NTSB unveils final report on Metro's Oct. 2021 Arlington train derailment

ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Thursday morning unveiled the conclusive findings of its investigation into the Oct. 12, 2021, derailment of a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Blue Line train in Arlington, Virginia.

Watch the briefing in the media player below:

The incident occurred within a tunnel as the Blue Line train 407 was en route from Rosslyn Station to Arlington Cemetery Station. This led to an evacuation of 187 people. No injuries were reported, however, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy spoke critically of WMATA on Thursday, noting an "ineffective safety culture" within the agency and harkening back to a deadly derailment incident in 2009 near L'Enfant Plaza.

“We heard three pops, and then we saw sparks on both sides, and then it stopped for a brief second," Stephanie Howard told 7News Reporter Tom Roussey the evening of the derailment. “We noticed we were getting closer to the wall, and then all of a sudden we start seeing smoke. It just took a long time, they had no idea what to do, it was kind of frustrating.”

RELATED | 187 evacuated after Metro train partially derails in Arlington, service suspended Oct. 13

NTSB officials said the wheels on the car were two inches wider than the rail itself, leading to the derailment. It's an issue NTSB said WMATA had known about since 2014 with the Legacy series and 2017 with the 7000 series. Officials said WMATA officials at the time claimed they knew nothing about wheel migration.

A report also revealed the amount of estimated damage due to the derailment was $715,000.

Less than a week after the derailment, the NTSB also revealed that the train car that derailed had briefly derailed two other times that same afternoon. It had derailed at 4:13 p.m. at Largo Town Center on the Blue Line, then again at 3:23 p.m. near Arlington Cemetery. Both derailments occurred at what are called switches on the tracks, and both times one switch threw the train car off the tracks, but then a second switch quickly threw it back on the tracks.

Broken sections of brake discs were later found at both locations.

The final derailment happened at 4:51 p.m. as the train encountered a switch just outside the Rosslyn station. That time there was no second switch, and the train car never got back on the tracks. The NTSB said the train was able to travel 1800 feet before being unable to go any further. It says initially the operator thought there was a stuck brake, and did not realize one of the cars had gone off the tracks.

The weekend after the derailment, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) ordered all 7000 series trains off the tracks over safety concerns.

Following the press conference on Thursday, WMSC issued the following press release:

The WMSC appreciates the collaboration with the NTSB and with the parties throughout this investigation. The WMSC will carefully review the NTSB’s report and take all appropriate action.

The WMSC looks forward to Metrorail continuing its work to implement the proactive, data-driven safety management system that it has committed to in its Agency Safety Plan. The WMSC will continue our oversight work to ensure that WMATA continually improves the safety of the Metrorail system.

RELATED | Metro replacing wheels on 7000 series railcars to improve safety, service

NTSB has investigated WMATA 15 times throughout history, with the earliest recommendations back in 1970, according to officials; for comparison, NTSB has investigated 85 rail incidents since the late 1960s.

"In case after case, WMATA struggles to proactively identify safety hazards, including low-probability, high consequence risks," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy, said adding that many of the 7000 series trains are operating under two different specifications.

"This incident was 100% preventable," the Homendy said. "There are no accidents in transportation."

Despite recommendations from transit leaders, there are no federal standards for passenger rails like WMATA.

Since the derailment, Metro has come under General Manager Randy Clarke's new leadership. Homendy commended WMATA for cooperating with the 2021 investigation and taking detailed preventative measures.

WMATA has since issued the following statement:

Metro fully supports the NTSB Derailment report and thanks all parties to the investigation for their leadership and thoughtful approach. The collaboration and professionalism between the NTSB and WMSC have been critical to our ability to move this process forward, and we appreciate that our proactive steps have been acknowledged. Metro has issued a fleet defect notice to Kawasaki related to our performance-based contract. Based on the contract, Kawasaki is responsible to pay all costs to fix this wheelset defect. We are confident that our current Wheelset Replacement program will address this wheelset defect as we work over the next several years to re-press all 7000-series wheelsets at a higher press tonnage and increased interference fit.