DC subway safety questions involve Lincoln plant

Kawasaki subway cars that have been pulled from service in Washington DC following a dramatic derailing last week, were reportedly built at the company’s plant in Lincoln.

According to the Associated Press, a “lingering wheel and axle issue” finds Metro officials sidelining its entire Kawasaki 7000-series trains, 748 cars in all, which comprise about 60 percent of the fleet leaving thousands of commuters wondering what to do next.

In Kawasaki statements from 2014 and 2015, the company announced that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority agreed to purchase the 7000- series cars that are complete with state of the art systems including  monitors that display digital content, closed circuit cameras and a communications  network that would “guarantee a safe, reliable, and comfortable ride.”

The AP reports that the derailment occurred on the Metro’s Blue Line near Arlington National Cemetery when a car slipped off the tracks, then reconnected by itself before derailing a second time—trapping passengers in a tunnel in a dark train that had to be evacuated on foot.

According to the wire service, the company has not responded to requests for comment.