The report, approved July 11 by the commission, found a series of errors that led to a failure of a drawbar between the fifth and sixth cars of the eight-car train Silver Line train near the McLean station on Aug, 25, 2018.
No one was injured.
Along with the use of the incorrect bolt, factors leading to the drawbar failure, the report says, included:
— A cross-threaded screw eventually allowed a bolt to work loose.
— Excessive heat generated by the use of power tools stripped threads on the screw.
— There was no approved procedure to cover the rebuilding of the drawbar.
— Supervisors did not audit the overhaul process in accordance with maintenance rules.
Metro subsequently inspected the drawbars on all similar equipment, removed the incorrect bolts from its stock, and replaced the bolts in repairs that concluded in January of this year.
The complete 51-page report is available online.
Those are a lot of errors associated with one failure. It leads to a question of how much the safety culture there has really improved.