Rail Car Problems Delay Metro Relief

The timing of such problems could not be worse. Average weekday ridership on the nation's second-busiest subway system is up 4 percent over last year. Wednesday's ridership, with no special events, was 764,511, a 2 percent increase over the 750,280 on the same day last year. But last year, there was a Washington Nationals baseball game on that day. Ridership tends to drop off in the summer and pick up again in the fall.

"I don't see gas prices falling anytime soon, and we expect September also will have record ridership," said Metro interim general manager Dan Tangherlini. He said the rail car crunch is "a serious, serious issue, and we're taking it seriously. It's a core issue for the authority."

Tangherlini said that he was unhappy about the delays but that the transit system should not be driven solely by deadlines. "We want these cars to be as safe and operationally successful as possible," he said.

Roelof van Ark, Alstom's president for NAFTA region operations, acknowledged "the obvious slip in the material" used for the part that must be replaced. Alstom now uses different suppliers, he said, and has taken other corrective measures. He said a Metro audit of Alstom's facility in Barcelona, where the cars are made, found the "overall quality of that rail car is very good."

Metro has been struggling with Alstom for years, and there is a long history regarding quality problems. From 2004 to 2005, the Breda cars that Alstom renovated suffered major mechanical problems 72 percent more often than those that did not undergo the expensive work, according to records. Alstom was awarded a $382 million contract to overhaul all 364 Breda cars.

Quality problems affect the entire U.S. industry, in part because so few companies make or rebuild rail cars. Unlike automobiles, rail cars are built to order, so there is little opportunity to work out kinks from one generation of cars to the next.

Metro awarded Alstom a $323.4 million contract for 184 new cars and has been eagerly awaiting delivery of the cars, which have several new designs aimed at reducing crowding. No floor-to-ceiling poles are clustered at the door. Instead of one single overhead grab bar suspended from the ceiling in the center of the cars, the new cars have a double row of overhead handrails -- one on each side -- running the length of the cars.

In February, a Metro quality control inspector at Alstom's Barcelona facility discovered a suspicious discoloration on the truck center pins, essential in enabling the trains to round curves. Further tests found cracks at a weld in the pin, officials said. Some of the steel that came from Ukraine turned out to be of inferior quality, and the welding was not done properly, Metro officials said.

Metro managers have inspected the facilities in Barcelona and Hornell, N.Y., where the cars are assembled. Today, Tangherlini and other Metro executives are meeting in New York with Alstom officials. Metro officials say that they won't accept the cars until all the defects are corrected and that Metro will not be responsible for any additional costs.

On 186 Breda cars that were refurbished by Alstom, workers must refit the primary suspension system because one part is wearing out prematurely. Metro also needs to address uneven side-bearing plates on about 60 CAF cars. The plates control car rocking and rolling.

On the Breda cars, Metro and Alstom agree that the problem stemmed from the assembly process. "This is not rocket science, nor is it detrimental," Alstom's van Ark said. "It's only going to require refitting."

If that's the case, Rich Buettner, Metro's director of quality assurance, questions why Alstom hasn't done the work properly. "They're having a heck of a time doing a good job," he said.

Metro and Alstom are working out how and where the Breda cars will be refitted to address the suspension issue. But figuring out how that will happen is a challenge, given the limited space in Metro's eight rail yards and limited time for repairs.

Rail chief Feil said he is working on a schedule for the cars to be refitted at one Metro rail yard between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., without interfering with the regular work flow. At the rate of two cars a day, it will take more than a year to complete repairs on all affected cars.

Officials said the work on the CAF cars is less urgent, and the manufacturer will fix the problems.