Washington, DC Metrorail Crash-Review

Leading story tonight June 22, 2009 is the Metro train crash in Washington, DC. Rush hour on the Red Line begins about 4 PM. The crash happened just after 5 PM in northeast Washington during the city's evening rush hour. Commuters know that the express and local trains run on the same set of tracks. The local Red line runs to Takoma Park, DC then turns around and goes back downtown. The express train becomes the local from Silver Spring, MD until the end of the line at Shady Grove. News reported a Metro spokesperson stated that first train stopped waiting to get clearance to proceed because a second train was stopped. The third train did not slow or stop, and for an explanation we do not have plowed into the back of the first train. According to Metrorail website, the trains maximum speed is 59 mph, 33 mph average with stops. With experience riding the train, it's much often slower than that. During rush hour the system runs 6-8 car train on the Red line. There’s supposed to be a 5 minute interval between trains. By the time the train gets to Takoma Park, the wait can be as much as 10 minutes. Delays are sometimes due to track switching problems according to the PA system announcements.

At this writing, six people were killed and many more people injured in this Monday rush-hour collision. CNN stated that Mayor Fenty confirmed the number of people killed. He stated that this is the deadliest accident in the history of the Metro train transit system. One female train operator was among those killed. Metrorail has been in operation for 33 years. More updates to follow: http://tinyurl.com/los926.

According to The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Metro was created by an interstate agreement in 1967 to plan, develop, build, finance, and operate a balanced regional transportation system in the national capital area. In 1969 the Authority began building its rail system, and began operating the first phase of Metrorail in 1976. Metrorail serves 86 stations and has 106 miles of track. Metrorail and Metrobus serve a population of 3.4 million within a 1,500-square mile jurisdiction. WMATA Facts: tp://http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/docs/metrofacts.pdf