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Yesterday, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) pulled from service 16 of its 5000-series rail cars after a friction ring came off a Blue Line train, prompting a service shutdown and the emergency evacuation of riders.

WMATA pulled the 16 cars from service as part of its investigation into the loss of the friction ring. WMATA officials identified the friction ring as “related to a potential hub failure — a part of the brake assembly that holds the friction ring in place,” WMATA officials said in a prepared statement.

“The cause of the possible hub failure remains under review,” they said, adding that WMATA identified 34 hubs from the same batch of 5000-series rail cars.