMATA probably will forgo purchasing the 220 new cars. For the full story, click here.