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Another Metro train may have run red signal

By Max Smith

WASHINGTON — A Metro train may have overrun a red signal Wednesday afternoon, in what would be just the latest lapse in the system.

Metro said in a message provided to WTOP by a source that a train traveling outbound from the Reagan National Airport station overran a red signal, and rail traffic was then stopped in the area.

There were no injuries and “no major damage to the switch at that location,” the message said.

Metro and the Federal Transit Administration will investigate the incident.

Metro said in a statement that the train involved was a Blue Line train that ended up stopping with two cars beyond the end of the platform around 2:45 p.m. Passengers on the train were taken off through the four cars that remained on the platform “without further incident.”

Metro estimates that the delay for riders on the train was about 30 minutes. Single-tracking through the area may have made some other riders wait longer.

If it is confirmed to be a red signal violation, it would be Metro’s ninth in the system this year.

The FTA is nearing a final report that will offer some potential solutions. Metro has had several similar reports in the past.

The Metro board of directors was already set to get an update on red signal violations Thursday, including a “near miss” earlier this month where a train almost hit workers on the tracks and ended up facing another train head on.

Metro fare evasion crackdown sparks police confrontation concerns

By Max Smith
WASHINGTON — Amid complaints that Metro’s fare evasion crackdown is leading to people being pinned to the ground or pepper-sprayed unnecessarily by police, Metro’s general manager said Thursday that the crackdown is necessary to ensure that other rules are followed and that Metro gets all of the funding it is entitled to. “The way WMATA treats its riders, particularly people of color, is unacceptable,” Brianna Musselman told the Metro Board Thursday. She recorded video of a man being pinned to the ground and pepper-sprayed by Metro police at the Gallery Place station in June, during an encounter that began when officers said the man tried to enter the rail system without paying.
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