WASHINGTON (AP) — Metro officials say a delivery of new rail cars intended to replace the oldest units in its fleet will be delayed for five months.
The Washington Post reports that Metro General Manager Richard Sarles said Thursday that the delay is due to problems at factories in Japan, where some of the rail car parts are being made. The transit agency plans to buy 428 of the 7000 series rail cars from Kawasaki.
Sarles said some of the cars that were expected to arrive in the summer of 2013 will now be delivered in the winter of 2014.
Three hundred of the new cars will replace cars that are as old as the rail system. Another 64 are intended for a new rail extension to Loudoun County, Va.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
