One percent. What if you got things right on your job one percent of the time? Think you’d still have a job? Probably not … unless you are one of a very small group of subway railcar manufacturers in the world.
Only two of the 184 Series 6000 railcars made for the Washington Metro system by Alstom Transportation didn’t need some reconfiguration, some part change. I said the other day that I was glad that these defects were caught now rather than after the bulk of these cars had been delivered and I still believe that. However, I seem to recall that there were similar problems with the cars delivered in a rush to get the Green Line opened a few years back.
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At that time, Metro essentially froze the contract and completed the work with its own staff and contract workers. Maybe it’s time to think about taking similar steps with Alstom.
This is not just about getting the cars out there so you and I won’t have to wait so long for an eight-car train to pull into the station; this is about safety. Faulty welds and steel that is not up to code are inexcusable and should, in and of themselves, provide Metro with an out in its relationship with this company.
The Metro quality assurance inspector who spotted these defects should be given a plaque and a parking space close to the front door.
Log onto metromapr
I found something online that some of you might find interesting or useful or neither. It’s a site called MetroMapr (I guess to be part of “the Internet generation” you have to spell things strange) and you can find it at www.metromapr.com/DCMetro.aspx. It shows you where all of the Metro stops are for the rail service and indicates which line they are on. It also overlays the Metro system on one of those Google satellite maps and you can zoom in real close to see the roofs of the buildings near those Metro stations, although I’m not sure what value there is in that unless you repair air conditioning systems. Anyway, it might be something worth a look and it might actually have value to you or to out-of-town guests. I think a better bet is still the Metro Web site (www.wmata.com), which gives you information on rail and bus routes as well as walking directions once you plug in your starting and ending points.
REX going natural
While we’re on the topic of Metro, some of those old dinosaurs known as REX buses are being retired. Face it: Even though “REX” was meant to stand for Richmond Highway Express, some of the buses are so old that they should becalled “T-Rex” (Thank you very much, we’re here all week.) The REX line runs from Fort Belvoir to the King Street Metro station and has proven rather popular. These new buses will run on compressed natural gas and feature high-rise seats that should be more comfortable. There will be a total of 12 new buses with the first two hitting the streets at the start of next week.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
