Metro News Release

For immediate release: January 25, 2005

Metrorail’s hardened snow fighting fleet does the trick

Non-hardened cars remain vulnerable to snow, wind, cold

Metro’s "snow-hardened fleet" of 584 rail cars weathered the weekend snowfall smoothly, as the "hardened" cars were able to operate smoothly during the snowfall, sub-zero temperatures and windy conditions. However yesterday (Monday, Jan. 24), when a larger fleet of railcars was needed for weekday service, and rail cars that have not yet been "hardened" were put into service, many suffered mechanical difficulties when the fluffy snow, high winds and bitter cold temperatures impacted the cars in many different ways (such as propulsion system, door problems, brake problems), causing many of them to be taken out of service for repairs.

As a result, on Monday afternoon 24 trains that are usually six-car trains were only four-car trains, and this morning (Tuesday, Jan. 25) 13 trains that are usually six-car trains were only four-car trains, resulting in more crowded conditions than normal on the Orange, Green and Red lines.

Mechanics have been working around the clock to get the motors dried out, repaired and back serving customers. Many cars suffered electrical short circuits when the motors sucked the light fluffy snow into the electronic components located beneath the trains.

"The good news is that over the weekend, we ran our snow-fighting fleet of 584 rail cars, and those cars performed admirably in the snow, wind and cold," said Steven Feil, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer for Rail. "The rail cars that experienced mechanical issues on Monday were rail cars not hardened for the winter, and as we continue to receive more rehabilitated rail cars, we will continue to put them into service, adding to our snow-fighting fleet. It shows that our plan is working and that over time as we get more newly rehabilitated rail cars into service we will have an even larger snow-fighting fleet."

Metro railcar maintenance staff "hardened" the additional rail cars this year by protecting the undercarriage motors from snow ingestion and electrical short circuits that are caused by water/snow and debris ingestion. The hardening process included the special immersion treatment of traction motors by coating them with a protective material using a vacuum pressure process and by coating motor frames/housings and coils.

Metro has an operating fleet of 906 railcars of which 584 or 64 percent have been snow-hardened. Thirty-five percent of the fleet still does not handle fluffy snow conditions well. Wet, heavy snow and icy conditions do not impact the trains as severely as fluffy snow because only the fluffy snow gets sucked into the train motors and control panels.

In preparation for this winter, Metro initiated several inclement weather strategies to enhance rail service during major snow storms in addition to the "hardening" of part of the fleet. Those strategies includes the following.

Operate 20 passenger trains equipped with de-icing units to combat snow and ice on the third rail;

Use new "heater tape" that has been installed on critical sections of track with significant grades/inclines and in critical areas in the rail yards to keep ice from building up on the third rail;

Increase the frequency of trains during non-peak periods and when the system is closed in the middle of the night to help prevent an accumulation of snow on the tracks; and

Provide rail car door threshold sweeping to remove snow, salt and ice from train doors at terminals and in yards to supplement cars equipped with threshold heaters.

News release issued on January 25, 2005.