Heat kink at West Hyattsville (Photo credit: WMATA)

Investigators determined that an overheated, misaligned track was the “probable cause” in the derailment of a Green Line train near West Hyattsville.

High temperatures from the past few days expanded the metal rail into a “heat kink,” a morphed section of a track.

“When the expanding rail cannot be constrained by cross-ties and ballast, the rail may expand outward from the normal track alignment,” according to Metro’s press release.

An inbound train derailed approximately at 4:45 p.m. on Friday. No injuries were reported in the train carrying around 50 passengers. Several news outlets report that a pregnant woman, who was taken to the hospital for examination, is also in good condition. All passengers were out within an hour. According to The Post, this is the second time “in three months one of the rail system’s trains jumped the tracks with riders aboard.”

Metro continues to investigate the derailment to see if there were other “contributing factors.”

Main photo by sciascia