There have been numerous incidents on the Washington Metro over its history, including several collisions causing injuries and fatalities, and numerous derailments. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has been criticized for disregarding safety warnings and advice from experts.[1]
On January 6, 1996, during the Blizzard of 1996, a Metro operator was killed when a train failed to come to a stop at the Shady Grove station. The four-car train overran the station platform and struck an unoccupied train that was awaiting assignment.[2] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found that the crash was a result of a failure in the train's computer-controlled braking system. The NTSB recommended that Metro grant train operators the ability to manually control the braking system, even in inclement weather. Additionally, investigators recommended that Metro prohibit parked rail cars on tracks used by inbound trains.[2] The NTSB also recommended that Metro reinforce the 1000-series cars to help protect them against telescoping in a crash. Metro rejected this recommendation in 2002, saying the modification was impractical and might lead to "higher longitudinal accelerations" and thus greater injuries. The NTSB also advised Metro to install event recorders, similar to airplane black boxes, on all 1000-series cars.[3] This recommendation echoed one made following Metrorail's first fatal accident in 1982, when the NTSB recommended the installation of event recorders in trains, but despite some discussion by WMATA managers, no recorders had been installed by January 1996.[2]
On November 3, 2004, an out-of-service Red Line train rolled backwards into the Woodley Park station and hit an in-service train that was at the platform servicing the station.[4] No one was killed, but 20 people were injured.[5] A 14-month investigation concluded that the train operator was most likely not alert as the train rolled backwards into the station. Safety officials estimated that had the out-of-service train been full, at least 79 would have died. The train operator was dismissed and Metro officials agreed to add rollback protection to more than 300 rail cars.[6]
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Main article: June 2009 Washington Metro train collision |
On June 22, 2009, at 5:02 pm EDT, two trains on the Red Line collided. A southbound train bound for Shady Grove stopped on the track short of the Fort Totten station, and another southbound train collided with the rear of the first train. The lead car of the moving train telescoped into the rear car of the stationary one. Several surviving and deceased passengers were trapped for hours during the rescue operation. Nine people died and more than 70 were injured, dozens of which were described as "walking wounded".[7] The moving train's operator was killed. According to WMATA, trains were not single-tracking in the area when the crash occurred, but the trains were on the same track.[8][9] Red Line service was suspended between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations, and New Hampshire Avenue was closed.[10][11]
At 4:27 am on November 29, 2009, a collision occurred between two out-of-service trains at the Falls Church rail yard in Fairfax County, Virginia. According to Metro, three rail cars were believed to be damaged beyond repair.[12] Three Metro employees with minor injuries were taken to a local hospital.[13] The NTSB planned to launch an investigation of the incident.[14]
The train operator, whose name was not released, was fired for "failure to follow standard operating procedures." He had been a WMATA employee since 2007. His train was moving at 18 mph; the speed limit for train yards is 15 mph, and operators are supposed to reduce their speed even further when approaching parked trains.[15]
All twelve rail cars on the trains were damaged in the crash, and two were derailed, causing at least $9 million in damages.[15] Train 902 (the moving train) was made up of cars 5056, 5057, 1171, 1170, 3223 and 3222. The stationary train was made up of cars 5138, 5139, 1107, 1106, 3216 and 3217.[12]
Two out-of-service trains, both consisting of 3000-series rail cars, collided between Foggy Bottom and Farragut West as both trains were being moved to their respective rail yards affecting the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines during the morning rush.[16][17] Two train operators were injured due to the collision. Train 755 (the stationary train) consisted of cars 3141, 3140, 3121, 3120, 3206 and 3207. Train 700 (the striking train) consisted of cars 3008, 3009, 3010, 3011, 3019 and 3018. Car 3008, the lead car of the striking train, struck car 3207 from the stationary train. Both cars suffered damage as of a result.[18][19] Cars 3140 and 3120 also suffered broken couplers during the collision.[20][21] Cars 3008, 3009, 3120, 3121, 3206, and 3207 were damaged beyond repair as a result of the accident.[21]
Metro had a string of three fatal accidents involving track workers in a little over a year.[22] In October 2005, a Metro employee was struck and killed at the Braddock Road station on the Blue and Yellow Lines.[23] In May 2006, another Metro employee died after being hit by a Red Line train at Dupont Circle station.[24] On November 30, 2006, two Metro employees were struck and killed by a Metrorail train while performing routine track maintenance on the Yellow Line near Eisenhower Avenue station.[25] The operator of the train was found to be at fault for not following appropriate emergency braking procedures, and was permanently barred from operating Metro trains or buses. WMATA subsequently limited when track inspections can take place and lowered train speeds to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) when within 600 feet (180 m) of inspectors.[22]
On August 9, 2009, Metro employee Michael Nash[26] was struck and killed by a ballast regulator, a track unit that deposits and spreads track ballast onto the track bed.[27] The incident occurred halfway between the Dunn Loring and Vienna stations on the western end of the Orange Line in Fairfax County.[28]
