Skip to main content

Metro train nearly runs over safety inspectors

WASHINGTON — Federal safety inspectors had to “jump out of harm’s way” when a speeding Metro train nearly struck them Thursday morning, the Federal Transit Administration said Friday.

The inspectors were analyzing track conditions near Reagan National Airport when a train sped right through the area where they were standing, said a statement from the agency with temporary oversight responsibilities for Metro.

Metro spokesman Richard Jordan told WTOP that two trains were involved in the incident, and both train operators have been taken out of service until the investigation is complete.

The FTA said that Metro had put temporary speed restrictions in place in the area for the safety of the crews on the tracks, but the train did not slow down or stop. That is a major safety violation.

Metro and the FTA are investigating the incident.

It is just the latest safety incident involving trains speeding past work crews. Federal inspectors have identified several other similar situations over the last year, and a Metro worker had to dive out of the way of a Red Line train that ran a red signal this summer.

Metro hopes for temporary Dupont, Farragut North cooling fix this summer

WASHINGTON — Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld stood Monday next to the Metro chiller pumps sitting idle for a third straight year about 40 feet below Connecticut Avenue Northwest and said he hopes — but cannot promise — that a temporary fix for the cooling system for Dupont Circle and Farragut North will be in place at some point this summer. Pipes connecting the chiller vault to a cooling tower about 500 feet south on Connecticut Avenue and 13 stories up have been leaking since at least 2015. Metro believes those 500 feet of pipes are the only issue that has kept the stations from being cooled by the shared chiller plant since then.
Read Next Story