Metro delays persist Monday following derailment as track repairs, brake inspections continue

ARLINGTON, Va. - A slower than usual commute Monday for riders along some Metro lines in northern Virginia as track repairs and brake inspections continue following last week's derailment.

Blue and Yellow lines between National Airport and Potomac Yard are departing every 15 minutes. Delays can be expected in both directions.

The train derailment happened Friday morning near Ronald Reagan National Airport as a train traveled toward Franconia-Springfield.

The emergency shut down service between the airport and Potomac Yard station for hours. Officials say 43 people were safely removed from the derailed train. No injuries were reported.

Following the derailment, Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke ordered to remove all 2000- and 3000-series railcars from service. Mechanical teams have inspected 102 cars and identified 32 with non-conforming bolts, officials say.

Metro investigators, who are coordinating with the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, continue to focus on a disc brake that they think came loose from a train ahead as a possible cause for the derailment. Video released last week appears to show the object on the track.

Officials say track repairs to replace components of the damaged tracks at National Airport are continuing nonstop.

The 2000- and 3000-series cars were built in the mid-1980s are reaching the end of their useful life, officials say. They are scheduled to be replaced by new 8000-series railcars.