Martin Austermuhle
Photo by Carpe Lucem Photography
The nightmarish commute that left hundreds of commuters stuck on Green Line trains in tunnels two weeks ago was the product of a common mechanical mishap and a breakdown in communications, said Metro officials in a report made public yesterday.
According to the report on the January 30 incident, an insulator along the electrified third rail outside the Anacostia Metro station began to smoke at 4:30 p.m., forcing officials to turn off power to that section of rail. Metro technicians proceeded into the tunnel to inspect, and trains were ordered to single-track through the station. That’s what went according to plan, but this is what didn’t:
Due to a miscommunication between transit police on the scene and the transit police liaison in the rail control center, police on the platform at Anacostia were unaware of the planned train route around the area where the crew was working. When MTPD personnel observed train lights approaching on track 2, they believed there was an immediate life safety threat to the people repairing the insulator. MTPD activated the ETS in the second instance to remove 3rd rail power on track 2. That caused trains #512 and #507 to each come to a safe stop on rail without power. In both cases, emergency lighting remain on and public address systems were working.
The report goes on to say that Metro officials responded within minutes, but as they were about to restore power to the trains, they heard reports that some passengers from both trains has “self-evacuated” and were walking along the tracks. Given that fact, power could not be restored to the trains, leaving them stranded for up to an hour and 20 minutes. Metro police helped the passengers that had self-evacuated exit the system through a shaft in an open field in Anacostia; they were given rides home thereafter.
According to the report, passengers on train 507 commended the operator for letting them know what was going on and what to expect. The conductor on the other train—who had only been on the job for seven months—did not offer the same information to passengers, leading to complaints, panic and the self-evacuations. It was those self-evacuations, says the report, that caused delays for everyone else: “Passenger self evacuation created an immediate life/safety hazard and prolonged the delay for other customers.”
The report also says that Metro failed to provide enough buses to handle overflow capacity at Green Line stations that weren’t being served by trains. Riders at the Navy Yard station reported crowds on platforms and pouring out into the street. The report notes that riders at Anacostia and Navy Yard were waived in and out of the station without having to pay.
Metro officials have said that they will review protocols for situations like these and focus on communicating better with customers.
