The serial slasher has disappeared, but the mystery continues. Virginia Railway Express had a seat slasher cutting up the commuter train system’s seats over the summer, tearing deep gashes some 15 inches long into more than 20 seats.
But, just like that, the vandalism stopped, VRE spokesman Mark Roeber told The Washington Examiner.
Was it a summer intern who has since returned home? Was a commuter annoyed by heat restrictions that slowed trains in the summer months?
Or perhaps the slasher realized that it’s not worth messing with other VRE riders.
The commuter train agency asked its customers in late July to be on the lookout for the slasher. After the entreaty, hundreds of messages poured in to help.
And the commuter train service does have 140 undercover federal armed officers riding every day as a special security service. In exchange for free rides, the mix of armed Secret Service, FBI and Homeland Security officers agree to stay alert on their commutes and respond as needed. Every train has one.
After the call for help, the slashing stopped.
The problem lasted about six weeks. At first the agency didn’t realize it had a serial vandal. Crews fixed one seat, then another on the trains that connect Northern Virginia’s outer suburbs to downtown Washington. But it kept happening, usually in the same seat in the same evening trains on the Manassas line and always the same type of cut.
The average cost to replace the seats is about $175 each including labor, according to VRE. But the agency was able to rely on replacement seats in stock so didn’t need to buy new ones.
Roeber said he’s pleased the vandalism stopped but realizes the agency may never know who was the culprit, or what prompted the slashing to start.
“The issue resolved itself,” Roeber said. “They left their proverbial mark and moved on.”
