Virginia – A train derailed on Friday morning, injuring one passenger. The other 74 passengers were evacuated. The derailment occurred approximately at 6:15 AM on the metro’s Silver Line. The train was headed to the Wiehle-Reston East station, when two cars, containing 75 passengers, came off the tracks at the East Falls Church Metro station platform.
One of the passengers presented minor injuries and had to be taken to a hospital, according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Deputy Fire Marshal Peter Corbino. The others were evacuated onto the tracks. However, many passengers are angered and frustrated, since their commute routine was interrupted.
Chandler Davis, 36, was traveling toward Reston when the derailment happened. He stated he was trying to sleep when the train tilted violently and slammed his head against the window. Santo Butler, 37, of Arlington, was also on the train when it derailed. He stated he felt the train going over three large bumps and then saw a burst of sparks from the window.
One rider said the derailment felt like “what I’d imagine an earthquake would feel like.” A metro employee entered the train after five minutes and started assisting the riders. It took about twenty minutes to evacuate the cars.
“We’re stuck in the middle of the highway and I hear what sounds like a gas stove is on but no fire,” said a witness from the accident.
A metro employee entered the train after five minutes and started assisting the riders. It took about twenty minutes to leave the cars. Experts have examined the tracks, recording the significant amount of damage sustained by the two cars. The area needs to be reviewed and declared safe, and after that, a crane will be used to remove the rain from the tracks.
Service will be restored tomorrow
Commuters are being urged to use the Fairfax Connector Vienna-Pentagon SafeTrack express service as an alternate travel option, since the service on the Orange line, between West Falls Church and Ballston, is closed for the rest of the day; as is the service on the Silver line between McLean and Ballston. Delays can be expected on the Green, Red, Yellow, Silver, Blue and Orange lines.
This has been a very problematic week for commuters of the Silver and Orange lines since there have been constant delays thanks to the Metro’s fifth SafeTrack safety surge, which makes the train to single-track between the Ballston and East Falls Church stations.
The Metro hired investigators to lessen various incidents
The Metro often has ‘red signal’ violations. This month, an operator almost mowed down some workers that were doing maintenance on the tracks. This marked the tenth red signal violation in 2016 alone. As such, the Federal Transit Administration hired investigators to research the causes of these incidents.
While this happens, additional training is being provided to operators, with the aim of familiarizing them with the road signals along the metro routes. Also, the metro is trying to be stricter regarding radio discipline. Another solution is automatic train operation, which has not been used since the Fort Totten crash of 2009.
Source: Washington Top News