WMATA Red Line Collision

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CNN is now reporting two fatalities and showing some poor-quality early wreck video. One train underrode/overrode the other. Unlike the Metrolink/UP cornfield meet of last September there doesn't appear to be any telescoping.
 
Here is a photo

art.dcmetro1.wusa.jpg


Looks pretty bad.
 
Wow, this mass transit sure is dangerous.
Yeah, not so much. How many people died on the roads today?
Well, duh. But the few deaths on railroads each year (unless Metrolink screws things up) works against it. They become high profile incidents that are covered at length and have long, drawn out investigations. Most stories about automobile fatalities are ignored by the vast majority of the public.

Just check out this story from an LATimes blog: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009...c-accident.html

Mother kills her kid in what police determined was driving at unsafe speeds in wet conditions. No arrests. No penalties. Is her license going to be taken away? Probably not.
 
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Press conference just wrapped up:

1. Trains were traveling in the same direction, one of the fatalities was the operator of the second train that rear ended the first. I've read unconfirmed reports that the first train derailed prior to the accident, but nothing official.

2. 4 fatalities, making this the deadliest accident in WMATA history.

3. Rescue efforts are still ongoing.

4. MARC Brunswick line is shut down at this location, as the CSX tracks parallel Metro's tracks.
 
Wow, this mass transit sure is dangerous.
Yeah, not so much. How many people died on the roads today?
Well, duh. But the few deaths on railroads each year (unless Metrolink screws things up) works against it. They become high profile incidents that are covered at length and have long, drawn out investigations. Most stories about automobile fatalities are ignored by the vast majority of the public.

Just check out this story from an LATimes blog: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009...c-accident.html

Mother kills her kid in what police determined was driving at unsafe speeds in wet conditions. No arrests. No penalties. Is her license going to be taken away? Probably not.
This isn't the thread discuss it, but none of this backs up your assertion that mass transit is dangerous.
 
This is from METRO's Rail & Bus Service page as of 8:06pm. Guess they don't watch the news.

Disruption at Fort Totten. Trains are turning back at Rhode Island Ave & Silver Spring due to a train experiencing mechanical difficulties outside of Ft. Totten. Shuttle service has been established.
 
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One could say that having a train parked on top if it could count as a "mechanical problem".

On a more serious note, WUSA 9 is reporting that the death toll is likely to climb as more bodies are recovered.
 
It's the main story on CNN's website now. Casualties are now listed as 6 dead, "scores" injured, 70 people being treated at the scene.

That's bad. Very bad. However, as the article also noted, it's only the second fatal crash in 33 years for the Metro. I doubt any stretch of roadway can say the same.
 
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A friend's husband and toddler were on the rear-ending train, about three cars back. They "bounced around" but walked away unscathed. The kiddo, nearly 3, came home and began reenacting the incident while "ignoring momma, who keeps coming over every few seconds and hugging him tightly."

She requests you hug all loved ones tonight.
 
I doubt any stretch of roadway can say the same.
Of course, but I think the vast majority of people think they are in more control when they are in their car. High-profile accidents like this reinforce that belief even though, on a passenger-mile basis, mass transit systems are much safer than driving.
 
This wreck reminds me of the 1950 LIRR collision, but that was far worse then that one. My prayers to all the familys of the victims. Hopefully this was not a wreck caused by the operator being destracted.

cpamtfan-Peter
 
A friend's husband and toddler were on the rear-ending train, about three cars back. They "bounced around" but walked away unscathed. The kiddo, nearly 3, came home and began reenacting the incident while "ignoring momma, who keeps coming over every few seconds and hugging him tightly."
She requests you hug all loved ones tonight.

Please pass along that I'm very glad to hear they are ok. It can be very scary for small ones to witness things like that.

I hope he does well with it.
 
This wreck reminds me of the 1950 LIRR collision, but that was far worse then that one. My prayers to all the familys of the victims. Hopefully this was not a wreck caused by the operator being destracted.
cpamtfan-Peter
DC Metro is fully automated. So unless they were having some problem prior to the crash, the operator would not have been in control of the train, the computer would have been in control.

