A top Metro official on Sunday rebuked a published report claiming a near collision of Metrorail trains in early March may have been a precursor to the deadly Red Line crash three months later.
Metro Chief Safety Officer Alexa Dupigny-Samuels issued a statement assuring the public “that our Metrorail system is safe,” while chastising the Washington Post for an article about a March 2 incident at the Potomac Avenue Station.
“The two incidents are not related,” Dupigny-Samuels said of the March and June events. “The March 2 incident was identified as a car-borne issue and the June 22 accident is being looked at as an issue in and along the track bed area, specifically in the track circuitry system.”
The Post did not return a call asking for comment on Metro’s statement.
The transit system is under increased scrutiny since the June 22 crash, when one speeding Red Line train slammed into the back of an idling train, killing nine people and injuring dozens more. The National Transportation Safety Board has keyed its investigation on the track circuit, which is supposed to control a train’s speed and the distance of one train from another.
During the March incident, Dupigny-Samuels said, a six-car train overran the Potomac Avenue platform by “less than the length of one railcar” and came within about 500 feet of another train, what she described as a “safe distance.” The Post reported the two trains were “dangerously close,” a statement it attributed to the transit system’s Tri-State Oversight Committee.
The train was taken out of service for inspection, Dupigny-Samuels said. Metro later discovered a faulty “relay” on board.
“The March 2 incident is a good example of how we follow up on safety concerns and correct the issue when it is identified,” she said.
The Post reported that Metro’s “crash-avoidance system suspected of failing in the recent deadly accident on Metro’s Red Line malfunctioned three months earlier.” Whether the issue occurs on a train or on the track, the Post reported, it “could lead to a temporary failure of the Automatic Train Protection” system.
Metro has had its share of close calls. On June 7, 2005, a train traveling 59 mph under the Potomac River failed to slow enough to avoid a collision with a stopped train ahead. The operator, Larry P. Mitchell, overrode the system and pushed the brakes, ultimately stopping 35 feet from the other train. A third train stopped only 12 feet behind Mitchell’s.
