Internal audit finds WMATA must rewire entire 7000-Series railcar fleet

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following a new internal review, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has to replace faulty wiring on every one of its new 7000-Series railcars, WTOP reports.

Since the cars first went into production in 2012, wire crimping has never been done properly, a review by WMATA’s Quality Assurance, Internal Compliance, & Oversight office found, which contributed to incidents where railcars have problems that can create significant delays.

WMATA has accepted and placed into service 548 of the railcars, which will need to be taken out of service and replaced in phases.

From the beginning, WMATA failed to require that the car manufacturer, Kawasaki, perform appropriate quality checks and provide engineering design support, the review found. The contract for the cars also failed to provide specific consequences for failing to provide certain work that measured up to standards. For the full story, click here.