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An unidentified passenger accidentally fell onto the tracks at Takoma Metro station just before 10 a.m. this morning, Metro spokesperson Steven Taubenkibel said. According to Metro, the passenger got up off the tracks and walked away, and did not receive medical attention as far as WMATA knows. WJLA has been reporting that the incident caused the station to close 15 minutes earlier than had been originally planned, but Taubenkibel says the fall happened at 9:57 a.m., making the scenario WJLA is reporting impossible. Metro says the station closed at 10 a.m., as planned.
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Does anyone know about the armed robbery on 13th NW last night in Columbia Heights? The helicopters
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Is this like the "if a tree falls and no one is there to hear it" question?
Do you hear that? It's Jim Graham rushing to pass emergency legislation making it illegal to fall on Metro tracks. These people are the Devil incarnate. Not only are they a nuisance, but we should be doing everything possible to encourage people to use mass transit. And that begins by getting people off the tracks. But we must have faith in WMATA. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, it's an oncoming trail. Ooops! It look like it's broken down. There is a 10 minute delay on the Red Line. We will not tell you why.
This is one instance where you can't hold WMATA/Metro at fault. It is an unavoidable danger that if you get to close to the edge of the platform, you may lose your balance and fall off... just like if you walk too close to the curb, you might fall down on the street. You can't entirely remove this very remote potential danger from rail transit. Sure, at great expense and at the cost of destroying whatever design appeal Metro stations have, you could install those fancy automatic doors like they have in Europe and Asia that keep idiots from coming in contact with the track pit... but I don't think it needs to be said how impossible that would be and how uneccessary it should be. People need to be more careful, and recognize their own ability or disability. You should be alert enough when traveling to know if you are able to handle standing near the edge of the platform without losing your balance. Stand back, sit down, you'll get on a train! People in wheel chairs, use your breaks and a lot of caution until the train has arrived! Old folks, well, if you have to travel during rush, just take it easy and don't get so close to the edge! It really seems like such common sense to me, so I really can't see how anyone can try to attack WMATA for these issues. They have bumpy domes (at least in the majority of the stations) and they have flashing lights... I really can't think of any other practical way to alert you other than rigging proximity detection technology that will detect morons and startle them by announcing very loudly: "hey you f*****g idiot you're approaching the platform edge so move the f**k back!"
This is one instance where you can't hold WMATA/Metro at fault.
One would think. If there's a way, creative/persistent lawyers will find it.
On a related note, has anyone else noticed the pretty simple advertising in Metro stations (I only use a few stations on a regular basis and first saw it at Judiciary Square). It uses the two-colored double sentence to advise passengers that it dangerous to not pay attention while on the platforms, to trains that are approaching because passengers are too busy texting/talking on the phone/playing games/etc.
My first reaction was, is that for passengers or is that a stab at train operators?
Hey Mr. "I fell on the tracks and just walked away ®" I've got two words for you. "Mental Anguish" And I know a few Personal Injury Lawyers.
There are no such fancy automatic doors in the parisian or Barcelona metro. You know what there isn't either in those two systems? Escalators smack in the middle of a normal sized platform. There are tunnels leading away from the platform towards the stairs or escalators. I'm always creeped out by the ridiculously narrowed platform space in between the escalator and the edge of the platform in most dc stations, which hardly leaves enough room to have a row of people standing around and a line of people walking to a wider segment of the platform.
Agreed, but I just push people out of my way.
Humpty was pushed.
I agree with you it is a little odd that they would have built the system with 35 foot valuted ceilings but yet put crammed in as many stairs onto the platforms as possible... But not much they can do about it at this point so best to just work with it. In most cases one can take an escelator or staircase that does lead to the middle of the platform which is more open. It's too bad that the single platform stations aren't all as wide as the lower level of Metro Center where the Orange and Blue pull in... that area is much wider than any of the other center platforms...
I was actually there this morning. here is what happened. I got to the Metro Station at 9:40, knowing that the Metro would close for crash investigation at 10 and that the last train usually comes right around 10 till 10 when they've closed the station before. When it started to get close to 10, and no train had arrived (the led signs did not help things, because the times keep changing) people on the platform started getting ancy. All of a sudden I heard a cry from the front of the platform and then people began leaning out and looking onto the tracks to see what was going on. Two people ( I could not see if they were Metro workers) hopped quickly down to help the man get back onto the platform.
Then, some sort of confrontation happened. It was either the man himself or someone else who was upset, who started screaming into the face of the Metro worker on the platform because right in the middle of all of this, the announcement that there would be no more trains coming sounded, and everyone was ushered out of the station and down to the bus stop, where NO SHUTTLES were waiting. There were about 100 people there and we waited 10 minutes for a shuttle.
Two news crews were there covering the closure of the station and tried to find out what had happened, but I don't think anyoen had a very clear story. Just about everyone on the shuttle bus who was explaining their lateness to someone on a cellphone had a different story about the fall - Some were more dramatic than others -- I call this the "so-ridiculus-but-it's-true-and-that's-why-I'm-late lie."
To be honest, the person who fell got too close to the edge. People at this station in particular are notorious for leaning out over the tracks to see if a train is coming in their direction.
aeq28: I was at Silver Spring at 9:40 as well, for the same reason that I can usually catch one of the last two trains before the close at 10 am. But this morning I walked up at that time to a crowded platform, so it was noticeable that a train had not come for at least five minutes. Then we all stood there and waited, and waited, as the platform filled with more and more people. A full train finally pulled in at 9:52 am and let us all board. Then it sat there until 10 am and then told us to all get off the train. It was absurd. There was no mention of any incident at Takoma, and I can only assume that there was no announcement of that, because it happened just at 10 am, and they had already told us all to get off the train. I was really angry, because I go there early to get a train before they closed the station, and paid more for parking and more for the rush hour fare, and then was kicked off the train, and when I asked the station manager to please fix my smart card, he would not do so and gave me a stinking comment card and walked away from his booth and the crowd. My smart card is messed now, since another metro employee made everyone go out teh side gate, even if we weren't taking their stupid shuttle crap. Sorry, but one or two stinking shuttle buses can not hold eight metro car loads of people and more from a crowded platform. I ended up taking an S2 bus. Because of everything that happened, it took me an hour and a half to get into work, on what is normally a half hour commute. I think metro is going to still charge me $2.65 as well for a ride I never took and they screwed me over on.
It's like a game of telephone anyway, the story will expand and expand each time it's told... sort of like the crash itself which is now 10x more "horrific" and "deadly" than it was when it actually happened... And somehow the number of injured went from 70 to 100 (in some sources)... Ah we humans do love to exaggerate.
Perhaps tomorrow you'll be aiming for a 9:15-9:30 train eh?