On September 10, 2009, Metro employee John Moore was struck between the Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport stations. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died four days later from his injuries.[29]
On January 26, 2010, two Metro employees Jeff Garrard, 49 and Sung Oh, 68 were found dead when they were hit by a piece of track equipment at the Rockville station. They were installing new train control equipment in the track bed on the outbound track of the Red Line, towards Shady Grove.[30]
On October 6, 2013, two Washington Metro employees were injured and a contractor, Harold Ingram, was killed when they were struck by a 40-foot (12 m) section of rail following a fire and loud noise approximately 70 to 80 feet (21 to 24 meters) from the injured workers. The incident occurred shortly after midnight in a work zone on the outbound (Glenmont direction) track approximately 400 feet (120 m) from the Union Station platform towards Judiciary Square.[31]
In 1987, a CSX train derailed near the Takoma station, where the freight trains and Metro tracks run along the same corridor. The CSX train tore through a chain-link fence and onto the Metro tracks. One car penetrated the Metro power substation building adjacent to the tracks, causing significant damage.[61] This accident led NTSB to recommend an intrusion detection warning system along this stretch of tracks.[62]
In 1989, an Orange Line train hit a car that had fallen onto the tracks from an Interstate 66 overpass, though the train operator was able to apply the emergency brakes and slow the train to 5 mph at impact, resulting in no serious injuries for the 40 passengers.[63][64]
Metro has also experienced a number of incidents in which trains narrowly missed colliding. On June 7, 2005, a train operator in the tunnel beneath the Potomac River, between the Foggy Bottom–GWU and Rosslyn stations, had a signal to proceed but noticed red lights ahead and engaged the emergency brakes. His train missed colliding with the one ahead of it by 35 feet (11 m), and the train behind his missed colliding by 20 feet (6.1 m).[74] Another incident occurred in March 2009, near the Potomac Avenue station, when one train missed colliding with another by 500 feet (150 m) after the Automatic Train Protection system failed.[75]
On January 12, 2015, during early evening rush, a Yellow Line train departing L'Enfant Plaza for Pentagon began to fill with smoke. Everyone on board was evacuated; 84 people were taken to hospitals and one person died. The National Transportation Safety Board released a statement saying "an electrical arcing event" sparked the incident.[76][77] According to an Associated Press story the next day, the last fatality on the metro system had been on June 22, 2009. The report went on to state that electricity had arced from the third rail to the track, and that the cause was still undetermined. One victim was known to be in critical condition.[78] Questions were raised about the timeliness and adequacy of the emergency response by Metro and rescue personnel.[79]
On December 10, 2019, smoke was reported from an arcing insulator along the Red Line near Tenleytown–AU station, causing service to be suspended between Friendship Heights and Van Ness–UDC stations during the morning rush hour. A train was stuck in the smoke inside the tunnel at Tenleytown. Later in the afternoon rush hour, more smoke was reported from an arcing insulator at Woodley Park station causing service to be suspended between Dupont Circle and Van Ness. Red Line trains were then forced to operate on a single track between Friendship Heights and Van Ness due to another arcing insulator failure.[80][81] This led to WMATA replacing 36 arcing insulators the next day.[82]
On February 4, 2020, smoke was reported at L'Enfant Plaza when maintenance crew attempted to remove a padlock from an employee locker in a mechanical room at L'Enfant Plaza by using an unauthorized tool. The crew extinguished the fire but operators on trains that were carrying passengers were told to do a track inspection of the vicinity before the smoke can clear out. WMATA took criticism from the smoke incident.[83]
On July 21, 2015, a man at the L'Enfant Plaza station pulled an emergency stop lever after apparently missing his stop. The man was captured on closed circuit television forcing open the doors of the stopped train and running down the platform with a young child in hand. In accordance with Metro procedures, the entire line on which the train had stopped was secured with teams dispatched to review the situation. The action caused extensive delays and led to outrage among Metro passengers. Several days later, Metro Transit Police reported that the man had stopped the train after being separated from a second younger child on the train platform. The man was questioned by police and no charges were filed.[84][85]
On September 1, 2016, the Rhode Island Avenue station was shut down due to falling debris. After two incidents of concrete chunks and metal falling from the mezzanine ceiling, Metro announced the temporary closure of the station pending emergency investigation.[86]
The Tri-State Oversight Committee formerly oversaw WMATA, but had no regulatory authority. Metro's safety department usually was in charge of investigating incidents, but could not require other Metro agencies to implement its recommendations.[1] In October 2015, following several safety lapses, the Federal Transit Administration assumed oversight of WMATA with the authority to conduct inspections and impose sanctions.[87] The NTSB, which is charged with investigating every civil aviation accident and significant accidents in other modes of transportation, does not have the authority to set or enforce standards. This lack of authority has been scrutinized after NTSB recommended that WMATA take measures to increase crash worthiness of trains after collisions in 1996 and again in 2006.[88] WMATA did not take action on these recommendations, citing tax advantage leases and an eventual replacement around 2014.[89] NTSB, unable to compel action, classified the recommendation as, "Safety Recommendation R-06-2 Closed Unacceptable Action".
