Following the worst crash in the Washington DC Metro’s 33-year history, it has been revealed that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made recommendations years ago that, said McClatchy Newspapers, were needed because of passenger vulnerability to “catastrophic damage” in the event of a crash. The collision killed nine and injured 80 people, some critically.

The NTSB recommended—three years ago—that the Metro replace the type of rail car that was involved in the historic crash because of the cars alleged vulnerabilities, said McClatchy Newspapers. Although some of the cars have been in operation over 30 years—since 1976, in some cases—the Metro kept the dangerous cars due to financial constraints, reported McClatchy Newspapers.

The collision occurred when one train stopped short of the Fort Totten station—near the Maryland border—and was rammed from behind by the second train, UPI said. The second train came to rest on top of the first, something that indicates it was traveling at a high rate of speed. The Los Angeles Times reported that the crash—which occurred during rush hour—took place at around 5:00 p.m. on the Metro’s Red Line, one of its busiest routes. McClatchy Newspapers noted that the first car of the six-car train that rammed into the second train was compressed to about one-third of its original size, “peeling away” its floor.

NTSB spokeswoman, Bridget Serchak, said that Metro’s not fixing or replacing its train cars was “unacceptable,” reported McClatchy Newspapers; Debbi Hersman, another NTSB spokeswoman concurred.