That of course begs the question of what did actually happen? Was the train for some odd reason operating with manual control? Or did something go wrong with the computers?
 
There's been some discussion about the possibility of a technical fault with the control system in other forums. Last report I heard was that the investigators were focusing on either signal issues or operator error. Either way, this adds to an already bad year for rail transit-five major incidents since May 2008 and 32 fatalities. Compared to motor vehicle statistics, that's low but compared to recent years for rail transit it is very bad. The two Boston Green Line wrecks are pretty much attributed to human error, as was the San Francisco wreck and the Chatsworth, California wreck.

As for the type of accident, this is definitely an override with telescope. Front of the second train is GONE and the floor is ripped away. I sure hope that the wreck was not the result of operator distraction, but we'll have to wait to find out. Pretty much every other wreck mentioned above was due to operator distraction and the FRA and FTA are really up in arms about that. FYI, the T canned a transit coach operator a week or so ago for violating their new policy.
 
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This isn't the thread discuss it, but none of this backs up your assertion that mass transit is dangerous.
I was being sarcastic.
That's pretty tasteless in this situation.

As of this morning we're up to 9 dead, and trains across the system are in fully manual mode until investigators figure out what happened. Bus service is in place to carry folks around the affected stations, and service on the MARC Brunswick Line is suspended. This is also the same ROW that that Capitol Limited uses, yesterday's WB departure made it out before the accident, but it's unknown (to me at least) if today's trains in/out of WAS will be able to get past. You can see in one of the pictures below that MARC was able to move some equipment past the wreck site overnight, so the tracks are at least there and undamaged.

Here is the "best" collection of pictures that I've found yet this morning (if you're averse to blood, you may want to pass - there are several pictures of blood on the exterior of one of the cars involved):

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Dr...in_Crash__.html
 
This wreck reminds me of the 1950 LIRR collision, but that was far worse then that one. My prayers to all the familys of the victims. Hopefully this was not a wreck caused by the operator being destracted.
cpamtfan-Peter
DC Metro is fully automated. So unless they were having some problem prior to the crash, the operator would not have been in control of the train, the computer would have been in control.

That of course begs the question of what did actually happen? Was the train for some odd reason operating with manual control? Or did something go wrong with the computers?
Although Metro typically runs with both automatic train operation and automatic train control, the operator still has immediate override capability to take over operation or put the train into emergency.

It is way, way too early to speculate about cause, but a failure of the train detection circuitry, rendering the stopped train invisible to the system, has to be a consideration. And to clarify about computer control, the trains are not operated by a central, remote system. Each train has the control system on board. That on board system controls ATC compliance and station stops. Door openings and closings, and station departures are controlled by the train operator.
 
This wreck reminds me of the 1950 LIRR collision, but that was far worse then that one. My prayers to all the familys of the victims. Hopefully this was not a wreck caused by the operator being destracted.
cpamtfan-Peter
DC Metro is fully automated. So unless they were having some problem prior to the crash, the operator would not have been in control of the train, the computer would have been in control.

That of course begs the question of what did actually happen? Was the train for some odd reason operating with manual control? Or did something go wrong with the computers?
Although Metro typically runs with both automatic train operation and automatic train control, the operator still has immediate override capability to take over operation or put the train into emergency.

It is way, way too early to speculate about cause, but a failure of the train detection circuitry, rendering the stopped train invisible to the system, has to be a consideration. And to clarify about computer control, the trains are not operated by a central, remote system. Each train has the control system on board. That on board system controls ATC compliance and station stops. Door openings and closings, and station departures are controlled by the train operator.
This was my thought too. With all the safety devices and controls, this is one of those accidents that just can't happen........but it did. Something or someone made a huge mistake. Unfortunately the operator is dead so all they have are the recorders and testing of the on board systems. I used to love to ride in the first car to watch the track ahead. Now days I ride in the middle of the train.
 
News sources have corrected themselves down to 7 confirmed fatalities.

Apparently the 1000- series cars aren't equipped with the same data recorders as newer cars, so since the second train consisted of 1000-series cars, there's not going to be a lot of data to evaluate on that front.
 
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