You Never Know When There's a Blogger Around
Have you ever wondered if the emergency intercoms actually work in metrorail cars? Unless you're seated toward the front or the back of a train car with an overly curious tourist child with an affinity for big red buttons, you may have asked this very question. We were on our way to work this morning on the Red Line when a man in a wide-brimmed hat and khaki shorts simply walked up, pressed the button and said (if we remember his name correctly) "Hey Ron!"
This DCist, and others seated around us, turned around in general bewilderment.
"Ron?!" the man said again.
The woman across the aisle from this DCist asked the man: "Is there an emergency?" The man didn't respond.
Then there was an answer from the train operator. "Yeah?"
We paraphrase: "Hey Ron ... I need a Benz truck."
Our fellow passengers were more than a bit perplexed as to the Benz inquiry unfolding in the train car. The voice on the intercom -- which is supposed to be used for mass emergency communication -- can travel quite far into the center of the train.
At this point, the train was approaching the Judiciary Square station and Ron and the wide-brimmed hat man were discussing about when they could talk next (when Ron finished his last train run at around 1:15 p.m. at Silver Spring). Instantly, as the conversation wrapped up, Ron announced: "Judiciary Square, doors opening on the right ... Red Line to Silver Spring."
We assume that this must violate some sort of WMATA protocol. Conducting Benz truck deals via metrorail emergency intercoms in public must be an abuse of the emergency communication infrastructure. Ron's Judiciary Square announcement, after all, was nearly derailed because of the Benz truck inquiry.
(If there's anyone from WMATA reading this, it was car No. 1119)
>> WMATA's metrorail safety Flash animation guide.
>> The Washington Post Express' metrorail emergency preparedness guide.